Stitch124

I would love to see a pic of your pegboard turntable. That is such a clever idea and I know my DH would get a kick out of making it. Thanks for the idea!

petthefabric

This is my cutting table with lots of storage. The cabinets are from Lowes or Home Depot. They're precut, need assembly. All we needed was screw driver, hammer and wood glue. Put the white side of the back piece out. The top is a prelaminate 2'x8' cut (the store does 1 cut for free) 3" longer than the cutting mat. The store also beveled the ends so the corners are not sharp. It's placed short side against the middle of sliding closet doors. This way I can cut from either side or the end and still get into either side of the closet. The cabinets are ~19" deep, giving a 5" overhang of the top. Peg boards could be attached to the back to store templates, etc. The cutting mat is OLFA gridded mat. It's 2 sections with clips to keep them in place. (I had a wider board, but even with my long arms it was uncomfortable to cut into the middle. To cut all the way across I had to walk around.) The height is standard kitchen counter height, perfect for me, too high for my 5' tall friends. [ATTACH=CONFIG]399048[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]399049[/ATTACH]

Nammie to 7

So many good ideas - I bought cupboards from Lowe's - one set with 3 drawers, one open with shelves and one with doors and shelves. Then brought over an antique cupboard to place on the top - it has glass doors and cup hooks (took a fork lift to get it close to the house. Wish I knew how to get pictures here - maybe someday I will figure it out!

Auntie Em

My favorite is having an ironing area right next to my sewing machine. I have used an old computer table for my machine. To the left of it is a 4x2 foot table on which I have a 2x2 foot ironing board make from a tute by Jenny at Missouri Quilting Co. The other half of that table is next to the sewing machine so there is room for larger project to rest on. So when I am piecing I can just turn my chair and press...lost some of my exercise program but it flows so easy!!! LOL

DebbE

My best advice is to find some used kitchen cabinets on Craigslist that are decent, and paint those. I used base cabinets on 2 ends and had open space between. My DH installed a 10' long countertop from Home Depot on that. Underneath, he built open shelves to hold the large totes, patterns, etc. I put velcro on the front and hang a curtain off that...the 'soft' side of the velcro is on the curtain. That way I can pull it off and wash it periodically, or take it off altogether if I need to re-organize, etc. Over this set up DH installed a set of wall cabinets at each end of the counter, and again, built open shelving in between. All was painted dove white, and I put my clear shoe boxes full of misc things on the open shelving. DH then took 1" x 5" boards and built a long skinny open shelf under the wall cabinets. There is tons of room for little storage cabinets, CD's, folded FQ's, etc. He installed a set of 3 Ikea mini flood lights that shine down on my countertop, so that's where I iron, cut, etc. I have a small ironing board (12" by 30") that I put up on my cutting matt when I need to iron, its quick and handy. The opposite wall is chock full of Ikea wall shelving, and the 2 end units have glass doors. The center cabinet is skinny (maybe 14" wide) which holds all my books. Between I have an antique crank table that holds my machines, and on the end under the window is my oversized chair & foot stool, to watch telly when hand sewing. It works, and other than the Ikea cabinets, most everything was here already, dirt cheap or free. Funny what a coat of white paint will do to unify everything!

Stitch124

Wow -- that sounds awesome! My room is only 11'x11' but I can definitely see doing something like this. Do you have pics you can share?

sylviak

I was just reading in the "Pictures" section about a guy who is sewing in his basement. I love what he did to the top of his work areas! It would be a cheap and easy way to coordinate those work tables.
http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...s-t215323.html

Also, if you can pick up a used dresser (or you might already have one) minus the mirror, they make excellent storage and are paintable. I used one from my mother-in-law's house and and put a board on top and covered it and made an ironing stations out of it.

Scraps2Laps

1.My dad built a couple of floor to ceiling large standing type closets (no doors) with adjustable shelves where I store my fabric. These basically just look like skinny book shelves, and book shelves would work 2. Find old wooden boxes at thrift stores (or other places) to put fat quarters/fabric/rules/scissors etc. in. These are cheap and decorative. 3. I bought a shoe organizer that hangs on the back of a door and is designed to hold shoes on the right and the left of the organizer. It is perfect for holding fat quarters, bobbins, thread, scissors, all kinds of misc items and because it hangs on the door it doesn't take up much space. It also holds a lot of things. 4. Always have a garbage nearby, hanging off your table if possible to keep thread, pins, etc. off the floor and cleanup easier. If you can, have a garbage cut into your table where scraps can just be pushed into the "center hole". 5. Get an adjustable chair so that you can sit at different heights when sewing, ironing, cutting, reading, designing, etc. 6. Paint your room a color that you really love and will enjoy being in every day. Make sure it is warm in winter and can be cool in summer.

Stitch124

Again -- thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. We had the carpets cleaned yesterday and the sewing room carpet, which is builder's grade and 20 yrs old), didn't come as clean as I'd hoped so I convinced my DH that it's time to bite the bullet and laminate the floor in both spare bedrooms. Yeah! He is always trying to find ways to pinch pennies and even though I am a practical person by nature, these carpets are just not worth keeping any longer. He finally said, 'I've been thinking, this room really means a lot to you and you've waited a long time for it, so just buy what you want and we will make it happen. You deserve it.' How sweet!!!!

So the room is light green and the laminate is maple colored. We found an awesome deal on Craigslist for a 5' wide kitchen cabinet and white formica top for $50. It's got 3 drawers and shelves underneath. It's painted a milkpaint light green that compliments the walls perfectly. I also found an awesome sewing table set up to make for $112. So as soon as the laminate goes in we can start building the table. Pics to come.

deplaylady

Sounds wonderful! You'll love the laminate - its so nice being able to sweep up threads and pins, etc. What a great hubby - you are going to feel all refreshed and ready to sew!