Friday, March 1, 2013

New Studio Space!!


Do you want to see the studio space I have recently "acquired"??? I love it! And the funny thing is, I didn't know how much I "needed" it until I got it all done....



Our oldest daughter got married back in June. Sad as we were to see her go... youngest daughter couldn't wait to get her hands on her older sister's old (bigger) room! We moved youngest daughter into that room.... what to do with the extra room which used to be youngest daughter's room? Expand the studio space, of course! (No brainer, right??)

Now, I will tell you a secret- for years now, I have kept most of the quilts I have made in big plastic containers in the basement, because there really wasn't another place to put them. I couldn't wait to have a room dedicated to storing and displaying all of my quilts! And also, I wanted more space for storing my bolts of fabric and for cutting fabric.

We decorated the room when my daughter was about 8 years old. It had yellow bead board and lilac wall paper. My daughter tried to talk me into painting, but I just didn't have the energy for that! I decided that the colors worked fine with my stuff- it's cheerful. Here is a photo of what it looked like when I was organizing all of my quilts.




In addition to the yellow bead board and lilac wall paper, the room also already had shelving all around (for displaying dolls). This, I discovered, was PRIME real estate for storing and displaying fat quarter bundles which are waiting to be purchased & go to their new homes, as well as many of my project samples:




I already had many of the furniture pieces in the room. The dresser is a vintage piece from my grandmother- great for storing all kinds of stuff. I had the rug, and the cedar chest. The cedar chest used to belong to oldest daughter, but it's not her style and she left it behind when she moved out. It is perfect for storing all of my wool and protecting it from moths:




 The cabinet was youngest daughter's and stayed in the room when she moved across the hall to a room with a much bigger closet (making her little armoire unnecessary.) Now I have some place to store all of those quilts that used to hide in the basement:





I did buy a couple of pieces of furniture for the room from Ikea. My favorite is this gate-leg table. You can have one side of the table up, or both, or neither, so it's really convenient. There are drawers on both sides for more storage. Plus, I think it's just really cute. It works out really well when I have lots of fabric to cut (like when I'm assembling bundle after bundle of fat quarters...)




I also got some shelves from Ikea so I have a convenient place to store my bolts of fabric, and other cute stuff:






A bonus of this room, which I didn't even realize until we got it all done, is that with 3 east and south facing windows, the light is great! So it makes a perfect little photography studio. And since I have managed to keep it pretty neat and clean so far, it also means that I don't find myself spending half an hour to find a clear surface so I can set up a photo.









Did I mention that I love my new space? I spend as much time in there as I can, because it is so bright and cheerful and uncluttered (my "main" studio space tends to get pretty messy....) Also, since my main studio is downstairs and the "annex" is upstairs, it has really increased the amount of exercise I get each day :)

To go on a "tour" of my downstairs studio, click here.

When it comes to a sewing room, studio, or other "hobby" area, what is the most important feature to you? Lighting? Storage space? Your surroundings- colorful & energizing or peaceful & inspirational? Being as close to (or as far away...) from the family as possible??

Thanks for "visiting" my new studio!

48 comments:

  1. OH congratulations on your new space! It is wonderfully bright and spacious - perfect for the creative spirit :*) Lighting is very important to me - probably #1. After that, I need space to have my tools handy but not tripping over them :*)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think that you don't realize how important light is until you get into a space with really great light and then it hits you- "Oh! This is what I was missing!"

      Delete
  2. That really looks wonderful and the color works so well with the colors you have in the quilts and critters.
    Has a nice clean and happy feel, now I need to clean my room, lol. I have three, one for sewing, one was for wool and hooking things and one office, but they seem to have gotten used for storage lately and a mess, so time to redo them.

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I work much better in a clean space- uncluttered space = uncluttered mind.

      Delete
  3. You had me at "New Studio Space"! Be still my heart. My sewing "space" is about 4' x 6' section in my family room. Hopefully someday I will have an entire room dedicated to sewing but until then I am content if not somewhat crowded. Takes a lot of innovative storage ideas to keep all my quilty stuff organized, lol, so I would definitely want more space! Question for you, do you use entire bolts of fabric? I know if I buy more than a couple of yards of any one print other than for borders or backing I'm at a loss for what to do with the rest. Love your room & so happy for you!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Gale! As a fabric designer, I get a bolt of every fabric in each of my lines. It gets used to make samples, for promotions like giveaways, cut up into fat quarters & kits, donated to charity, etc. If I was just making quilts for myself and for my family, no I probably would not use up a bolt of each!

      Delete
    2. I realized that after I typed it, lol, I had a "blonde" moment. I have some of your fabric, too, and love it!

      Delete
    3. Ha ha Gale- I have lots of "blonde" moments... unfortunately I'm not even blonde.... so I'll have to blame it on something else...

