My crafted "Welcome" sign, just inside the door to my sewing room
Recently my husband and I decided to swap pieces of furniture. He wanted my workbench for his office/man cave, and I wanted two of his bookcase units for my sewing room. This trade precipitated a frenzy of reorganization for both of us. Over the weekend we sorted everything out, with my husband moving furniture, adding shelves, patching walls, and painting. Although the switch mainly involved the area around my cutting table (pictured below as "Before"), I "found" many things that had been tucked away since 2013, my tools are now more easily accessible, and I am very pleased with my new arrangement.
Before
After
I dream about having a bright, cheery room with gorgeous furniture like this one at Maple and Magnolia - love it! But I love all of my thrift and resale items and little trinkets, knick-knacks, photos, and linens I've inherited from my parents and Grandmothers. I try to mix useful things with things I love, and it works for me. This is my happy place!
The iPhone pictures aren't the best quality but here is the (photo-heavy) tour, with an explanation below each photo. (Click on any photo for a larger view.)
Entering from the hallway (my husband's office is on the opposite end of the hallway)
Looking straight ahead
Looking to the middle of the room
Looking to the left
Looking to the right, behind the door, to my big design board
The adjustable light and pegboard above the cutting table are two of my favorite things
Between the cutting table and door to the room - one of my "new" bookcases
Granny Mitchell's quilts
Crafty stuff
Cutting table/craft surface
My husband attached a shelf to hold my glue guns and Ranger craft dryer
In 2012 I spent $40 for a used kitchen table at Goodwill and purchased bed risers to elevate it to the correct height. My husband painted them white so they aren't as noticeable! Under-the-table bookshelf holds cutting mats, current projects, binders, and a hard case toolbox
I need to recover my craft stool, but in the meantime I've covered it with a doll quilt made by Granny Lawhorn when I was eight
This bookcase holds my tools, hammers, nails, and screws, as well as my light box and P-Touch, plugged in and ready to use
Looking over my left shoulder from the cutting table
My view from my sewing table
Beyond the waterfall and firepit is an arbor planted with star jasmine, 3 active bird feeders, a bird bath, and flower garden. An 8-foot fence surrounding our back yard and a heavily forested creek separating us from our back door neighbor provides privacy!
Nightstand left of my sewing table contains sewing box, collection of embroidery scissors, and sewing machine attachments. Above is an old spice shelf for my threads
The Lord's Prayer was embroidered for my Mother by her best friend
Wire rack for magazines and quilting books
Antique shelf with treasures
To the right of the magazine rack is a small design board
Bookcase for quilting, embroidery, and crochet books
Top of bookcase - a framed poem from my daughter and treasured family items
Guest bed and corner
Trinket shelves and closet
Closet contains fabric, batting, yarn, embroidery thread, and more crafting supplies
Beside the guest bed
Hats and gloves from Granny Mitchell and her wedding picture from the late 1800s.
My Mother's favorite print
Katy napping amidst the chaos - she thought this was going to be her bed
Wow, it was your turn to redecorate! It's looks lovely, I'm a tad envious of the view from the window. I really like how you've incorporated things you already had, as well as hanging up some of your mother's things. What a great space! The kitty picture made me chuckle, I have a small dog that tucks into random places and claims them as his own, too!
ReplyDeleteMelanie you inspired me! I love your space and enjoyed reading about your changes. Thanks for the compliments. :)
DeleteWhat a lovely sewing room. :) You've done a great job! Thank you for showing us your room.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Krisell! I'm glad you visited. :)
DeleteYour sewing room is absolutely delightful Linda! So much love in there! Every item treasured, no wonder it is your happy place! :) x
ReplyDeleteThank you Christine! I do love it in there. :)
DeleteGreat tour. I love that you have so many family treasures in your space. I'm quite smitten with your view too. You have a beautiful back yard. I have three windows that get great light. Two face the street and are great for keeping an eye on the neighbors and the third is filled with the view of a yellow painted Hardy Board gable. It's probably better for since I can get easily distracted. What is that under your sewing machine chair? Looks like a little dance floor. I am trying to get used to sewing over carpet but I miss the noise. Yesterday, I wandered all over the house looking for my iPhone only to find it beside my sewing chair. That's where I was when I started my hunt! I didn't hear it hit my carpeted floor. I hope Katy doesn't have too much trouble finding her new happy place.
ReplyDeleteThanks Gayle! I love what I've seen of your house and would enjoy sitting on your porch. :) LOL on the dance floor!! I forgot to identify that in my post. Since I hate those hard plastic chair mats, my husband bought plywood and added self-stick parquet tiles to make a smooth rolling surface for my chair. I had to chuckle about your iPhone - been there! Katy doesn't seem to like the rearrangement but I bet she'll come around. ;)
DeleteIts just wonderful and I love that your husband has his own 'man cave' too. It surprising how much more you can achieve when you are happy in your happy place. I run up to mine every spare 5 minutes I can to get a little stitching done. Its nice to be surrounded by memories.
ReplyDeleteThank you Dawn! I agree about getting more done in a happy place. :)
DeleteWow, Linda! This looks GREAT! I have been threatening to organize my office, particularly since it is at the front of the house right next to the powder room, but I just haven't had the enthusiasm. I also need help, and where am I going to get that? This is encouraging though, so maybe I'll start to plan.
ReplyDeleteAgain, I need to live down the street. You could feed me while I help you reorganize. ;)
DeleteI feel like I was just at your house hanging out. I love every bit of your sewing room. It seems to reflect you so personally. The windows and the light coming in are great. So.... questions. Hammers and did I see some hacksaws hanging on the peg board? What do you do with these? Second, do the threads fall off that cute spice shelf or did you rig it with some dowels? You are very creative and it shows in this space. I was admiring everything on your design boards. Right now mine has only one orphan block on it. :-(
ReplyDeleteI am feeling inspired to at least go clean my space up!!
Thanks Bernie! Yes I have a hacksaw. I have mostly used it to saw off the back of the little decorative knobs/drawer pulls once I screw them into a plaque. The little plaque at the top of this post has that kind of knobs, and I sawed off the excess so it would lay flat against the wall - hope that all makes sense! The spice rack has a little well inside each shelf. I think I'll do a post so you can see these things up close - lol! Btw, my little design board is empty right now - I only use it for my current project; my big design board is full, so I'll have to store those blocks somewhere else. I need a bigger room! :)
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