This is one my DH designed and made for me. I have a wonderful iron to use with it. I don't use it for large projects but for pressing seams open it is great and takes up so little room.
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Here is one with the iron and the protective cover removed
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I bought a cutting board that is 16x20 from the thrift store, It is solid wood and I made a pressing board that I can use near my sewing area.

I have one that is built into the wall but when I created my small sewing room it was a pain to go into the other room to iron. I went to Kmarts and for 20 bought one that hangs over the door and folds up if needed. If I have large pieces of fabric to iron I put towels on my kitchen island and do it there. that bin is nice but my room is soooo small, there would be no place for it.

Missouri Quilt Company has a Video on a portable ironing surface that can be made any size from plywood, batting , and duck cloth for the surface. I have a table top ironing board that I keep on top of a stack of boxes of fabric and also have a TV tray for smaller projects close to the machine.

Something to think about when making your own boards: I went to a workshop years ago with Sharon Schamber. She sold small ironing boards that her husband had made. They were just wood with heavy natural-color canvas or duck cloth stapled to it. They have no padding, and therefore no "give" at all. The reason she leaves out the padding is she believes that too much "give" allows the block to become distorted when pressing. It took me a while to get used to the idea of such a hard ironing board, but now when I used the boards at my LQS which have multiple layers of ironing board covers on them, I can see exactly what she was talking about.

I did this same thing & LOve it! & use it all the time! I actually cut up an ironing board cover & made it fit..stays on all the time , even when folded away.

I have one that my hubby built into the wall. I love it and can close it when not in use.

$85.00 ??? Wow. I found a piece of particle board in the garage, covered it with batting, then a beach towel. Stapled it real good to the backside. Now I have a movable large ironing suface I can put anywhere. Cost? About $ nothing, but my time.

My BIG board and small boards only have one layer of batting and a cover sheet on them...can't go without a tiny bit of something. I've tried other boards with lots of 'cushy give' and didn't like them at all.

Make sure your small board is big enough and sturdy enough to hold your iron without falling over and large enough to press at least a 12 1/2" block.

Nan

This is how I made mine although I did not put the foil under the batting. I probably will wish that I had. Mine matches the curtains in my sewing room.