My sewing cabinet only has about 6 inches or so on the right, which is fine for my pins, scissors, whatever I need. I do have a drawer cabinet right next to that which is handy for all the other junk that I like to keep nearby. A bowl with my most used feet, a few other pairs of scissors, my hemostat, ripper, small ruler - marker etc. I don't need that space for actual sewing - that is all to my left.