New Sewing Room - In Progress

Last time I showed a picture of my work space, I think it looked something like this:

Which was colorful and fun, but honestly didn't really function as I needed it to. Any time I really needed to work on the sewing machine, I had to pull the desk into the center of the room to get enough space around it to work. This wasn't a huge problem, but it wasn't the most convenient either. Walking around the room was sometimes dangerous thanks to cords and cables all over when the machine was in the center of the room.

I'd been looking at building some storage cabinets and a little desk that would run along the wall with the window there, but I hadn't found anything both easy to build and affordable, so I was figuring on visiting Ikea for ideas (or possibly some purchases) later on this summer.

That all got set to the side when I got emailed a craigslist ad last week. A few hours later, I had the pieces to a very different office set up sitting in the back of two borrowed SUVs. It took a few hours just to get the pieces into the house, and I'm still a long ways from fully functional or staged, but check out my new situation!

The ocean painting hasn't been moved - though it will be eventually, as I figure out where everything needs to be - so that gives an idea of the differences. It looks tight between the cedar chest (under the painting) and the desk, but there's about 20 inches. The eventual goal is to have the new computer off the desk (and set up in the last cubby where the basically dead computer tower is) so that the desk top will be the sewing space. I can store my sewing machine, iron, and serger all in the center cubby right next to the table top (or leave them on the desk top as needed), and I still have a third set of drawers/shelves nearest the doorway that I'm working on filling up.

The gap between the first two units is to allow for the heat register. I would like to have set up on one of the other two walls, but for now that's not a possibility thanks to the closet door. At some point I may rearrange enough that I can move these units to the short wall, but I'm not sure that allows enough space for anything else in the rest of the room.

Almost all of my fabric stash is stored on the two shelves over the sewing machine opening - though for now my vintage sheet collection is under the old computer (because that base cabinet has doors). The open cabinet under the desk is currently holding two of my scrap bins and my notions box. I figure at some point I'll get a couple more bins, baskets, or boxes so I can make better use of the bottom shelf - but for now the open shelf is working well for Momo exploration. Over the computer opening are my books and cds (because I'm reluctant to move over to digital download, and I see no reason to get rid of the small collection I already have). The cabinet pairing nearest the door holds most of my computer desk goodies in the top (notebooks, cables, old digital cameras, and other things I don't want to see, but don't want to get rid of) while the bottom drawers (designed to be used as file cabinets) are great for holding quilts and other projects I'm working on.

It's hard to see in my photos (though somewhat noticeable on the file cabinet base above), but there is some damage to every piece. Most of the damage is minor, but I couldn't have bought or built anything better for the $100 this cost me. And honestly, a little bit of damage makes it easier to use these as a real work surface than constantly worry about babying them or keeping them from getting damaged!

The old computer desk, old sewing desk, and my lovely green china hutch have all left the room for good. If I had a larger space, I'd have worked to find a new home for the hutch, but there just wasn't a space and it wasn't worth trying to store. At the moment, this room is down to my new 7 piece desk/storage unit, the cedar chest, and the black baker's rack (visible in the 'before' picture). My goal is to eventually clear off and replace the baker's rack (which is about .25 inch too deep and keeps the closet door from opening as wide as I'd like), but it'll take a while to figure out how to make those changes. The cedar chest is probably staying put for the foreseeable future, and it looks like my old office chair will be staying as a window seat for Momo - at least for now. I still love that chair, but it needs some wood glue or something before it can be a human chair (our new flooring is slick enough it just slides apart under much weight/movement).

I do miss having my sewing machine inset in my work surface, so I'm looking at larger plates or possibly a surface I can set on top of the table top (I don't want to cut in to it), but all in all the space is significantly more functional and pleasant. I can't wait to get everything in the right place so I can concentrate on brightening things up a little more. The dark cherry tones of the new furniture does make the room feel darker than the old green hutch did, but I'm hoping that some art and hooking up another lamp or two will make up for that.


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Woah - I thought I shared this last week. I've been working on finishing up the space. I hope to have it fully in working order by mid-August. Things are slightly more organized now than they were, but not enough to be worth a real update until I'm done. I have moved the sewing machine to the center of the desk (shoving the two computers off to under the shelves) and am attempting to remember how to sew on a machine that sits up from the work surface instead of even with it... My shoulders are so sore - I'm really feeling the difference!