I've been working in the office today, clearing out the big double closet and imagining what might go inside. I have so many ideas for how I want the room to be, I thought I might write about some of them here.
I have a vision of yellow walls with a blue carpet, and maybe some blue echoed in a border around the tops of the walls, or some stenciling. Red accents, too. Primary colors really work for me, keep me content and keep me focused.
The main fabric collection will be stored on open white shelving that we already have -- cotton calicos sorted by color. I'll have to check where and when the sun comes in to be sure they don't fade; otherwise some sort of curtain will be in order, or else I'll store the fabric behind the closed closet doors. The various other fabric collections can be stored in labeled, stacked bins. I saw an idea in a magazine for organizing larger scraps by color in shoeboxes, and using the fabric scraps on the outside of the shoeboxes to indicate the color of the scraps inside -- that could be fun. I think I will stop keeping the tinier scraps, or keep them in a special wastebasket for a while in case K wants to play with them.
This is really getting far out now, but I'm thinking that we might want to put a loft bed in the room for two reasons: 1) for extra sleeping space, i.e. guest quarters, and 2) to give K a place to play where she can be out of my way. I could put the sewing desk underneath the bed (maybe a double?) and use full-spectrum lighting with it. There would also be room for storage and maybe an extra seat.
The cutting table is really important to me. It needs to be really big and high enough to use comfortably. The height will not be a problem if we go with an Ikea table; they have easily adjustable legs; but I'm not sure if they make a table top big enough for my cutting mat. It might be possible to put two table tops together to make one big enough, but that would be using a lot of space. A custom cutting table might be a better choice.
I'm thinking that to save space we'll hang the ironing board on the back of the door. I can always take it out and set it up when I need to work with it. Alternatively, if we used an extra-large surface for a cutting table, the excess could be turned into an ironing surface without much trouble.
This is getting exciting; the more I write about it the more motivated I'm becoming to excavate the remains of the office and start moving in.
Ah, this all sounds wonderful. The only comments I would make are (1) watch out for the blue carpeting...I have seen cases where it's "too" blue and just ends up looking weird. But I like the color scheme in general - especially for a crafts/sewing room; (2) you are correct about the Ikea tables - we tried to double them up in our conference room at work, and they are too big with two of them (and not big enough with one - a conundrum, I realize); (3) loft beds, IMHO, are always a good idea. Adults like them because they're quick and easy, and kids like them because...well, they're just fun, aren't they?
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