What have you done lately to add a pretty touch to your workroom?
 

My homemade big board is 24 inches by 48 inches and rests on top of my adjustable ironing board unit which is very sturdy. I decided to freshen up my work area with a new board cover and additional pressing sheet.

The cloth is white cotton duck. Luckily, I had purchased enough yardage for the removable cover and used the remaining fabric for an extra pressing surface. I must have been figuring the material was only 45 inches wide at point of purchase, but it actually measured 54 inches wide! My mistake turned out to be positive..... I even added some colorful double fold bias tape to the lengthwise edges of the pressing sheet.

Tomorrow I will quickly pick up the misc. fabric strewn on my cutting table and (ahh) various other flat surfaces. Then, I'll be able to see the functional pretty glass containers and baskets I use to decorate my workroom. A fresh and clean pressing surface will add some neatness and inspiration to a room I want to keep pleasant. Too much clutter drags my emotional spirits to the pits of despair. :-(

I hope you will enjoy playing (sewing) in your play room! I remain piecefully yours, Kay Susan

Happy New Year Susan!
My kitty decided to sharpen her claws on the side of my pressing surface so it's now starting to fray out. I keep thinking that i must do something about it but I just don't get to it. Now, thanks to your post, maybe I will. I can't say that I have a pretty sewing area - the room is 1/4 of the size I used to have and still has everything in it except the furniture that didn't fit, so needless to say, everything is stacked up. I have a walkway to my machine but I have to move things into the walkway to get to the cupboard....sigh..... Soon as I get my "backed up" projects done, (I refuse to have UFO's as they are all done and just waiting for me to get the time to quilt them), I'll be able to start the tidying process.....yuck.....

Hope you get the last little bit done!

To perk up my sewing area we bought a new house with a bigger room! We are moving into it this weekend so it is a totally blank slate at the moment.

I cleaned up my cutting table!
Cut a bunch of scraps into usable squares and put them away.
Amazing what a little cleaning will do for the "prettiness" of a room.

Gave it a new coat of paint and new Lace curtains, plus new (well they are really used, but new to me) shelving units.

I bought a wallhanging at a quilt live auction to put on my sewing room wall.

Nothing! My sewing room is a mess. Every day I plan to get in there and clean it out, and every day I find something else to do. Yesterday I cleaned out a drawer to put my rulers in. Not much, but maybe today will be the day.

I'm going to the Container Store today and purchasing a shelving unit to put on the wall behind my door and taking all of my fabric out of containers and putting on the shelves. This way will be able to see what I have (told DH will be able to save money by doing this) and hopefully be able to start some new quilts.

Made a cute sewing machine cover. Used upholstery material. Used the same material to cover my ironing board. Velcro for closure. Cleaned the room up and miscellaneous scraps went into a gift basket til my niece comes over. She gets those.

Amen, me too!

I love to hear and see what others are doing to clean up, organize, and decorate their sewing area. It inspires me to do the same but I never can really get started. It is all so overwhelming. I make good starts but never seem to get beyond that. In my case, cleaning up makes such a mess!

I vacuumed.

;)

My sewing room would probably give most of you fits - I am organized but I adore clutter. I get anxious in a space that is too neat - I feel all out of place and like I'm going to get into trouble if I move anything and I can NOT be creative in that mindset. So I have piles of fabric and stacks of batting scraps and jumbles of rulers and things (patterns, sketches, inspirational pictures, fabric scraps, paint chips...) taped to the walls and cupboard doors...and I love it in there. It's my messy little den of creativity! AND I know EXACTLY where everything is - if I cleaned I'd be hopelessly lost!

I resorted my stash, I pull colors out for projects or auditions and then just stack them on the side table - now they are all back in there color groupings.

When I vacuum I feel that is cleaning enough. At the end of the day of sewing, I generally put away what is on my table. Have let it go before and there was no room to even cut. Find this works for me. For now anyways. Am enjoying reading what others do to tame the ever growing sewing necessities.

To pretty up my sewing room - I bought more fabric, and it's really pretty. :D Of course I haven't put it away yet. Can't find a spot on the shelves. The cutting surface is piled high with the fabric I've pulled to use on the next quilt - problem is, I need that space to start cutting. I like things to be neat, at least when I start a quilt, so I will have to get busy.

My big board could use a pretty cover. For now, I am working on ufo's, and making progress. I do plan to reorganize some of my shelves, to make more room for projects in containers. Vacuuming is a plus too! :)

I got rid of the stationary bike that has sat in there for a few years. But I do find I miss hanging fabric on the handles and over the seat! Lol

My husband stripped a 221 Featherweight and painted it dark purple for me so I put it on top of my fabric shelves for display. I can reach it so that when I want to use her I can get her down easily. She is so pretty and sews beautifully and she goes well in my lavender sewing room.

