Jun 29, 2014

My Sewing Studio: The Blue Hutch



After painting the walls and installing the flooring, next on the agenda was sprucing up a hutch I had picked up a few years ago in anticipation of having a dedicated sewing studio.  This hutch was sturdy, but definitely dated.  I actually liked the gold colored glass inserts in the cupboard doors, though, believing they would eventually play into my future color scheme.


It was so heavy I knew I would never get it upstairs in one piece, so I took it apart and went to work prepping for paint.


The cupboards were all decked out with this "lovely" contact paper!  I removed the contact paper and hardware, then sanded and primed everything.


I picked up a gallon of "oops" paint from the local hardware store.  It wasn't the aqua that I wanted, but I thought it would do.  The gentleman at the paint counter was kind enough to add a bit more tinting to try and get it more to my liking.  In the end, I went back to the hardware store and picked up another gallon of "oops" paint.  This time it was the aqua that I wanted.  Of course, I had already painted the whole hutch and wasn't too excited about painting it again (there was a lot of areas to paint!)  So, I figured I would continue with the rest of the projects in the room and then determine if my hutch would get a color change or not. 


I was lucky enough to find a roll of contact paper at a thrift store that fit into my new color scheme!  The little storage containers with drawers came from my previously organized office and fit perfectly.  I painted all the hardware with the Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.


I organized, and accessorized my hutch with a variety of thrifted jars, a basket, and vintage suitcases.  The jars were "recycled" from my aforementioned office space.  As luck would have it, I found one jar that was the same colored glass as the cupboard door inserts.  It sits in the middle of the jars.  The suitcases I already had on hand.  In fact, one of them was used to hold cards at my son and daughter-in-law's wedding reception.  The lower cupboards are filled with stacks of fabric.

In the end, my lack of motivation (hey, let's be honest!) to repaint the hutch won out, although I like to think it was a stroke of decorator's luck.  I ended up painting some of the furniture pieces blue, and some pieces aqua, and then interspersed them throughout the room.  I think it adds to the eclectic feel, keeping it from being too matchy matchy.

Total cost for this project:

Used Hutch.....$20.00
Gallon of "Oops" Paint.....$15.00
Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint....left over from the curtain rods
Thrifted Contact Paper.....$1.00

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Jun 26, 2014

My Sewing Studio: In The Beginning



My sewing studio's former life was a bedroom.  I had painted the ceiling and faux crown molding before my last child was born over ten years ago.  You can see that post here.  I still really liked the look and decided to keep it...minus the glow-in-the-dark stars.  I also decided to keep the DIY curtain rods (also seen in the faux crown molding post) that I had done probably 15 years ago...more on that in a bit.  What I didn't want to keep, though, was the carpet.  For one, its hard to roll a chair on.  And two, it had seen better days!  So with tools in hand, I ripped it out.


I found it was easiest to use a utility knife and cut the carpet into thirds.  I then removed a section at a time.  Once all the tack strips were out, staples were pulled or hammered flat, and baseboards removed, I swept the floor and was ready for the fun stuff!

The Flooring

At the time, my birthday was just around the corner and my husband decided that new laminate flooring would be the perfect gift.  I agreed!  I chose Pergo Highland Hickory from the Home Depot.  It came with the underlayment already attached, eliminating the extra step.  I spent about $300 (half the cost of the total room) to cover a 10x10, plus small closet.  It was a breeze to put down and the planks cut easily with a small skill saw.  My husband would have happily installed it for me, but he had a bum knee that kept him from kneeling.  He was great, though, at offering advice and being in charge of quality control!


Lovin' that handscraped texture!!

Once in place, I reattached the baseboards and put a transition piece (not shown) between the hallway carpet and the new flooring.


The Color Scheme and Curtains

 For quite some time I have really been drawn to the color aqua.  I knew I wanted it in my sewing studio, along with the color yellow, so bright and cheerful!  When my daughter, Kara, brought over some fabric she had bought to make a tote bag for a friend, I knew it would be a perfect starting point.  It had all the colors that I wanted.  So I ran down to JoAnn's and bought enough to make curtains.  Its kind of wild, but I love it!


The medium and dark blue colors matched the ceiling, plus there was aqua, yellow, and green...perfect!  I decided on yellow for the walls, and aqua for the furniture.  But, first lets talk about the curtain rod.

 

The rod is actually a wooden closet rod.  The finials are outdoor light sconces with the electrical parts removed, then turned on their sides.  The wooden rod fits into them perfectly.  I secured the finial to the rod by putting a screw through the decorative cut outs and into the wooden rod.  The curtain rings are cheap, clear shower curtain rings from the dollar store.  Everything was painted with Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint.  After hemming all four sides of the curtain panels, I stitched buttonholes along the top and attached the panels to the rings.


The middle of the curtain rod has the tip from the spout of an old watering can added for decoration.


Total cost for these projects:

Pergo Flooring.....$300.00 (birthday gift)
Installation.....My own "sweat equity"
Curtain Fabric.....$19.96 (3 1/3 yds. on sale)
Curtain Rods.....Free (recycled from previous room's decor)
2 Pkgs. Shower Rings.....$2.00
Oil Rubbed Bronze Spray Paint.....under $4.00 (although I already had it on hand)

So, that's a recap of the beginning stages with flooring, color scheme, and curtains.  Stay tuned for more details of the sewing studio...coming soon!

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Jun 24, 2014

My Sewing Studio!

I'm so excited to finally post about my sewing studio!  If you follow any of my posts, you may have seen glimpses of it in my refashioning "before" photos.  Now, after completing several DIY projects for my studio, I'm ready to show you the whole room!


My studio isn't huge (10 x 10), but its a space dedicated just to sewing so I can't complain.  I actually had my eye on a bigger bedroom with a bay window and walk-in closet, but we're not empty nesters yet, so I'm content with the space I have while I enjoy having our "nest" still occupied!


This room is filled with lots of DIY projects.  Stay tuned over the next several days as I dedicate an individual post to each of the projects.


With some savvy shopping, I was able to purchase the three main furniture pieces in my studio for a total of $60.00!!


I've been a seamstress for over 40 years and I've never had a whole room dedicated to just sewing.  It's so much fun and inspirational!


Stay tuned over the next several days for details on how I was able to turn a spare bedroom into my sewing studio, including new Pergo flooring, and all of the following DIY projects....


 ...for under $600!!
(FYI, the new Pergo flooring was half the budget, which means all the furniture, lighting, and accessories totaled less than $300!)

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