RedGarnet222

I also have the L shape like gail. It is hard to explain, but mine is a desk so lots of drawers to store the extras needed to sew with out of the way. On top I have a long two drawer cubby hole in the "L " section. One open section of the cubby holds my foot and attachment plastic stand up boxes inside. It is so convenient to have them right there as often as I change feet.

Here is an old picture of my room when I first set this room up. There are cabinets that run the whole distance above the machine now and a mounted lighting fixture under the cabinets so the lamp is no longer necessary.

There is plenty on room for my laptop to sit there when I am embroidering.

MargeD

Sometimes I think there is never enough space, however, the more space I have, the more I fill it with "stuff". That said, to my right I have 2 cutlery holders, they are square and start off shallow and go up to deeper spots for my scissors, rotary cutters, etc. I could probably get by with one, however, I use the second to hold those items I may not use often, but want them handy. I do wish I had a little bit more room with a flat space where I can keep my magnetic pin cushion along with several spools of thread and bobbins for the projects I'm working on.

FroggyinTexas

I have a custom made cabinet. I had it built for my mother. It has six drawers. The bottom drawers are deep and each has an open box mounted on supports that let the box move forward and backward. Those boxes hold machine tools, needles, etc. The bottom of each drawer holds thread boxes. The cabinet maker told me his wife liked it so much, she ordered him to make one for her.

As for what is on top, my serger (which is moved to another location when in use), WIPs, magnetic pin holder and a good lamp. froggyintexas

mjhaess

I have a 10 drawer cart with my sewing things...

judy363905

I have a high tech hot pad for my coffee a small basket for my purple thing etc a pin cushion with scrap-basket attached. And an extra spool or two of thread

Judy in Phx,AZ

TinkerQuilts

In order of importance: seam ripper, small scissors, mug rug and pin cushion.

fireworkslover

I have my sewing machine in a cabinet, so I also have 4 drawers on the right side, which hold a lot of things. Some of those things I used to keep to the right of my machine like: sewing machine needles, bobbins, machine feet, extra pins, pinking shears, hand sewing needles, cleaning tools for my machine and fmq gloves. To the right of my machine now, I have about a 2' wide space that has a fabric box which holds rulers, seam rippers, scissors, snips, fabric markers and hand sewing needles. I also have a small box that holds my necessary tools for changing feet, needles, a long tweezers, stiletto, thread snips and other frequently used items. I have 2 spool/cone holders and a desk Ott Lamp on this space too. I still have some space to keep spools/cones of thread handy I'm using for the current project. My suggestion would be to get out all the things you'd like to have close by and see how much space it takes up. You might want to get a small stackable drawer set to keep on top of your table.

fireworkslover

I hope your husband is planning on building a lower shelf your machine can sit on, in your table, so the machine is flush with the top of the table. I wish I had more space since my machine is in an old cabinet I got from my Mom. We had to re cut the opening to fit my larger machine than what the cabinet was originally made for.

sewbeadit

I have another table to the right of my machine with all the things you have mentioned and more so I can grab what I want at any moment. I would not have a small space to the right!

cricket_iscute

I thought about this very subject when I designed my sewing room furniture (and hubby made it out of red oak). I left about 12 inches to the right of the sewing machine, on the top where I could easily grab things. I have a red tool box tray there, and it has small baskets glued to it. Inside the baskets are everything I would need to grab in a hurry: seam rippers, thread snips, threaders, stiletto, some bobbins that are in use (others are in their case in the drawer below), some machine feet I'm switching to and from, dental tools and tweezers for grabbing threads, measuring devices, tapes, etc., seam creasers, hand needles, a big pincushion, extra set of eyeglasses, pens, pencils, etc. I put these things in the tray so I could take them to another machine if I was using one in it's own cabinet. Scissors are sometimes there, but usually on the table to the left of the tray. I also discovered that if I taped some bubble wrap down there, my table doesn't get scratched with the frequent movement of sharp tools.

I have a cone thread holder behind the machine, and a phone to the right of the machine.

I have drawers that contain scissors, making pens, quilting tools, patterns, small supplies, extra supplies that I keep at hand, bobbin trays, needle storage boxes, starter pieces of fabric, and ironing supplies. I have a surface that pulls out on the left and is the perfect height and size for cutting, pressing, laying blocks out, etc. I use a press and cut 12 inch mat in the top drawer on the right and a small iron for pressing.

I have a cutting table, with a drawer deep enough for my Go stripper dies, plus any rulers. Small rulers have their own drawer, and I keep my most used ones in a basket to the left of my main table, along with rotary cutters. The cutting table is the ideal height for me, about 36 inches, and has two large wings that I can bring up. It, like all my furniture, is on wheels.

I also have an extension table with wings that is behind my main sewing table, the same height, red oak, and is very helpful for quilt support during quilting.

My main table takes any machine (set down into the table) and I have other machines in cabinets.

I thought about this for a long time before I asked hubby to build it, and it has remained perfect for years. I made the whole table - and other items in the sewing room - to be flexible for changing needs. I sew quilts and clothing.

Cricket