I didn’t do much remodeling in my new Sewing Studio…(YES, I’m going to call it a Sewing Studio because it’s ALL GROWN UP NOW…) in fact, the only remodeling in there were the walls being fixed with pieces of paneling over the 2 holes in the walls where windows used to be, and the new trim that my hubby put up along the ceiling… Other than that, it was mostly “cosmetic” stuff that got changed around… a new ironing board cover, a new mini blind for a window, 3 new pieces of furniture, and a few decorative boxes. I purged and got rid of tubs and containers and storage units and now I have it just about where I want it….although it didn’t take long for me and Cindy to get on the subject of my room… She had been saving pictures of things she had seen on her ipad and tonight we had a little “picture looking session.” There are lots of pretty sewing rooms and studios out there and I thought I’d share a few of the pretty ones with you…
Talk about a pretty sewing area…
I LOVE the door that’s used for the cutting table in this next blog….
This next link has 23 Sewing Studios “you’ll be jealous of…” or so they say…
Well, I don’t want to wear you out… so I’ll just do those few links…
Cindy asked me lots of questions about what I had to work with for decorating… any vintage dresses my size, any old globes, any collections of old patterns, any old books, any toy sewing machines, any, any, any??? Most of my answers were “No…” but we’re still going to do something in there… I’ll keep you posted.
Oh, and thanks for all the chatter on the post yesterday… I haven’t even tallied up the votes to see which button was the winner for Rebecca’s new Civil War dress to come… but there’s time for that…as it’s not even cut out yet…
I’m heading to bed so I’m fresh for “creating with Cindy” tomorrow.
Have a great Friday… I’m planning to…
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
I’d be afraid to breathe in some of those rooms, lest something become disordered. Still, there’s a lot of inspiration there. I did really like the table you pointed out. Of course, I have always loved doors like that, so any excuse to have one would work for me.
I am beginning to wonder about painting all of the bookcases white to go with the new cabinets and the white on the stenciled cabinet. Laurel Robertson of Laurel’s Kitchen lines her bookshelves with colored construction paper. Contact paper? Paint of a contrasting color — maybe blue, to go with the stenciled cabinet? What’s your favorite color?
I liked the black basket — I also liked the natural colored ones. If you had or found one in not quite good enough shape and had a use for it, painting is an idea. My whole family likes baskets. I hadn’t thought of adding a plant or two.
I liked the spools of thread on the pegboards.
I liked the embroidery hoops used as frames.
When we were working on the orphans book, Nikki bought inexpensive black frames and framed black and white photos or reproductions of paintings of all of our subjects and hung them, neatly spaced, around the top of her office to remind herself of what was done and what needed to be done. What about a grouping of frames with some of your favorite photos of your doll clothes? Enlarged color xeroxes would work. You could change them by theme or season, the same way you show us a series.
Those links were inspirational.
HI Marilyn,
I know what you mean by some of those rooms looking so perfect, you’d hate to drop a piece of thread on the floor! Some of them were a little too perfect for me, but still it was fun to look at them and see how they had decorated their walls… how they had their rooms set up and what color scheme did they use.
I may eventually paint the oak cabinet and maybe even my bookshelf holding my fabric, but I’m ready to get back to sewing doll clothes so that can wait for now, but I do think it would make a very pretty room with all the furniture the same color. :o)
Cindy has been thinking about frames on the walls, but we’re working on the cutting table next I think… My hubby picked up another light for the ceiling and conduit to hide the wires in…
I’m getting pretty excited to see what becomes of my room with just a few more changes…
Thanks for all your sweet comments Marilyn. I’m glad you enjoyed the links…
Blessings, Jeanne
I couldn’t get “Sewing Studio Inspiration” to download, but “I Always Pick the Thimble” was wonderful. I read every one of the Comments (whew). One of the best suggestions was to have the tag end of the fabric exposed when placing pieces on the shelves so that fading occurs on that small end and not someplace in the middle of the piece. That site also mentioned that the crates are unfinished with no paint or stain to bleed into the fabric. It makes any other finish unnecessary.
The old door covered with glass or plastic is great. It could be hinged to the wall so it could be lifted up to get to the drawers, extending out from one of the dressers and fit right in. I like Marilyn’s suggestion of framing some of your favorite photos, maybe in white frames, which would be useful when you have visitors so they can see what you create. Thanks for the Links.
HI Susette,
I guess that is a good suggestion to have the selvage end of the fabric exposed as opposed to the middle crease, but I’m not sure it would look as well. I guess the trick it to USE UP your fabrics quickly so you can BUY MORE!
