Quiltingboard Forums

Quiltingboard Forums (https://www.quiltingboard.com/)
-   Main (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/)
-   -   LongArm Studio (https://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1/longarm-studio-t144886.html)

Aully 08-13-2011 10:25 AM

Hey LongArmer Quilters,

I was wondering what you studio or room look's like set up?

We are building a house next summer and I am debating building my studio in the basement or in it's own seperate building behind our home.

Do you use use your studio for personal use or just buisness? I am wanting to use mine for both if possible. But would that interfear with writting off my buisness costs?

Thanks for the help!

Glassquilt 08-13-2011 10:54 AM

It would in the US. Research your tax info.
Taxes aside. Would it be cost effective to heat/cool a separate building.

feline fanatic 08-13-2011 11:29 AM

1 Attachment(s)
I don't have a studio. My LA took over a spare bedroom in my house. If I was building a home to accomodate a LA I would definitely make the studio big enough to accomodate a 12 to 14' frame. I could only fit a 10' frame in my room. As you can tell it fills the whole room. I have very little in this room other than the LA

This picture was taken when I first got it.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]241193[/ATTACH]

quilttiludrop 08-13-2011 11:48 AM

My Long Arm Quilting Studio is the attached 2 car garage area. My cutting table, storage, and the 12 foot quilting frame fill the whole area nicely. We converted the inside of the garage doors to be a design wall.

caspharm 08-13-2011 11:53 AM

How big is your basement and how big a frame do you plan to get? Definitely do as Glassquilt suggests by researching taxes issues regarding business vs personal use. There is a difference.

Also, agree with figuring out cost of construction vs remodeling the basement as well as heating and cooling costs before doing anything.

We just moved from a condo(1200 sq ft) to a house(2475+ sq ft). The house has a formal DR/LR that we will never use, so DH had me move in there to use as my studio, and I was finally able to get a LA w/12 ft frame (yeah, no longer have to rent one). We do have a family room and eating area.

susie-susie-susie 08-13-2011 12:36 PM

If I were building a studio and had anything to choose from, I would put it in the basement. A separate building would be hard to heat in winter and cool in the summer. I would make the basement a walk-out with daylight windows. It would be less humid and wouldn't feel so much like a basement. I would also have a separate entrance if I had a business. Just dreaming.
Sue

Rose L 08-13-2011 01:16 PM

I have my LA in an alcove off the living room that could be used as a dining room. Since I have a huge eat-in style country kitchen I have my dining furniture in my kitchen. The space was basically useless for us. It's the perfect size for my LA! Adjoining the alcove is a small bedroom that serves as my sewing studio/office/guest room. I've finally gotten it arranged so it flows well and is a pleasure to work in.

If I had a choice I would put my studio on the main level, unless you have an easy to access ground level entrance to the basement, some of your customers may be handicapped or disabled in some way and not be able to go up and down the stairs. I have had the opportunity for a separate studio and have passed simply because I did not want to heat that much additional space.

Sewfine 08-13-2011 03:53 PM

Don't have one. My sewing stuff is in three different parts of the house. Which I had a room big enough too put everything in the same room.

amandasgramma 08-13-2011 04:29 PM

1 Attachment(s)
My studio is an old wood lean-to off the back of the garage! It is easy walking distance and DH (bless his heart) gutted it and re-walled, put flooring in, etc. It's only 2 feet wider than my longarm table - it's 16 feet long and 8 feet wide. If I had my wish -- I'd have a larger room!!!! I definately need more walking around space. Part of the studio (another 8 feet length is storage) - I'm hoping next summer we can build a shed for the storage and add more space for me!!! :D BTW -- be sure to put in laminate flooring!! I had carpet in there before and it was a pain!!!! I do quilts for a business. I don't know how any place that you put it would interfer with your taxes, etc. You write off a percentage on tax papers. Talk to an accountant to see what your state allows. In our area, you can have an initial meeting for free!

Here's a pic of the studio ---- I've since added two 5 shelf shelves on the left to store customer quilts.

QuiltingGrannie 08-13-2011 04:41 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Here is a pic of my quilt studio aka "Quilter's Pantry" which is my LA/quilting business.
It is set up in our basement with a separate entrance and a separate bathroom for my customers.

