New Addition for Sewing Room
 

I actually posted about this 3 years ago - but now it's finally becoming a reality. We are adding a 26' x 26' addition to our house for the sole purpose of being my sewing room. Plans are being drawn up now and I expect the first draft soon.

I've already decided I will be going with in floor heating and Luxury Vinyl Tile, lots of lights, outlets at counter height, etc. What I'm really looking for is information as it applies to the construction process. For those of you who have built an addition for the sole purpose of it being your sewing room, please answer these questions:

What difficulties (if any) did you encounter?

What do you think you did very well?

What do you think you could have done better?

Any tips you'd like to share?

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions. I'm sure your experience will help me avoid some pitfalls.

Have at least 2 separate circuits for outlets, and perhaps a dedicated one for high-current items like an iron. Lighting should be on different circuits than wall outlets (all this is building code). You may need to have your electrical service upgraded for the additional circuits.

Use a lighting modeling software package to make sure you have adequate lighting in all areas. Use high CRI (color rendering index) bulbs in all light fixtures (>90 CRI). Watch your color temperature on the bulbs (5000K+ can feel like a doctor's office, below 3000K might feel too yellow).

Why in-floor heating? Is this on slab? Make sure the vinyl is compatible with it (in many cases, it is not). Do you have any other HVAC planned? If not, consider a mini-split heat pump.

Are you adding a half-bath? If the plumbing allows one, consider it.

Be sure you pull all necessary permits. Use licensed contractors. Take photos of framing/electrical (with reference markers) before things are insulated so you know where they are.

Lucky you to get to make the plans before you start. My thoughts:

If you think you would ever want a longarm, think about whether you want to plug it into a ceiling outlet. I hang the electrical wire up on my older Nolting all the time. Another thing, If you are planning on sewing or ironing in the middle of the room, put a couple of outlets there too. If you plan on inviting friends to sew with you, then take that into consideration. Have you thought about where your design wall will be? Do you plan on built in cabinets for fabric storage, a closet or open shelves? Think about your lighting for sewing. Do you want all the lights to come on at one time, or specific ones according to the area of the room you are in?

I second the recommendations of the half-bath and plenty of power. Tripped circuit breakers are a p.i.t.a.

As far as the construction itself, I think you could probably ask anyone who has done ANY kind of add-on construction, not just specifically quilt studios, for tips and things to know ahead of time.

I didn't get to plan my sewing room as we bought a house that had a 30x30 attached garage with an apartment above it and that become my sewing studio.
1. I love having a bathroom with a washer/dryer hookup. We modified what was there to use a full size front load washer with a full size dryer on top. No hauling fabric to the laundry room in the basement for me! I actually do most of my laundry up there so I can monitor it while sewing (have dress cloths that need to be removed promptly. And when I'm too busy finishing up something to deal with the "call of nature", I don't have far to run when nature becomes insistent!
2. Love the walk in closet - it's narrow with shelves on both sides, and it's perfect for my stash. We put track lighting so I'd have lot of light. I put clear totes for the top shelves so I can see what is in them. I have a stool to easily get them down.
3. The bedroom is perfect for my LA. I love being able to shut the door and not worry about the cats using a quilt as a hammock. the separate room also allows me to keep the shades pulled without keeping it dark in my sewing room.

What I don't like
It has track lighting in the main area all on one switch, would love to be able to only turn on half at a time. I have desk lamps at each machine to give lots of light where I'm working.

we did pull out the carpet and install luxury vinyl.

Lots to think about. Good luck I hope it goes smoothly.

Congrats on your plan!

Think about what and where you will be storing items. Fabrics, thread and supplies need to be considered. Do you want closets and/or walk in closets?

I would plan zones for different activities such ironing, cutting, and sewing? I want a cutting table that is at least big enough to hold a bolt width of fabric. Good luck on all the decisions you have to make.

