Tuesday, January 13, 2009

From Sewing Room To Studio In One Day!

How do you go from a sewing room/office to a wonderful quilting studio in one day??? You need 30 bucks, a devoted husband and a couple of helpful sons! Yep, that is all it takes. I have devoured Lois Hallock's book on creating your perfect quilting space. Everyone's idea of "perfect" is different, of course. I have had MANY sewing rooms over the years...everything from the corner of the master bedroom to a spacious room all my own (though that never lasts). Usually I need to share the space. Right now, it is also used as the computer/office area. Sweetheart does our household bills and budget here. We have to share this one dinosaur of a computer, so my room is "shared". Just stay away from my quilting stuff and don't make a mess, and we will get along fine.
Back to the topic...Sweetheart saw the light shine in my eyes and knew the room would need a makeover. I highly recommend this book, though many of the makeover's cost 1000 dollars or more...there was one for under $100. I had less than that...remember he is sprucing up the kid's rooms and is "home" for a while. Limited funds. I can still work with that. The main goal of my new room was to have a separate cutting table, and a design wall. Now lets look at the before pictures of this room....
This back wall is big (the room measures 11x12 ft) and houses my grandmother's table, my shelves (which are sentimental) and a corner table with a tv on it.
The inside wall houses a large desk with the computer and the desk catches every piece pf paper known to man!The outside wall houses a window toward the corner and then my grandmother's hutch. The adjoining wall is one large closet.This is the arrangement now...I have had it in several other arrangements like this one....So Sweetheart came up with this grand idea....only problem is, I would lose my grandmother's hutch and table. Not happening!!! These are the HEART of my sewing room. The desk had to stay also, out of necessity. So how would I get a design wall and separate cutting table???? My husband is a genius. No, really he is...very high IQ!!
Here is what he did.....He put my grandmother's hutch in the middle of that large back wall. Then (this is the genus part) he took my table, unscrewed all the hardware that holds the two halves together (this is easily put back later) and mounted half of the table to the wall on either side of the hutch. One side is the sewing table....Lots of wonderful natural light, though I have a great lamp I can aim at the machine for evening sewing. There is plenty of space here and it is so comfortable.I will place my large ironing board at table level next to me while piecing...instant pressing table!
The other side is the "office" area.It is where Sweetheart will pay the bills, the kids will play Math Blaster's and Zuma, and I will blog.
So with the hutch off that outside wall, I had the perfect spot for my dream design wall. This is where the $30 comes in. Sweetheart bought foam board and made it to my EXACT specifications of 60x70 inches.Zach gave a helping hand...And Bud came along and trimmed it out...yes, it is covered in muslin and then framed out in white wood trim. It is perfect...for me!Now that separate cutting table. The desk no longer houses the computer, so we swung that desk up against the inside wall, hung the white shelves (sentimental) above it.......and instantly I had 50+" of cutting table!!!I hope to get leg extensions soon so this can be at just the right height.. I have all my cutting tools right there, ready to use!!!My rulers are stored under the desk, at hand when I need them!The closet houses all my fabric and still needs some organization...I can just close the doors for now!One of the bonuses is, there is a massive amount of open floor space. It is such a blessing that my Sweetheart took his entire day (12 hours worth) and worked so diligently to make me happy. Lois Hallock would be proud!!
Have you done a tour of your sewing room?? If you have please send me a link, and if not, please do one and send me that link. I plan to list them on my sidebar so we can visit everyone. If you have a corner of the dining room or an entire studio separate from your house...no matter. We can be inspired no matter what the size!!!!
edit: Your space does not have to be a quilting space...it can be a craft room, knitting corner...anything related to sewing/crafting. ;)

26 comments:

Unknown said...

I wish I had my own sewing space. Right now I'm using my dining room table for sewing, kitchen counter for cutting and guest bedroom for ironing! It's all a mess when I quilt!! My dream is to build a log cabin down by our pond and make that my quilting studio. Problem is heating it in the winter and finding the time and money to do it! Like I said, it's a dream:)

Unknown said...

Oh! BTW, your project turned out great! DH deserves a pat on the back and two thumbs up!

Winona said...

Oh Bren, your quilting studio turned out wonderful. It looks like it will be so peaceful to work in. You dh is indeed a genius. I never would have thought of taking the table apart, but it sure works great. I also love your design wall. I hope to have one someday. Right now, my design wall is my bed. LOL Have a great day today. Are you spending it in your new studio? Winona

Niki said...

