Building A Sewing Studio....Ideas Needed!

13 years ago

I am an avid quilter and sewer, and we are getting ready to build a log styled home. We are also trying to keep the square footage reasonable. We do not want a large home to maintain.

It is difficult to fit a large sewing room with adequate storage in the footprint. I can fit one, but it's too small. My sewing and cutting table opens up large, and then there is the ironing board, fabric storage........

We were going to add a loft, which I would love, but I do not like what a loft does to the rest of the house. There would be areas with a flat ceiling, which would be O.K. except this will be an all wood house (don't want any sheetrock), and I am fearful that even with lots of windows of an oppressive feeling.

Then there is the flip side with huge vaulted ceilings in part of the home, which I also do not care for. I like gentle vaults, but not 20 foot ones. I'm not sure the nice railing around the loft would make up for it. Lofts are also very expensive to build and climate control. Not to mention maintaing the structure as we continue to age.

My husband has been suggesting a seperate structure matching the house, but detatched so that our full wrap around porch would not be messed up. This style porch is important to us. (It would not be detatched by much. I would only have to cross an 8 foot wrap around porch before getting to it...sort of like a breezeway effect).

The problem is, I don't know if I would like not actually being in the house. However, it may also feel like a private retreat and be something I love about it. It could feel like my own little house. I just don't know!

Have any of you tried an "outbuilding" approach to your studio. If so, do you like it? How have you remedied having a great sewing space? I've never had a great space to sew in. It was either too small, or non existant and in the living room, depending on the house we had at the time. This is our last home, so I want to get it right this time.

Sandy

Comments (6)

lascatx
13 years ago
I like the idea. Consider whether it would be a shop only or whether you might put in a half bath, a coffee bar, a full bath and a sleeper sofa or day bed to make it a guest cottage as well. Maybe it could have a mini-loft and be a place for grnadchildren to sleep (have no idea of your age or family picture, but thought it was a fun idea). I would want windows and good lighting.
andee_gw
13 years ago
This is a great question and goes beyond just the sewing aspect. You might try posting on the Home Decorating forum. Although your question is not strictly about decorating (but you're going in that direction), they have a lot of experience and opinions on how to make a home more functional.
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oilpainter
13 years ago
Take it from a senior--stairs and old age do not fit comfortably together. I can see a point where a loft would seldom be used. As you are planning a house to fit you comfortably into old age I might also mention make your bathroom doorways full sized. If one of you ever has to use a walker or wheelchair they don't fit in standard bathroom doorways.

As for your separate quilting house that would depend on how you like things when you quilt. Do you like to be off on your own with no distractions or do you like to quilt yet still like to be in the hub of things. I think you have to analyze your work habits, then find a way that works for you.

Perhaps an extra bedroom with a fold down cutting table and a closet with shelves for fabrics, with extra shelves above your machines for quilting supplies is what will work for you
sheesh
13 years ago
Maybe your contractor can build in a cutting table, sort of like a Murphy bed. I have a built-in ironing board that I just love in my sewing room.

I don't think I would like having a separate quilting house as Hub and I talk down the hall with each other all day long, he from the living room while I am in my sewing room, which is a former bedroom. And now that we're older, like oilpainter says, we so appreciate not having to climb stairs anymore. If this is your last house, I suggest keeping it all on one floor, no matter what.

Sherry
birdtalker
13 years ago
I am about your age group and I like the idea of a separate building for sewing, but I would keep in mind that as you age you might want to move inside, so I would plan on one bedroom that could be switched with the sewing room later if you want to move in. So the outside room could be used as a guest cottage, as suggested. in the meantime, you could enjoy the luxury of such a set up. I was recuperating a couple of years ago and could not do other things so the sewing room being moved upstairs the year before was a boon. Previously it had been in the basement, and while I loved it, I would not have been able to enjoy it during my recuperation. (the reasons of all this is remodeling not going well, so I lost my basement sewing room temporarily but now have made it permanent.)But I made it so that I can move back to the basement sewing room, or my children can if they move into my house.
sandy808
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks for all of you who have taken the time to share your opinions with me. It means a great deal.

My husband and I are the owner/builders for this home, as we have no desire to deal with a builder. (We have the skills to do this). This also enables me to build exactly as I want, and to make changes as desired.

I've carefully weighed the outbuilding idea, but I can't really seem to get very enthused about it. I don't want to build something like that when I haven't got a true hankering for it, and then have it sit as an expensive guest area that seldom gets used but has to be maintained anyway.

I have always wanted a loft sewing room....for as long as I can remember. I am in my mid fifties now, and feel barring an accident or a huge unforseen health issue, I can't see where stairs are a problem. I feel some forced exercise is a good thing. We will be staying in this house hopefully for the rest of our lives, so maybe when I'm very old I won't be able to go up the stairs any more. By then I would probably not be able to see well enough to sew anyway. As for an unforseen surgery, (which has happened to me before), a sewing machine can always be set up in the living room. The master bedroom is planned for the main level, and all doorways will be 36" wide, so I am planning for some of the "what ifs"....

I want to finally be able to set up my sewing furniture, and not have to move things or put anything away because the space is needed for something else, or for a guest. Over the weekend we looked at a model log home with a loft looking out over the living room, and the vaults were not huge where the couch, etc. was. It depends on how the house is designed, which I was thrilled to see.

The other option is to try and fit a small main floor sewing room in which I can bump into the living room with my cutting table when needed. It would work, but I'm not enthusiastic about that either. That's what I had to do for years.

Not an easy decision, is it? However, an architect commented to me that if I would love a loft, then even getting just 20 years pleasure out of one is more than worth it.

Sandy