My basement sewing area: in progress, part 4

7:43:00 AM

Checking in today with another progress report on the seemingly never-ending basement redo/reno/waterproofing/lipstick-on-a-pig project that is my sewing space.

I'm not sure whether I'm ruining the effect by periodically sharing my progress or not - but it allows me to sit and tally what I've actually managed to accomplish while two littles are napping or down for the count at night - and that makes me feel a bit better about how long all of this is taking.

(it also lets me total in my head how little I've managed to spend on this whole thing and that makes me feel like giving myself a pat on the back...)

If you haven't read what I've been up to with this sewing space redo, you can read all of the back story posts {here}.

When I last left you, I was finishing up painting windows and trim.

Since then I managed to paint my second IKEA INGO table hack (for my Janome 6500*) to match the table I hacked a few years back for my Singer 201.


(here's the Janome 6500* table just after I cut the hole in the top this summer, waiting for sealing)


My mom and I had picked out this crazy watermelon pink years back for the 201 INGO table, and so while I was leaning toward painting everything white, she convinced me we needed more color in the room (since all of my bookcases and other tables are all white) so off we went to pick up some matching watermelon pink paint.
IKEA INGO dining room table hack - sink a sewing machine into the table. She's painted the bases a bright pink with just a Behr sample sized jar, way cheaper than buying a whole quart.
Dear oh dear, please forgive the absolute chaos in the room and concentrate on the pink. Please.



Sew at Home Mummy Tip:
If you're planning on painting the bottom frame and legs of an INGO table, just buy a sample-sized jar of paint - it's more than enough. It'll cost you about $3 vs $10+ for a quart and you can get it in almost all finishes.
Here I used Behr's Marquee paint in semi-gloss finish.


I sorta feel like I have to defend my choice in paint color here. Not sure why. Maybe because it's, well, pink? Typically I'm more of a blue and green and everything in-between those two colors type'a person, but good ol'mum. She convinces me every day to be more fun. Okay. Rubber arm twisted.

The other sub-project accomplished in the last day (and a relatively big one) was my homemade Roman shades - all made by moi, from a Lotta Jansdotter print on canvas and lined with a heavy black-out lining for more insulation. I'll take some close-ups later, once the room is more organized, but instead of using traditional pull ends on the cords I used vintage wooden spools a friend had given me.
Roman shade DIY blinds for a sewing space - Lotta Jansdotter fabric - and she used vintage wooden thread spools as the cord pulls!
Vintage wooden spools for cord pulls
I have to say, making these shades was pretty time consuming - or maybe it felt that way because I was working on them every night when the kids went to bed and for the fact I had to make 5 of them?

There's been a few other smaller projects I've completed over the weekend - I mounted the pipe for my DIY ceiling fixture in the space above my tables (not an easy task to do by yourself, FYI...) - once it's done and my "I'm just winging it" DIY has actually worked I'll post how I did it, but by my math I think I'll be about $50 all in for 3 custom light fixtures.

I treated myself and picked up this circle shelf* from Target* over the weekend and got it up on the wall.

I also started decorating the wall with some cute 1" shimmery gold circle vinyl stickers from Etsy. I'm only about half-way through doing that in this picture:
circle shelf for sewing area in gold. like the custom Roman shades with the wooden spool pulls. good idea for hanging lights over my sewing table.

Now to finish off my light fixtures and get them wired, and to get my bookcases in and fabric put away.

I'm also thinking I might make a shallow cubby shelf for one of the walls, to store fat quarters in - something like this one from Target* that I see on all of the Pinterest boards:


...but on a slightly larger scale.
Speaking of Pinterest - I am a total Pinterest addict - it's great for inspiration for everything - food, DIY, decorating, hacks, you name it. I'm constantly adding great ideas I find from all over the internet - even in the midst of this project I'm busy adding ideas I can use in the sewing space -


I can't wait to start putting stuff away and getting things organized and cleaned up. I have some plans for the decorating phase of the reno but that comes at the very end - it's like the icing on the cake.

Right now, I'd just love it if I could find my rotary cutters. To be continued...

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4 comments

  1. My sister-in-law makes roman shades and she has said before that they're time consuming. I can only imagine how long it takes when you're making 5! Your space is really looking great!

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  2. I love the pink and I would love to have a table I could drop my machine into. Looking good so far!

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  3. I've been enjoying your DIY projects around your house. I am so impressed with everything that you have done! GREAT Job and thank you for sharing! :)

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