Old Sewing Space

If you are wondering what happened to me, I am happy to report that I am still alive! I am currently caught up in delightful adventures of packing up our house and moving. This coming Saturday is the D-Day and I can not wait until it is finally over. I am going to miss the old little house with it's character, quirky colors and sounds. Shaun has had this house for a few before we started dating and I moved in with him last summer. We weren't planning on moving for a while, but with the housing prices being quite favorable in Calgary right now we decided to take a plunge and move to something with room to grow. IMG_4743 When Shaun and I decided to take a plunge and move in together, we both were very clear about the need for the sewing space, be it a dedicated corner or a room. I was really lucky, in my old apartment my spare bedroom was my sewing room. I had all the space I needed and all my fabrics were stored in the extra closet in that room. Luckily Shaun's basement was developed, but it was not used or even decorated. It served as a storage for a lot of random things. A big truckload to the dump of random things to be exact. Upon the move I was allowed to do whatever I wanted with that space, with the caveat that I won't do any major changes to the décor in the living room for a couple more months. Shaun wanted to keep the air of bachelor pad for as long as he could I guess. Basement 4 First off, I decided to get rid of the "builder's beige" walls. I have always liked the look of exposed brick! So without any hesitation I decided on wallpapering two walls of the basement with this slightly textured gray brick wallpaper. I also wanted to play with the wall color on the rest of the walls, so I matched a shade of gray and soft cream white paint to shades in the wallpaper. The rest of the walls were painted gray and cream. My couch fit perfectly into the wallpaper corner! This created a cozy comfy nook for Shaun to hangout and play video games or watch TV while I sew. At first we weren't sure about this arrangement. Both of us like space and independence and we were worried that we would be too much into each other's business, but we actually loved it! It was a really cool way to spend time together while doing something we both love, even if those are two separate things. Basement The rest of the room became my sewing paradise! I kept all of my original furniture and it fit perfectly into this space. The room was rarely this clean though. These photos were done by professional photographer when we listed the house so unfortunately I had to spend some of my precious time cleaning this space... They say it helped to sell the house, go figure. But at least it looks great in the pictures and I can show it all to you! Basement2My little table where I keep my machines came off Kijiji. I bought it used and in a rough shape. I sanded it down and painted it. The chairs also were used. I repainted the legs to match the color of the table and re-upholstered the rest. They turned out great! Except the one on the other side of the table, it broke in the move and is on it's last legs (ha! Pun intended). I don't think it will survive the coming move. But that's okay, I already have an idea for another chair I want to re-upholster... In the red bookcase in the back I kept all my books, folded patterns and instruction booklets. The bookcase was also bought used, and I have painted it as well. As you can tell, I went on a little re-upholstery, furniture revamp spree a while back. It was great! Basement3 Now, my cutting table is my pride and joy! This baby is 36" high and 72" long. Plenty of room to cut and draft and do whatever. I wanted a table like this for a while and while on my furniture revamp spree I got a crazy idea that, hey, how hard is it to build a table?? Thankfully, I thought of enrolling my handy brother to help me build it. That's right, we build this table! I did all the research, drew pictures of what I wanted it to look like, calculated the measurements and sent it off to my brother for review. He pointed out a few things and agreed to help. So I got all my supplies, including these awesome pre-cut legs in 36" height, assembled my table top and waited for a weekend when we could put it together. Neither one of us is a certified woodworker, but I think we did great on this table! It is slightly wobbly when it is not against a wall, but overall it is great. And the legs are removable for easy transportation and moving! Although I am very pleased with the table, I have to say that the memories of building it with my brother and thinking about that every time I work at the table are way more important and pleasant to me than anything else! My big brother is the best. Basement5 And here is the view from my cutting table. You can see Becky, my mannequin, and a flower box which I utilize for pattern storage. It has been a great space! I have so many good memories of spending time there both with Shaun and on my own. I've learnt so many things and created so many garments. I've also market the carpet as my own with a couple wine stains... I am going to miss it. In the new house I won't have a dedicated space for a year or two. The house we bought is older and we are planning to slowly renovate it, starting with the master bathroom and bedroom. Then kitchen and the rest of the main floor. My sewing room falls into the rest of the floor. But eventually I will get a first floor office space as my sewing space! Until then I will use our formal dining room as semi-permanent space to sew. So if you ever come over for dinner be prepared to eat at the cutting table, but hey, I promise to clean up the thread and pins the best I can. Love, Anya
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