How about windows? Although my sewing room is a 14'x32' she shed, it has 3 large windows(4'x5') and 2 smaller windows(48"x36") and 6-4' led lights.

Coming back to add:

How does this addition fit into the rest of the house floorplan? If someone weren't a quilter/sewist, how might the addition be used?

I ask this because you mention counter-height outlets. If someone wanted to use this space for something different, that would be a turn-off, because they would have to remodel the entire space to make it work, and tearing down drywall and relocate outlets would cause many to hesitate. I would not do counter-height outlets. You can do regular height outlets and then mount long power strips at counter level. That is what DH does for his shop space - if and when we sell far in the future, it is easy to reconfigure his space. The mounting for the power strips is just a couple of screw holes that can be easily patched.

Always, ALWAYS, think about resale and multipurpose when you build an addition.

• Double the amount of outlets. Everything is electric these days.
• I wish my outlets were on different circuit breakers; Plugging in a space heater kept tripping the plugs in my new garage/workroom.
• We reinforced the walls between the framing 2x4s with horizontal wood planks at the height to make hanging pictures easy, so we'd be nailing into wood instead of just drywall.
• Love my peg board.
• Water line for ice maker/refrigerator; we have a deep freezer and extra fridge in there.
• Half bath is very nice.
• I use free-standing shelves which can be moved around, which allows me to reconfigure/tweek my workspace.

Congrats on the workroom!

You've given me some great suggestions and things to think about. I really appreciate it!

Don't let the electrician do anything wit out you being there. I had a devil of a time convincing one that yes I wanted that many plugs and yes that is where I wanted them and yes all those overhead lights. He even went to my husband to double check, which didn't go over well at all. We ended up with another electrician.

Behavior like that absolutely frosts me. We had a salesman approach us as we were in the yard, he refused to take my "no" for an answer, said "Ma'am, I was talking to your husband, not you." I wanted to be SO rude to him in return, but he knew where we lived and my husband traveled a lot for his job at the time, so I bit my tongue. Regretted it ever since. 🤬

I have started making scrappy crazy blocks to use up those little scraps, and wish I had a couple of moveable units to place either side of my sewing table - one for the iron, the other for a cutting board to trim all the bits.
Also would like a table/bench with a drop side to extend when more space is needed. If you're not planning on a quilting machine on a large frame this will be handy for sandwiching quilts.

Wheels on the cutting table and on my ironing station. This has been such a great idea. My husband created such a great space for me to sew in. It was a bedroom (15' x 22') with some interesting aspects but we worked around it. Getting to my point here - my husband built a cutting table 78" x 33.5" - very sturdy and he put sturdy wheels on this cutting counter. The ironing station is 26" x 51.5" and it also has wheels. Both cabinets have drawers and shelves and cubbies and both are 36" tall. I really questioned the need for wheels but that feature has come in so very handy. I have wheeled them together and I have wheeled them out of the way. I even wheeled the ironing station out of the room when I needed more space! It's just odd how many times having wheels on those items have come in very handy. Another unusual aspect of this room was that it was L shaped. We ended up putting in counter tops in on both sides of this "L". The counter tops are 98" x 25.5". This is where my machines sit and I'm able to place 2 sergers and a sewing machine on one side, while a larger sewing machine, a smaller sewing machine and my embroidery machine take up the opposing countertop. I have a chair "on wheels" in the middle of these countertops and can easily go from one machine to another. In another area of the room, I thought I'd like wall to ceiling storage but my husband suggested a break with a countertop. This is the best idea. This unit is located behind the cutting table and I have a nice long area where I can place cut fabric, instructions, you get the idea - but it isn't taking up any space on my cutting table. One more great idea he did - he added a breadboard to my ironing station for my iron to sit on - so the entire ironing surface is just that! It also has shelves for added storage. I really thought this room was huge and I couldn't possibly outgrow it. With that being said, another suggestion would be to go as big as you possibly can! I wish I could upload photos. I'd love to share pics but I just get frustrated with the process and give up . Hope this helps!

