I have a small ironing mat, a mini iron, a small cutting board, a rotary cutter, a pin cushion, small scissors, a seam ripper and a mug rug. That way, I can paper piece without getting up all of the time. I do all of the cutting for one large square, then sit down to do the square without getting up again to press and trim. The whole area is about a foot and a half to the right of my machine.