      Delete
  4. Your new sewing space is lovely Jacquelynne.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sigh. Can I come and just sit in there and look at all the beauty? :)
    Lovely, lovely space with so much light. Incredible! I know you will enjoy creating there!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it! I would have left it the yellow and purple also! I love the quilt with the big cherries, can you give me the name of the pattern?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Missy! The pattern is called "Grandma's Pantry" because it makes me think of the shelves of fruits and preserves that my grandmother would "put-up" every summer. The pattern is available here on my website (there is also a version with pears instead of cherries.) http://www.thenoblewife.com/item_154/Grandmas-Pantry.htm

      Delete
  7. I love your new space it's so fresh and pretty. I'm also working on my new space, you see we finally bought a house and I wanted plenty of guest rooms...just in case... So we are converting the mother in law house out back into a quilting cottage. We've been painting and redoing for the last 2 weeks and will hopefully be able to move some things in this weekend. You can read more about it on my blog when I get the pictures up. Anyway you have a lovely space. Enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh! a quilting cottage sounds fabulous! It will be your little "retreat"!

      Delete
  8. Beautiful new studio space. The most important for me is having a room dedicated for my sewing and other hobbies. When our kids were at home the room I used was also the guest room so I always had a bed in there. Now my daughters old room has become the guest room so I now have the room just for my use without a bed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the more space the better. I wouldn't want to share my space with guests, either, ha ha :)

      Delete
  9. I love your new space, how bright and cheery! You will make wonderful quilts in that room. You know another great thing about your kids getting married is. Money, you will actually have money, along with grandkids some day! Congrats!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Isn't that the best thing about getting older- our eyesight might start to go, but there is more time and money to pursue our passions :) (Oh yes, and of course, grand kids! I am willing to wait a few more years for those!)

      Delete
  10. Lighting..I'm a cellar dweller. Second is that I feel inspired so I need to see beautiful fabrics and pieces in the works when I'm in the studio. I have lots of open storage and curtain rods to hang my quilts all around me. Your new space is lovely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree that it is inspiring to see all of your fabrics and colors while you are creating!

      Delete
  11. I love love love the yellow walls!!! And the white furniture! Looks so fresh and cheery!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks Amy- I do LOVE the white furniture :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. What an awesome space...can I come and play?

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love you room! Thank you for sharing. I love having my own room, as well, (with a big window) but I can't invite anyone in. The room is crowded and cluttered but I know where everything is. The problem is having too much of everything! I love your posts and pictures you have shared on Facebook. I have something to share with you: The natural oil in cedar (cedar chests) will stain fabric so you should take care that your fabric you are storing in your chest is not touching the sides or bottom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Karen- I am glad you are enjoying the stuff I put on Facebook- I like to think of it as my "mini-blog"!

      Delete
  15. WHERE did you find that fold-able table. I need it!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Your room looks great. I boought the same gate leg table....my husband put wheels on it and it is perfect as a cutting table and all the scraps go in those, not so little, drawers that are on both sides of the table :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Julie could you post a picture of your table on the wheels? And tell me where you found the wheels? I have this table and wheels would make it so much easier to move. Thank you! Karen Nylec

      Delete
  17. I can't find that table on the Ikea website. Do you remember what it was called?

    ReplyDelete
  18. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70290223/

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have that same table and my husband put wheels on it making it easy to move around.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Great blog. This gate leg table is a modern version of what my maternal grandmother had (hers was round). It was very practical that housed house plants by the window until she needed it for company! They still have these available at Ikea - yay!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Nice! Could you tell me how the gate leg table has worked for you? Do you have any trouble with fabric catching or your scissors getting caught in the cracks?

    ReplyDelete
  22. Sorry. Didn't finish. I love you sewing room. Mine will be finished hopefully by April. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  23. Beautiful!!!! I went online to IKEA and found the table. It will be perfect for my cutting table. Is it sturdy enough to hold my Singer and Serger?

    ReplyDelete
  24. can you tell me the height on the ikea table--thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  25. where did you get your table? I've hunted everywhere............I could only find something similar but not drawer etc at a Joann Fabrics.
    thanks,
    Suzi

    ReplyDelete
  26. Can you give me the dimensions of the table please. I have a very small space at one end of my lounge/dining room (I live in a small unit in a retirement village so not much space). Also I have been unable to find out the price.
    Faye - Greensborough

    ReplyDelete
  27. I own one of those IKEA tables (white) but I don't let anyone near it to do projects on it unless I have something protecting the top. Usually it has a large green cutting board (Fiskars). We do electronics, 3D printing, crafts, etc. I am concerned it will get all nicked up (1 tiny nick so far). I originally bought for a kitchen table but if I had thought about it more I think I would have bought in natural in hopes it wouldn't show imperfections as the white will. I do think it is quite handy and love how it folds up. One thing surprised me though is that the drawers are wood rubbing wood and they don't have that easy close like IKEA is known for.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Your sewing room is bright and cheerful! Lovely and inspiring. I'm in the midst of redoing my quilting room, the painters have left & I've already moved my extensive fabric collection into the wall-2-wall closet & moving furniture about. For me, lighting is important but as important is organization, tidiness & color. My new room is cheerful blue & white, with white furniture (except for a treasured drop leaf desk). It's as much fun designing things sometimes as it is sewing in the finished space!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Love your sewing room,thanks for sharing. I have a sewing studio in a separate building & it still keeps migrating back into the house. thanks for displaying the ikea items that you have found useful

    ReplyDelete
  30. where do i get a table like that

    ReplyDelete
  31. I just found your post and I wanted to say that I wasn't sold on that IKEA table until I saw it in your studio!!!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails