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. ;)