I used to use the dining room table too, but I then sold the dressing table in one of the bedrooms, bought an ezysew sewing table where the machine fits down into it and put it in that bedroom.... what a difference it has made... we have a tidy dining room now and a messy bedroom where my materials and patterns are but I can go into that bedroom and sew to my hearts content... also it is stury enough to be able to cut out on it... just put my bigger cutting mat on it and away I go... if I need to cut out lots of strips off the same piece of material, then I go to the dining room table, use it for about half an hour, tidy up and go back to the bedroom to sew.... choice !!!