I haven't, but I've been so tempted! My garage is currently set up as a hot glass studio from a previous business I operated out of my home. The only reason I haven't moved all my sewing stuff down there (so much room!) is because it's damp and buggy and drafty.

I'll be watching this thread for ideas.

As far as heating, can you buy a space heater? I used that and a fan depending on the temp outside to keep it bearable in the garage.

Didn't turn ours into a sewing room,but did turn it into a bedroom for our GS for a couple years.We added insulation,2 windows,dropped the ceiling,and put in a ceiling fan with light,dry walled it and of course painted it.Then we added carpeting,and wala,a nice cozy room.DGS is gone now,out on his own,so dh turned it into his computor/craft room.He builds and races those remote control cars.
By the way we did all the work ourselves,actually our son did the majority of it and we helped.We just paid one of DS's friends to put the carpet down for us.

Thank God i have very handy sons and thy have friends that know how or have the tools that they don't.We're very blessed in that respect.
Kathi

The floor would be where any dampness would enter. I have heard about sealers aiding that & to not use sheet vinyl because the flooring needs to breathe incase there is moisture below. Carpet & wood over concrete is ok as they breathe & I think porcelin or ceramic tiles breathe at the grout lines. You may have to use a dehumidifer depending upon the natural humidity of your area too. The other ideas of sealing the walls & ceiling apply. You may want to remove the garage doors & replace with windows & a walk through door if ther isn't one. That is where your bugs & draftiness come in. One of my garages is unceiled has the duck work for the heating & air in clear view. It could easily be tapped onto. Your's may be the same.

Thanks everybody. I have a kerosene space heater which is supposed to heat 500 sq ft, but it's not enough. Kathi, can I borrow your talented son and friends?. Joan you are right the garage door needs to go. Right now I am using a very heavy curtain.

When we did ours we didn't take the entire garage as i still needed my laundry room.So we put up a wall between the laundry room area and the garage,bedroom,complete with it;s own door.So we left the big garage door up,so we can enter these rooms either thru the house or thru the rollup garage door.

I was at a garage sale a few weeks ago,that was at the home of a quilter.She had had her garage converted to a sewing room,and i fell in love with her floor.She had had it sealed and painted so it looked like travertine tiles.It was beautiful.She also had had one of those cabinet companys come in and do cabinets aroud the perimeter of the garage.Then she had nice big tables set up,design walls etc.It was gorgeous.She had a 3 car garage and she had the 2 car part for her studio.How lucky huh???
Kathi

WOw, thats some workshop. My garage has a back door and the front has the rollup door.My main project right now is to work on my rollup door and stop the draft, since we are aproaching the cold weather. A cheap way to do it, I still have no idea.

We converted our garage, but not into a sewing room. The first thing we did was to take the rails and stuff for the roll up door down, and secured and sealed the door so it could not be opened or pushed in. We then calked all around it, put insulation over and around it, and built a wall with drywall. (But first ran electrical and phone lines so we could have outlets there). This way, the garage can be reclaimed, and from the outside, it looks just the same.
We insulated the attic, and ran two heating ducts. We had to build a little closet for the heater/ac unit as well as the hot water heater, but that was pretty easy. We did leave the washer and dryer as they were, so they are on one end of the room. We also installed additonal lighting, and put down vinyl for the floor. We bought inexpensive cabinets and put them up, as well as a counter. My husband did all this himself, except he had a friend help with the ducts, which also corresponded with changing our 20 year unit out with a newer one. He did it while working a full time plus job, with little assistance from me, as I was "great with child" at the time, and could barely walk, let alone lift anything.

I would want a smooth surface on the floor, for sweeping up thread, and so as not to snag fabric.

What a good idea temom, I sure did not think of sealing the door from inside. This is practical because its easy to change the room back to garage, just in case I decide to move.

I realize this blog is from 2006, but if anybody knows, don't you risk your sewing machines rusting and fabric being damaged in a garage that isn't insulated? I live south of Ventura, CA, but not necessarily affected directly by ocean weather, more inland.

I am majorly downsizing and losing my good size bedroom/quilting room-complete with design wall.

I am seriously thinking of taking 1/2 of the 2 car garage and making it a sewing room for my quilt making. The garage is a standard garage. I will use the other half for all our storage needs. I can't secure the roll up doors since I am thinking we will still use it for going in and out of the house.(with groceries).

I am thinking of putting down some sort of carpet for my little area. I have plenty of cabinets/shelves/plastic boxes for the material.. as well as TV, lamps, floor heater, fans, sewing tables - etc.

The "garage" will get a thorough cleaning before I set it up...Has anyone ever done this? We live in San Diego, CA
so weather is not a huge factor..