I really liked that glass door as a cutting table too…that was probably my favorite thing in all the posts…
Cindy suggested something similar to the pictures of my dresses… having my Barbie clothes that I made when I was little put in a shadow box or a series of shadow boxes…
I guess we’ll see what transpires…
Thanks Susette,
I’m glad you enjoyed the links…
Blessings, Jeanne
I think I have most of the items Cindy suggested for decorating! Now if I had a dedicated room for all of it. Must finish moving the dolls into their new condo, then work on the sewing “collection.”
HI Joy,
Your comments made me laugh… I’m hoping you get your moving and organizing and sorting and purging finished quickly. It does take time but it’s so worth it! My clean out was LONG overdue… :o)
Blessings, Jeanne
Thanks for sharing the great links, Jeanne. You always show us something interesting. There sure are some pretty and functional sewing rooms/studios out there! Every photo sparks an idea. What I took away was that the organization of each room is perfect for the owner, as your room will be perfect for you.
Random thoughts from all the pretty pix:
*I LOVE the darling little blue cabinet on the wall in the Heather Bailey Sewing Studio. It reminded me a little bit of your blue stenciled cabinet. It might be fun to have a little piece like that on the wall somewhere. Wouldn’t it be fun if it was a painted doll cabinet?
*I, too, like the embroidery hoops of fabric that several rooms used. My favorite ones were from Girl Inspired. It would be a simple decorating idea, and would add some color and pattern to the room. It would be easy to add some trim around the hoop, too. The fabrics could also be changed out easily if they faded, or for the seasons, holidays, themes, new inspirations, etc. Similarly, I liked the colorful mini quilts on the wall in the Bonnie & Camille quilting studio.
*Speaking of color, the reds and aquas of the Tasha Horsley Studio are very eye-catching. It definitely created a Mary Engelbreit vibe. In fact, I think I spy three little ME figurines on the hutch in one photo! I love ME, and even more so because I have a 10″ ME Ann Estelle doll who plays with my Tonner Patsy. ME designs always make me happy!
*The “Steaming HOT” ironing board cover in the Emma from Ballarat Patchwork Studio is too cute! I also like the bright blue chair in that studio. What a great way to inject a pop of color!
*I thought the small, tiered rolling cart from Tilly and the Buttons Studio was a functional piece. It can hold tools and notions wherever you happen to be working, and so much the better that it is in a bright aqua blue! Another project for you and Cindy, perhaps?
*The glass-top, French door island from I Always Pick the Thimble is indeed a beautiful piece! I have a similar, narrower table that is used as a console for the sunroom, but we always use small felts on the bottom of lamps and nicknacks to protect the glass (and our wood furniture pieces, too). I cringe at the thought of a pair of cutting shears on the glass top, but if you read the comments section, the owner uses a plastic mat on top of the glass to protect it from scratches.
*Many of the designers like to display their fabrics for inspiration, but admit that fading is a concern. Someone talked about a drop-down cover over the shelf to protect the fabric, but I think a pretty tab-top or sheared-on-the-rod curtain would be lovely to keep the exposed folded edges from fading with normal daylight. You could add a pretty curtain to your bookshelves, Jeanne, though your shelving unit is tucked back in the corner.
*At least one studio had a complete office set-up in addition to the sewing center, and another had a kitchenette. Wouldn’t THAT be a luxury?!
*Many studios had large bulletin boards or memo boards. As mentioned before, I think that is a must for you, Jeanne. Maybe Cindy could help you paint an interesting frame in a shabby chic style? I think I also saw a wire bed frame on the wall in one studio. As a nod to your chicken coop, perhaps you could do a framed chicken wire board, using decorative wooden clothes pins for the memos?
*Storage is key for any room, and a majority of the studios use jars, tins, wire bins, baskets, etc. I really like the the jars to display buttons and other colorful items, and like Marilyn, I’ve never met a basket I didn’t like! I am fortunate to have a few Longaberger baskets with pretty liners that I use everywhere around the house. Baskets would be a good idea for you, Jeanne, as well as decorative boxes that look like mini suitcases.
*A couple of plants in pretty pots or containers would add color and life to the room.
I’m sure your readers will have some good suggestions for tweaking your space, Jeanne, and I know your sister will have some ideas that are simply inspired! We’re all a little “jelly” of your beautiful new sewing studio, but mostly we are very, very happy for you! I hope you and Cindy are having a lot of fun visiting and putting finishing touches on your new room. We’ll be here waiting for the latest picture updates!
Thanks for all your thoughts on the links about the sewing studios…There was a lot to look at wasn’t there! I was inspired to possibly cover my sewing chair… why should I just have a black chair when it could be colorful and pretty?
It’s fun to just look at all the different way people have decorated their sewing spaces… You can lost in looking at the pictures. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
We were looking for vintage suitcases today as we did a little antique shopping…and we saw plenty of frames with chicken wire in them to use as memo boards!
Thank you for all the things you observed and pointed out. It’s fun to see what you liked in all the pictures…
Blessings, Jeanne