We built my sewing room for this sole purpose more than 20 years ago. The room has a space for my computer several sewing machines and most importantly a bathroom. I know that is something that you may not think of with a sewing room. When I am on a roll with my sewing I don't want to stop unless I absolutely must. The bathroom is a necessity.
A lot of cupboard space for fabrics and notions. I have specialty drawers in lower cabinets that have 10 pull out drawers for notions and supplies.
The only big problem is that after 20 years I have run out of space and now have to go through things and decide just what I may need to give up. I have enough fabric to out live me by x3 and every thread and now 14 sewing machines. All the machines would now be considered vintage or close to it. Someday I will purchase a new machine.
I also do not have the space for a design wall. I can put one up but I would be giving up something else. I don't want to do that so I use the floor for my design wall and that works ok.
Cabinets, cutting table, computer area and bathroom. Those are the primary for me.

You will need separate circuits for you sewing machine and iron. They should never be plugged into the same circuit. The iron can overload the sewing machine and cause the motor or mother board to burn out. Also, have a separate circuit for a space heater if you need one. I learned this from a sewing machine at work. I was a seamstress at a large bridal shop.

Here's my two cents. Get as many outlets as you can. Be sure to stagger which circuit they are tied to so no two are in a row go to the same circuit. Why? Because I work with multiple devices at the same time. Take for example my sewing machine, my iron, my cricut and my computer. If the plugs are staggered, I can still have them in the same area, but no worries of overloading a single circuit. I wish I had done this in my kitchen so I could easily have my coffee maker and electric griddle working at the same time.

I hope this makes sense and helps!

. It is not a good to have an iron on the same circuit as the sewing machine. The machine is constantly getting high and low power going to it like a wave as the iron heats, stops, heats again to maintain the temp setting. Especially the irons with no auto shut off that sit and go off and on constantly to heat. I don't think any machine has a power regulator installed.
The machine will be harmed before the iron will. This is important if you plug a iron to the same ext plugs at a class as your machine.

My friends and I take retreats at a hotel on the coast. A member of our group is part owner of the hotel, and when they bought it, they remodeled the conference room specifically with quilters in mind. 😁 The electrician put in dedicated outlets just for irons all over the floor, they're easy to locate because he installed red receptacles. This hotel is nearly always booked 100% full, which is amazing for that industry. There's a local woman who hosts retreats and classes at the hotel almost every weekend all year except during summer, when they are full with weddings and vacationers. I wish more hotels would get smart and do this!

My parents added onto their home for her painting studio in the 1980's. It also made the kitchen bigger as well on the upper floor. It was one of the best changes to the house they ever made and have been really happy with it. Because she's a painter she included a sink (for washing up) and a built in light box on a counter. It's been the family hang-out for projects for years!!

Probably the biggest challenge with the room is heating. She has to use space heaters under the desk to keep her feet warm. If they were doing it now, there would be many more heating options available.

My husband and I built a home about 10 years ago, and I insisted on lots of built in lightning (even in the main living areas). I am so GLAD that I did. Various types of lighting: overall room ambiance and task lighting on different circuits and switches. Spending time with the lightning is really worth it!!! I also put in quite a bit of built in cabinetry and storage. If I was building a sewing room from scratch, I would include kitchen cabinets and kitchen height cutting tables with cabinetry underneath. Ooooh la la!

Enjoy! Will be fun to watch your progress!

Good luck to you and very happy for you. A designated sewing room will be great and you will get a lot of tips from everyone here. I just would suggest lots of natural light.

All good suggestions. Just make sure the lighting gives you daylight range so you can see true colours.

Actually, high CRI is what gives you true colors, not color temperature (soft/daylight/bright).

CRI is the Color Rendering Index and you want higher than 90.

A soft white (3000-3500K) high CRI bulb with show colors more true than a standard CRI (which is around 80) daylight (5000K) bulb.