Sewing Room Makeover - Again! - Scrap Fabric Love

You may have already seen my before and after sewing room tour about 8 months ago.

During that, I completely overhauled my home office and sewing room space, which is all in the same room.

Well guess what? I’ve done it again! So this blog post is all about my new sewing room (well newly organized anyways!).

I’m lucky to have a rather large space and I’m able to keep my office area in one part of the room and my sewing area on the other side of the room.

But regardless of how much space there is, it always seems to shrink when you’re in the middle of projects.

With my overhaul last year, some of my best ideas were able to solve a whole host of problems. Still, there were just a few things that kept on nagging at me.

So, instead of just fixing those few things, I had the great idea to just makeover the whole room again. What can I say – that’s just my style!

I’ll show you what it looked like before, what I ended up doing, and why I think it’ll work better.

Hope you enjoy it and I hope it will help with your own sewing room ideas!

You can read my post below or scroll to the bottom for the video tour!

Home Office Area – Before

sewing room makeover - office space before — Scrap Fabric Love

One of the biggest challenges that was still bothering me was the sofa I’ve been using in the ‘office’ side of the room.

I don’t like sitting at an uncomfortable computer desk so I generally sat at this sofa to do the bulk of my computer work – on my laptop.

The problem is that I was only using one corner of the sofa and the rest was just taking up too much space. The other end would just end up being a catch-all spot for all sorts of things (quilts, fabric, papers, etc).

Additionally, when I baste quilts, I lay them out on the floor and the couch was always in the way.

So, I decided to sell the sofa (on Gumtree – kind of like Craig’s List in the states) and someone came and picked it up so that I could find something that fits the space a bit better.

Home Office Space – After

sewing room makeover - office space after — Scrap Fabric Love

The main change to my office area was the couch. And I definitely think I upgraded!

I decided on this lovely hot pink chair.

Not only does it take up significantly less space but it also helps brighten up the room which was feeling a bit dark to me.

It also gives me that extra bit of floor space for when I’m basting my quilts. The perfect solution!

I still have my printer, office supplies, and filing cabinet in pretty much the same places I moved them to 8 months ago.

The other major change to my office space is over by the window.

Since my (other) work involves me having stock that I need to store, this had become just a bunch of boxes piled up and cluttering the room.

I was lucky to find the huge storage bench to be able to store all of those items (Gumtree again! Secondhand rocks!).

It also is a much nicer space to enjoy the natural light coming through without boxes blocking it!

On top of that, I was able to fit ALL my quilt batting in there too!

The person selling these actually had two, so my son got a rather large chest in his room too!

Sewing Room Before

sewing room makeover - sewing space before — Scrap Fabric Love

The photo above is it in its neat state – but go ahead and watch the video below to see what it descended into!

Things that just weren’t working in my sewing station include:

Not keeping it tidy (I always seem to think a room makeover will make me tidier…)
Too dark (insead of just changing the paint colors I opted for adding white furniture and bright colors wherever I could)
Storage space not right for my sewing supplies
Not enough hidden storage
Still storing things in the bottom of the dresser that were not craft supplies or sewing supplies (like my mother’s old China!)

I was using a rather large dresser for organizing and storing all of my supplies. This just wasn’t working the way I wanted it to.

Things were difficult to find. The tidy stacks of colored fabric would get disorganized and untidy quickly.

Sewing Space After

The most dramatic change was moving the dresser out of the room completely.

Then, I decided to get these Billy bookcases from Ikea. I built them completely myself in one evening so I’m proof that it can be done!

I decided I wanted more spaces for WIPs (current projects I’m working on) and to divide things into smaller buckets and smaller spaces to find things more easily.

I have the fabric folded by color which is how I had it in the dresser as well. I may end up folding it differently since I have more and wider space now. I do love how the beautiful fabric looks displayed on the open shelves though – much prettier with the white shelves as a backdrop.

UPDATE – Since this post, I have changed how I fold and store my fabric somewhat so you might also want to check out this post: 14 Fun & Pretty Fabric Storage Ideas

The issue with having it in the dresser was when I pulled the fabric out to try, I would shove it back into the spot it came from.

So I got myself a basket. Any fabric that I pull out but don’t decide to use, I’ll put in the basket instead of just shoving it back in it’s colour area. Then once the basket is full, I can fold them and put them back correctly (note: a couple months on this is actually working!).

Horn Sewing Cabinet

At the time I filmed my sewing room makeover video I was still using an old kitchen table as my sewing table – but I have since upgraded to a Horn Quilter’s Dream Sewing Cabinet. I love it!

My beloved sewing machine can operate as a flatbed, be raised up so I can use the free arm, or be lowered into the table/cabinet so I can pop on the insert and use the top as a cutting table or ironing board (by adding a cutting mat or wool pressing mat on top of course!)

Sewing Room Storage Solutions

Some of my favorite sewing space storage ideas include:

Placing a piece of pretty wallpaper in the front of clear bins to add to the aesthetic.
Making “magazine files” from cereal boxes to store quilt patterns, sewing books & magazines, etc.
Labeling using regular printer paper, scissors, and clear packing tape. No label maker needed!
Organizing WIPs and materials in smaller containers and buckets so I don’t shove multiple things into one drawer or one storage box.
Having a sideboard that divides my sewing and work areas
Having a small basket with my most used notions within easy reach sitting on top of the sideboard to the left of my sewing chair.

Sewing Room Makeover Shelves

These bookcases offer up so much storage space. I’ve been able to have separate shelves for different fabrics – fleece, linen, old duvet covers.

There’s also space for my extra sewing machine, current and new projects, clothing I need to mend, my boys’ quilt projects they are working on, and more.

It is worth a trip to the container store (or a rummage around a thrift shop) to find lots of smaller storage boxes or buckets so that you can make the most of any shelves you do have.

Design Wall – A later edition to the space

quilt design wall tutorial — Photo: Scrap Fabric Love

I little while after filming the video below I also made my own quilt design wall which now sits on the back wall behind my sewing table. You can read about how I made my quilt design wall here.

How to Make a Quilt Design Wall (It worked!)

Finished Sewing Room Makeover

Here are a few photos of the entire room after I finished! (But before adding the Horn craft table and the DIY Design wall!)

Video Tour of My Sewing Room Makeover

Want a tour of the whole room? Check out the Video here:

I hope this little tour of my sewing studio and work space will help you with your own sewing room makeover ideas or indeed ideas for any creative space you might need to organize!

I’d love to hear what works and what doesn’t work for you. What are your favorite craft room ideas?