I, too, use half my cutting table as an ironing surface and find it works well. I do have it in the middle of the room though, not against a wall. Understand I have a small room - 8-10 - that doubles as a guest room, sort of (we don't have that many guests but have a futon & other furniture besides sewing stuff in there). I find having the cutting/ironing surface in the middle of the room, somewhat cumbersome but very advantageous as well. I can cut from either side of the table when I have large pieces to deal with (yardage) and when ironing yardage have more room to work as well. Just a thought. And no clue what kind of space you're dealing with.