Nothing. My sewing room and living room are the same place. We still have to take down the Christmas tree and I currently have an extra machine in there too. Maybe I'll get the tree down today. That'll at least free up a little space and make things less cluttered.
Rodney

I recently painted my sewing room, so it looks very fresh and inviting. I am lucky enough to have a cleaning service that comes in every other week, so I make an effort to put everything away before they come so that they can do their job - forced straightening up is what works for me. One of these days I want to make a wall quilt to hang in there.

Nothing to pretty it up. I clean up and put everything away before I start another quilt. I will neaten it up after I get the binding sewn on. Then I will be pulling scraps or fabrics for the next quilt. I hate messy and can't work when it is messy.

My hubby recently made a fabulous Cutting table with storage for me.. then finished the room off with an 11ft long sewing table for my 3 machines. I LOVE it!! Next we are going to repaint the room my favorite shade of pale pink and add some shelves for displaying and that will finish off the entire project. I couldn't be more thrilled!! I am truly Blessed!

It's Wednesday afternoon and I can report the cover is on the homemade big board. :-) I was able to thread the cord through the channels prior to attending a meeting for the senior center.

Thank you for sharing both big and small things you do to keep the work area usable and inviting for you to be creative. Throughout the years, my sewing area has ranged from climbing over storage boxes, using a corner of my bedroom, sharing the dining table, to using part of the laundry area. At this stage of my life, I am retired and want to quilt to donate my skills to charity and be creative. During the earliest years, I put up with unreal conditions because I sincerely needed to sew clothing for my family. About fifteen years ago, I had to begin to go through possessions my father had accumulated for decades. The project was both overwhelming and depressing. I didn't see much progress and the amount of time and effort to clean up someone else's "stuff" was daunting. Fortunately, I have a wonderful partner who supported me and realized that I, as the only child, needed to be the person to sort carefully. Yes, my DH helped in various ways by offering assistance, making meals, etc. He also knew that I would burn out and need to go on with my life --- more than a handful of times.

Some circumstances happen over a period of time so the re-vamping will also take time and effort. I not only have flexibility in my schedule, but have the option of selecting how much space to devote to my passion of quilting.
My new year's wish for you is that you take care of yourself and discover many ways in which to do so. :-)

Thank you for reading this thread......

I cleaned and organized it!! :-) A huge improvement!

Two months ago, I rearranged my space, gave it a coat of fresh paint. Still need to make some curtains and get some kind of units to better organize.

I strew fabric all over it, piles here and there and everywhere, green, blue,Yellow, orange, purple, white, black, gray, salmon, teal. My, but it is pretty. It is also pretty messy.

Color me jealous! That's so wonderful. I would love to see a picture, and what is her name?

Just cleaned sewing room and am sorting scraps!

This fall I removed the wallpaper from one wall and painted. DH put up track lighting on that wall and now I have good light over my cutting table. I'm not so sure about the color I chose, but that's one reason why I only did one wall. It's a lot easier to repaint one wall instead of the whole room! I also bought a metal shelving unit to hold my storage boxes of fabric. And this summer I got a very nice sewing table. It seems I now have a dedicated sewing room! Next up is to make a design wall.

Well, I have a small Christmas Tree, I decided to leave up!! To PRETTY my sewing room, many time I make small pin cushions, pin keeps, cutsie littles, & I decided to keep the tree & hang all my new fun items on there!

I made a new valance for over the two inch blinds.

That's a great way to perk up a room.

When I ordered my mobile home instead of 3 bedrooms I had it made into 2 bedrooms. So my sewing room is long with a big closet. The long arm takes up most of the room and also have a twin bed in it.
But my closet is big so keep all my fabric in there.

these things all sound so wonderful, and not one picture!!!

I got a whole new room this last year and I could not ask for more...I will try to keep it clean....

I am putting up a shelve close to the celing for the sewing nick nacks I have collected. Looking forward to having it done.

I did the exact samer thing. Now I have 2" 2.5" 3" AND 4" squares... Oh dear what scrappy leaders and enders do I want to do...

Interesting! I’m the opposite. If I walk into my studio and it’s cluttered, it depresses me, and I’m uninspired. When I get it all straightened up, it’s motivating. Different strokes . . . That said, I don't keep it neat all the time. Things seem to end up on the floor to clear space on the cutting table, ironing board, sewing machine ... You'd probably be happy in my studio!

I started doing this and ended up with fabrics cut for several premie quilts. Then had to sew them together. Still have a mess on the cutting table!

That’s me! See comment above. It always seems to get worse before it gets better.

And I really need a new pressing board cover, too! I have the fabric, just haven’t done it yet. And I have fabric to make a cover for my serger.

Guess I should get in there and use this thread as my inspiration!

Sounds like everyone has good ideas and many have made progress in your sewing rooms. Mine is always a work in progress. Yesterday I cleaned up in another room and found 12 more pieces of fabric. They are now washed, folded and put in drawers by color. I try to pick up 2 or 3 things every day in my sewing room -- it is way too easy for the room to become a real mess!!