New Sewing Studio!

The past few weeks have been super busy around our home! We've had a few inspection/ maintenance work appointments, our new couches will be here soon, and the floor in my studio was just finished!

When we were house hunting, my main priority was finding a home with a dedicated sewing space ( I know, I know, priorities! haha). We saw a lot of houses that offered an extra room, but to be honest, the idea of having my sewing studio in a "spare bedroom" was less than desirable. I really wanted an attic space, where I could go upstairs and shut out the rest of the house and just work. Being away from the rest of the house would allow me to not look out the door and see the cleaning I had to do, or remind me to do all the laundry.

Working from home (as I talked about before) can be really daunting and overwhelming. I wanted a place I could completely transform, and an attic fit the bill. We were extremely fortunate to win the house we did, but I felt even luckier because the attic was already finished!

When we moved in, the attic was split into two, a wall down the middle, with a spare bedroom on one side and a small office space on the other. The very first thing I wanted to do was tear down the wall. And the second thing was rip up the hideous carpet.

Drew didn't want to tear down the wall. He was super against it and was afraid we would lose value in the house. We "compromised" by agreeing to cut an arch in the wall, so the small closet would remain. THANKFULLY, the contractor was on my side about tearing it down completely, and Drew finally came to his senses.

During the home inspection, we saw that there was decent flooring under the carpet, so we thought it would be a quick staining and finishing and we would be good to go! Well, we now know why the previous owners put down carpet. The floor was painted different colors.

After realizing this project was going to need a lot more time and money than initially planned, I started getting really frustrated that my space just wasn't ready. We decided to paint the floor, and set out researching how to DIY it, since it seemed quick and inexpensive.

After a lot of hemming and hawing, and researching paint and not finding the right color, Drew and I decided to get the floor refinished- this way we would be keeping the original floor, and it would add value back to the house.

However, the floor had a lot of problems. Not only was the paint an issue, but there were many holes and a whole section with patches of different wood. The quote we got to refinish was high, and it was suggested we get prefabricated flooring to cover it up, since there was no guarantee the paint would be able to be sanded off. We decided to do the prefab floor and went with oak flooring in an espresso stain.

And last week, my floor was finally finished and I could start moving upstairs! Here's Before, During and After!

I've been looking up studio inspiration on pinterest for months before we found a house - and after we were in contract on this house, I went all out with research, so I wanted to share some of my studio inspiration!  A lot of my current furniture won't fit, so there isn't too much I can bring upstairs yet. I'm planning on an Ikea trip in the next few weeks (and hopefully a stop at the Container Store!) so I'm making my shopping list now!

Here's a few more views of my space!

Since it's an attic, the walls are slanted, and there's a lot of unusable space with low ceilings, so my research is a little specific, but there's still a lot of inspiration for any sewing space! It's also a good thing I'm short because I can still make use of the smaller spots!

First things first. I have never had a work table, and my ironing board has always worked overtime as my general work space and ironing station. For the first time ever, I want a dedicated desk where I can pin and plan and make piles that would usually be on my ironing surface!

This is technically a kitchen island, but it's the perfect height for a shorty like me, more affordable than traditional craft tables, and is big enough for projects without overwhelming the space!  I've been learning to think outside the box for researching craft room ideas and looking at kitchen islands opened up another world of options! I also wanted room for stools to sit when they aren't in use, and this will allow me to store them underneath.

I don't have a traditional closet, so no room to hang anything on doors, and no hidden shelving, but this shelving from Ikea is ideal for the space! I have a few hidden storage doors where I plan on holding a lot of my fabric, but these shelves can hold trinkets, and my pretty, displayable fabrics!

I also like the idea of floating shelves, for buttons, hardware and baskets filled with all those little sewing notions we can't live without. The wall space I have isn't very high, but I'll still have room for 3-4 shelves. These from etsy would go with my space beautifully.

I am able to use my current sewing desks, but I need a space for shipping. I mostly use poly mailers and tissue paper, so flat storage is important. I'm looking at these set-ups for inspo:

I love all the pegboard looks, but I don't have too much wall space for them! Something longer and shorter would fit on my wall. I love the idea of scissors and marking tools in easy to reach places!

Half of the room doesn't have much usable space, with the low ceiling, but there is a little bit of room for a reading nook! I can't fit a full size chair, but some floor poufs and pillows would still make a cozy space. I need this corner to have easy to move pieces so I can still get in and out of the small door in the wall.

I'm also trying to control my color palette. I have a lot of white, brown and black pieces, but the big pop of color that keeps coming up is green. I've been trying to keep those colors in mind when shopping for things like rugs, pillows for my nook and fabric baskets for my accessories. I really want to maintain a "clean look" but still leave my space open for my love of color, so it's just another aspect to keep in mind. Ultimately, I don't want it to look like a jumble of mismatched pieces, which is my normal look!

Planning is definitely more specific for my space, but I love being able to take inspiration and make it smaller! Any tips for perfecting my sewing room?