Thanks for all the ideas. It is truly a work in progress. I have the Sullivan hobby table I use as a cutting board. Right now it is being used for all the Christmas baked goodies in the dining room. I wish I could knock the wall out and add on. Or better yet, add an entire new room on! But, that is out of the realm of possibility. The six inch bed risers may help for putting some storage under the bed and I definitely need to organize the closet better. I think it will help for it to come together when DH gets the sewing machine cabinet built. I will keep you posted with the progress of my little room.

I like all the ideas presented so far. My thought was also to put something over the bed. If you quilt big quilts, that could be a table, maybe with removable legs, that extends the space behind your sewing surface to support the quilts. Another possibility is to stand the mattress up against the wall and put the frame in the basement or elsewhere until needed.

I recommend you get the book "Dream Sewing Spaces" by Lynette Black. That is one valuable book! It will give you tons of ideas. Here is a link:

http://www.amazon.com/Dream-Sewing-S...+sewing+spaces

Cricket

Would the dresser fit in the closet? That would give more space in the room & be good storage for fabric. Then put shelves above the dresser.

Get rid of the bed. I know you want a place for your daughter to come home to, but there are ways to do that other than to give up part of your new sewing space. Can you put bunk beds in the other bedroom (or perhaps putting the two girls together won't work). A blow up bed is relatively cheap, and surprisingly comfortable. You can always neaten up your work space enough to accommodate a middle of the room blow up bed. Remember, you have this room most of the time. Your daughter won't use it that often, and I'm sure she will be understanding of your need for more work space. Take ownership of the room, and it will help. IMHO.

My mother got a futon frame and mattress to put in her sewing room. Most of the time it is a "sofa" to sit on while she does handwork, but when she needs it for guests, she unfolds it into a bed. That might be a nice option for you.

Being a huge Ikea fan, I immediately thought of their twin or full size loft bed with desk/storage underneath. That would free up all that floor space, giving you lots of room to put your new sewing desk under the loft!! Let us see what you finally decide to do with this space.

Before my BFF bought a larger home with her own sewing space, my ex-husband built her a murphy bed with cabinets on the sides of the bed since this was her guest room/sewing room. When the bed was not in use, it was folded up and she used the bottom (wall) of the bed for a design wall. It worked perfectly and was out of the way 99.9% of the time.

My sewing room also has to function as a guest room when needed. We just moved into this house last summer - it is newly built for us. I got it stretched a little bigger (10' x 15') but am still struggling with organizing machines/ironing/cutting/storage. My hubby is also a woodworker although we will not have our shop built until next year but he has promised to order hardware and build a Murphy bed for the guest room. The one I want also has a drop-down table attached to the outside so it can be used when the bed is closed. That may end up being my cutting table as I currnetly use a small craft table shoved in the corner of the walk-in closet.

I would move the bed to the center of the room and have Hubby build a table to fit over it, with two tiers, at least a 1/3 of it,so your machine will be at the correct height to sit(28-32") at and a little space behind the machine for ease of moving the fabric. the other 2/3'(34-36") can be used for cutting mat on one side and ironing station on the other. The space between can be used for a standing rack for cutters, small rulers,sciorris etc. If the bed is to one side of the table, the other side can have small roller cabients for storage(3?). The table would need3 prs of legs, but think of the 8' work area all in one spot. And you would still have all that wall space. and be able to slide the bed ot for your daughts use!!!!! Tinker

My DH built me this same cabinet. I love it. I have a small ironing board that I connect on the right side that I use with a travel iron. The left side is long enough to put my cutting board on for small cuts when I am sewing. Any larger amounts of cutting I do elsewhere. When the cabinet is closed it's a nice looking piece of furniture. My friend saw it and liked it so well she paid my husband to build her one. She was also using a small bedroom for sewing. We quilters can always find space to quilt.