it all started with the ironing board (a sewing room redo)

Let me start off this post by saying that I feel so incredibly lucky to have my own sewing room. When we remodeled our basement and included it in the plans, I couldn't believe it! Having my own space where I can go make a big mess, then shut the door and know that the dogs won't eat things and kids won't step on pins has made me so much more productive. This was the space, in a corner of an open family room, before we remodeled: 



I love that blue, but what a mess!

And this was the space after:

 

neat and organized, but not as functional as I thought


When I picked the buttercream yellow paint for the room originally, I really don't know what I was thinking. The room doesn't have a window, so maybe I was hoping it would bring a sense of sunshine? Well, I never liked it. Everything clashed with it. Including my new ironing board cover from Target (at the beginning of this post) that Jenny told me me about after I fixed up the girls' bathroom. I had to have it, but it looked horrible in the room.

I started dreaming about new paint. And ways to keep Cooper from clearing off my bookshelves/dumping out boxes of snaps/etc. I made measurements and imagined all sorts of new layouts.

So last week I got to work. When Rob left for an overnight backbacking trip, I took advantage and made a trip of my own to Lowe's for a gallon of creamy vanilla paint, shelving, and two sets of coat hooks. In one 3-hour naptime (woo hoo!) I managed to move everything out of the room and do two coats of paint. That night I was able to install the shelving and start moving everything back in. By the time Rob arrived home the next afternoon, the room was finished. He inspected my work for safety's sake, and I was sewing again the next day.

It doesn't look this dingy in real life (remember, no windows!):

It's nothing fancy, but I love how it turned out. The best part of the room is that it's so much more functional. There is a ton more floor space, so Cooper or the girls can be in there playing (the other day Avery and Claire spread out and scrapbooked for hours) and I still have plenty of room to work. Eventually I'd like to make some floor pillows to make things cozy and a big detachable design wall for the wall next to my desk. But for now, it's just right.