Hi Melody,

I Love my peg board and is one of my favorite components in my sewing room.

Pegboard is relatively inexpensive and you can buy it in white or brown. It comes in sheets that are 4 x 8 which can be cut down. Initially I had wanted to buy the brown pegboard (a tiny bit cheaper than the white), and paint the pegboard to match the wall color, but my husband advised me against it. He said the paint would get all drippy and go into the holes and not dry evenly, or block the use of the holes. So I splurged and got the white. DH made the nice oak frame from leftover wood he had from another home project.
I bought a peg board supply kit for about $12 with tons of various hooks, racks, and containers. I've put to use less than half of the components in the kit. So I would say that was a good value too, and the remaining pieces are stored away for when I want to rearrange things on the board.

I have a brass mailbox on the pegboard, and it's the right size for commercially sold quilt patterns. I also tuck away little notes from recipients of the quilts I have given as gifts.

Also, I've put up a makeshift shelf (top right of first picture) from an acrylic ruler on two peg board shelf brackets. Right now, I'm displaying the thank you cards I've received from some wonderful people on this site with whom I've shared some fabric.

I've got a bag of chocolate handy on the countertop. Help yourself. :P

Jennie.... Oh, that is very nice! I like things to be close at hand that way. And little shelves on it too. Convenience and good prices.

And thank you for the chocolate. My favorite kind ;-)

Just love all the neat ideas. Everyone has different needs and it is interesting to see what people come up with to fill those needs. I think I finally have mine set up as well as it can be. I would love to get rid of the fireplace to have more wall space but that is something that is going to have to wait until I win the lottery. lol. It cannot be used so is just taking up space. I do have a bunch of plastic drawer carts on the hearth though and they hold all kinds of things.

I found a small rolling rack at a thrift store. I think it was made to go between or beside your washer and dryer. It is only about 24"H and 8"W, with 3 shelves. The top shelf has a tall glass with marking pencils, pens, straight pins, small sissors, things I use a lot. The 2nd shelf has thread, the third shelf has safety pins, bobbin holder, small plastic bag with cleaning brushes. It holds everything I use at both machines, and is so small and easy to move between my sewing machines and it only cost $.75!

I made 2 design walls out of 4'x8' foam insulation. The just stand against whatever wall I'm not using. They are light weight, and I can keep BOM's out where I can see them. Also I sandwich my quilts on my design boards because I am getting too old to get down an my hands and knees.

One thing I found out after years of quilting is........don't get plastic boxes that I cannot see through. I had many lovely blue boxes. Bought just because they were blue. Now I only have clear ones. Makes it so much easier to get fabric without checking each one.

Another thing is that I have pegboard on the wall. Scissors, rulers, thread and so many other things are stored there and not all over my table.

One thing not to forget is a nice big bulliten board. I can not imagine my space without one. I use it as a real tool . Everything gets put on it. Inspration photos/cut outs from magazines , templates, contacts for long arm quilting , Store hours of my favorite quilt shops, you name it its up there.

ditto on design wall; you can buy a portable one that can be closed and stored, if you don't have wall space.

I turned an old wooden TV table (had a flat surface) into an ironing board and keep it open with the iron on it next to my machine. It folds up if I need to.
Layered a silver mettalic looking ironing fabric (can't remember what it's called), covered it with pillowticking that reached around to the back, tightened and stapled and voila.
p.s. an industrial stapler as it's going through wood.

Be careful about sewing in front of your window. Light dilates the pupils and can put a strain on your eyes. My eye doctor put me on to that one. I have a big picture window. When I take a break every hour, I fix a cuppa, relax and enjoy the birds (feeder outside window). Much easier on the eyes.

forgot to say: I had special shades put on the quilt room windows. They block whatever rays discolour fabrics. Not cheap but worth looking into.

I use a peg board and hookson the wall. It is right where I sit and can reach all my tools. Is from the celing to the top of my sewing table. Make sure you put it on a frame first not flat on the wall. That way the hooks can go in.