I remember visiting your sewing room :) so can follow the "tour" and the wonderful changes easily...you and your sweetie did a great job...I have a room I could use for a sewing room...maybe one day I'll decide to put one together.
Blessings,
Niki

Ace said...

Hi Bren, your sweetheart is sounding more and more like The General, they must be long lost cousins :)

I always get the itch to move things around, declutter and such and my sweet General jumps right in and makes it much nicer than I was going to settle for in the first place.

What a wonderful husband you have! I love the flow and the use of the table (great idea to split it). I am redoing our office/sewing room right now too! I have a large folding table I am using and I am getting rid of stuff so I can get going on sewing (especially with the economy). I didn't know about the foam board, I think that would work for me too.

Thanks for this post, you know I bet the author would love to see it. You should email her.

Many Blessings :)
Ace

Love Bears All Things said...

I'll give a tour once I've moved everything from the other house. Right now I have boxes where my cabinet will go, no design wall.
I love what you've done with your room. He's a gem to do this for you. Enjoy!
Mama Bear

Sue said...

Isn't it great to have a design wall? Mine is displaced at the moment as it's portable, but I do hope to find a good way to store it.

I'm sure you'll really enjoy quilting in your new studio. I'm looking forward to checking back and see the tours of others' rooms, too.

Have fun!

em's scrapbag said...

Oh, I am so happy for you. Enjoy your new sewing space!

copperswife said...

I love it! It turned out great! And for only $30? Yee haw!

Melzie said...

AWESOME! I LOVE the half table idea that is brilliant! And cute! You may start a new movement! LOL
xoxo mel

Unknown said...

This is great :) I am moving my sewing stuff these days and haven´t settled yet!

Anonymous said...

Bren, it looks great. Getting things all organized added onto some changes, it is a great feeling. Now go enjoy your sewing!

motherofmany said...

WOW!!!

Andrea Cherie said...

That's incredible!! Great job, Bren & Sweetheart!

Donetta said...

How wonderful!
I am so happy for you! The space is going to be great having that open floor space if you do a large quilt will be awesome. Perhaps a nice quilting frame:)
My sewing room is on a post somewhere I think I'll look it up.
Hope your having a great day!

Susan said...

Bren, this is perfect! What a great idea you husband had to separate that table!

I have very little space to sew and craft. My sewing machine is in the upstairs landing and my paper crafting stuff is (mostly) in the downstairs hallway in a rolling drawer thingy. Not much to it! LOL When our second son goes to college in August, we'll be moving my husband's study and my crafting area into their room, keeping a set of bunk beds to make it a three-purpose room - study, crafts, and guest room. I don't know how long Wes and I will be able to do our "things" in the same room, but we'll see! ;)

~JoAnn~ said...

Bren~ Your sewing room turned out wonderful. I am still in the middle of organizing mine. I will be posting pictures when it is done but I know it won't look as nice as yours does.
Blessings,Joann

blog said...

Bren, that is wonderful! You've inspired me to put a little effort into our office/craft room/guest room. It needs a LOT of work (only has a cement floor due to years of flooding so the carpet's been removed. Do you know if you can paint right on cement?

Mary said...

What a perfect room!!! I love the color, and what he did with the table is just perfect! I share my sewing room with a computer, a cockatoo and a hedgehog. We have quite an arrangement. I gotta get pictures up sometime.

Carolina Girl said...

Bren, that looks like a great sewing room! You must be in 7th heaven. You are blessed to have such a wonderful family :-)
Shellie

Alesha said...

Wow! That IS incredible!!!

Again, wow!

Enjoy!
Alesha

Anita said...

Your room looks great, and all those changes only using what you already had - great job!! I can't wait until I can have my own space!

The Fibers of Life said...

HI Bren,
Like you I have spent many hours planning and refining my sewing space. How nice to have helpful sons, sweeties to help you move all that around. I do have a small suggestions. To raise the desk/cutting table to the right height you can use some bed risers. They are available at places like Bed, bath and beyond or perhaps target. They are just the right height to put your table at a perfect height and thus saving all that wear and tear on your back. I have really enjoyed your blog. please feel free to check out mine: marylourupp@blogspot.com. I'm in the process of setting it up as I'm very new at this. Thank you for the lovely example.

MaryLou

marlene@ByTheSeam said...

Your Sweetheart is a genius. Wow, what a makeover and it looks terrific. I posted about mine yesterday.

Kristina said...

you were busy! Your room looks great--LOVE the design wall too:) Thanks for posting!

Anita in Florida said...

Great idea to split that table and I just love your design wall...that is one thing I don't have...here's a link to my studio post... http://margretmarysplace.blogspot.com/