sewing room/cabinet redo

Some before & after pics of my "sewing room" (sunroom/computer room/christmas tree room/off-limits-to-kids-but-they-still-go-in-there-room/whatever else we can use it for room)

And let me preface this by saying...it's still not "perfect," but it's a lot better than it was!!!  I think I'm going to have to wait till a kid moves out, or we move into a different house, for my sewing room to be the way I want it - all to myself.  ;)  BUT...I'm still happy with my new and improved space!  

Before: A Ghastly Mess

Fabric - oh my goodness.  How did I deal with this?  All stored in baskets, overflowing...some still in bags...burying my little side-table.  I'm getting stressed just looking at it!

The view from my chair.  Oh, joy.

And then I look to my right...there's all my other sewing stuff.  Thread, scissors, pins, etc.  On the radiator, next to the clock that doesn't work.  Marvelous!  It looked really nice from the road, too!

 

More radiator storage.  That looks like some scrapbooking stuff...hmm, a stapler...maybe some jewelry stuff?

Yoy and double yoy.  Do you like my Tinkertoy ribbon spool-holding contraptions, though?  I thought that was pretty clever!

We find a million uses for all the USPS mailing boxes left over from the ebay business...here we have some more scrapbooking stuff.  

SO, as you can see, we had a problem.  Then one day, Mr. H., in all his resourceful brilliance (and I am NOT saying that sarcastically, I really mean it!) said, "hey, what about that red cabinet that your parents gave us that's been in the basement forever?"  Hmmm, the red cabinet...that thing was in my parents' house when I was my kids' age...let me think on it....that could be a good idea!

Just a couple pics...the first one was in its original state, with about 6 years worth of dust on it

The cabinet was stained red - that 80's colonial red color - such nostalgia!  But it all had to go.

First, I did the inside in my all-time favorite off-white color, from Wal-mart of all places!  It's Color Place "Antique Lace" and it is the most delicious latte-foam creamy off-white I have ever found.  It's in my kitchen, soon to be in my sunroom, and on various accents throughout the house.  I love, love, love it. 

Then I did the outside in Color Place "India Ink" - and I used the enamel finish because I wanted the glossiest black possible.  I definitely should have primed it first, though, because it took 3 or 4 coats.  Oh well.  OH and also, the lighting in our basement is like, a light bulb, which I swear makes it seem even darker down there than if the light was just off.  I used a flashlight the whole time I painted this. It was such a pain, and when I got the cabinet upstairs I saw some fairly minor areas that were in need of a touch-up.  But at that point I just wanted to get it in the room, so the touch-ups will have to wait! 

So here it is in all its glory...I forgot to take pics of it just by itself...oh well!

I'm loving the new hardware!  We had some drawer pulls left over from something else, so it was nice that I didn't have to spend any money on that...I also love the combo of black and cream...mmm, yummy...the fabric on top is just waiting for baskets.  At the moment every basket in my house is spoken for so I'm keeping an eye out for a good sale somewhere.

Here is how my whole sewing room has been affected (yeah!)...

scrapbook paper storage

fabric in drawers - ahhh.  feels good.

misc crafty stuff - still not ideal, but better.  What's that plastic fork doing on the floor?

so much better!

You may notice that there is no TABLE on which to sew...we got rid of the big chest that was in there, it was killing my back anyway.   So for now I just take my machine out to the kitchen table, but I'm definitely in the market for a table or desk to live in my sewing room permanently.  Small price to pay for now, though, dragging it out to the kitchen.  The only thing I don't like is having to clean everything up when I'm done!

Oh, and pay no attention to the color of my walls or the upholstery on that chair...they are in for a change pretty soon too.  ;)