The pic was taken before I got quilts hung on the walls.

The other end of the room is my office area and where my fabrics are on wall racks.

I have a Nolting Fun Quilter on a 12' frame with hydraulics so I can mover the LA closer to the wall and fit folding tables in there if/when I teach a quilting class which is what I also hope to do.

My tips:
Check your local and federal rules and regs for running a business. I know each state, and even some towns have separate rules here in the US. Taxes, taxes, and more taxes. Some places require separate entrance/bathroom for customers. Also handicap accessible rules. Parking. etc

If you have any questions feel free to pm me.

Good luck.

Phyllis
QuiltingGrannie
Quilter's Pantry
www.quilterspantry.com

Aully 08-13-2011 04:51 PM

I do plan to have a minimum 14 foot table and a big machine no smaller than a 26 throat.

Do you leave your longarm table set up fully? I was thinking I would need like a 20F by 20F room?

I wan't to be able to have my office in the room as well, also my regular sewing machine and embroidery machine, and all my fabrics, cutting table and ironing table.

amandasgramma 08-13-2011 04:57 PM

Ashley - I've had 2 different quilting frames and you DO leave them up. So far I haven't found one that would adjust sizing easily. Think about it -- they're a HUGE machine, going 1000sss of stitches per inch...they need sturdy. A frame that would break down in size easily would be flimsier. Course, I could be proven wrong!

As for 20 by 20 -- yes -- I'd LOVE to have that size!!!

gramajo 08-13-2011 04:58 PM

I see you live in Canada. In addition to heating/cooling a separate building, think about having to go outside in the cold and shoveling a walkway out there.
Too bad we can't just build our dreams and forget about reality. :-D

QuiltingGrannie 08-13-2011 05:12 PM

I think my room is 14' x 22'. I would love for it to be wider so I could fit more in it! lol 20' x 20' would work well, giving you room to set up a small office space, room for fabrics, sewing machines, cutting table etc. I have all that in mine, except just one LA and one sewing machine which I leave set up all the time.
I do unplug them when not in use.

quilterella 08-14-2011 02:50 AM

I would love a larger room. Mine is 12 x 14 and while I do have a closet in that room, it holds off season clothes, it would be nice to have all my sewing stuff in one room. My sewing/quilting room is 10 x 10 and it is literally jammed packed without much room to spare. Ideally, I would like a room 20x24, with the Tin Lizzie at one end, my sewing/cutting table at the other end and lots of windows and storage. I know this will probably never happen without winning a lottery, but, one can dream!

hopetoquilt 08-14-2011 10:11 AM

I am not a LAQ but if I were, I would want a room on the ground floor in my house that was as large as possible to accommodate built in storage for batting/threads/pantos/marking tools/samples/books and multiple customer projects awaiting quilting/billing and mailing information and files for the business, etc and to trim down quilts afterwards. I would want some natural light. I would not want a separate building but I would want a customer entrance and a small area for them to sit and discuss quilting patterns etc.

I would also want a radio or television in the room.

The best idea would be a set of pocket doors connecting the studio to the rest of your house so the room doesn't feel claustrophobic when you are working.

akisan 08-14-2011 10:44 AM

I have a detached shop at the back of our house where it is dedicated for my quilting only and crafts. I have a small fridge, a TV, a radio, phone and air conditioner. My husband refuses to put in a bathroom. He said if he does he will never see me. It is nice to have your own place by yourself when it comes to quilting.

lfletcher 09-14-2011 05:25 AM

My avatar shows my longarm room. My sewing room is our 3rd bedroom and wasn't large enough for my longarm. We enclosed our screened in back porch that housed the washer/dryer and freezer. My frame is on casters so I can roll it out when I do pantographs. It works for me and we were able to do all the work ourselves for about $2100.

carslo 09-14-2011 06:05 AM

I couold be wrong but I had a brother-in-law in Saskatchewan who ran a business office out of his home. It had to be a definite space with a door to close it off to the rest of the house. His was in the basement. I ran a simple google search and found this information - look at the link there are specific criteria thses days to use a home space for your business.
http://www.bookkeeping-essentials.co...-expenses.html

Good luck.


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:10 AM.