Transforming a Room with Organization and Creativity

From ladiesagainstfeminism.com

Homemaking and Other Practical Topics
Transforming a Room with Organization and Creativity
By Mrs. Aiden Humphrey
Sep 3, 2006 - 1:57:00 AM

This was done in about a week with some upholstery fabric I purchased for $1/yard at Walmart a few years ago. My sewing room was pretty much organized (for me to work with!), but it wasn't very pretty! Besides functioning as a sewing room, it is also the family storage room, and a closet holds all of our books. It really needed some kind of theme or color to make it look less hodge-podge! I find this kind of home decorating very easy; it is mostly straight seams, casings, and hems. It is also very quick, and I was able to do it in between caring for the children and the house, and even a few days of not feeling so well.

Here is the storage shelf before:

The boxes are Avon shipping boxes I get free from the Avon lady. I had covered them up with wrapping papers, but I needed a giant cover-up for the whole thing.

Here is the shelf covered up after:

I re-used a Roman shade I had made for another room out of the fabric a while ago. I was glad to have found a new place for the shade, and I used up the rest of the material to pull the room together.

Here is the sewing machine and bulletin board before:

Here it is after:

I hot-glued the skirt to the table! The new face on the bulletin board was super easy. I just folded the edges under and push-pinned it in place. The cover and some of the other accessories in the room were made from a McCall's pattern. It has a pocket in front for accessories or a pattern (I use it as a place to store the sale ad from the fabric store so I won't misplace it!). The board and skirt were done one evening; the cover in an afternoon.

Here is something I added to the machine--a pincushion. If you have not done this for your machine yet, let me encourage you; it is SO HANDY. I just tied mine around with a ribbon, but the tip I read somewhere said to use velcro.

Here is the old ironing board. I was going to make a new cover for it, but then it rusted out on me, so I had to purchase a new one.

Here is the new one with the new cover. It is a very cushy cover, too, I put two layers of batting under it.

Here is the close-up of the fabric I used. It was a bit of toile upholstery fabric that my mother bought me as a sample and was only 1/2 yard, but it was 60" wide and worked out perfectly for an ironing board cover.

Here is the way I organized my patterns before:

Here is the new way--same boxes! Just slipcovered. I also made a cover for my dress form to keep the dust off. And notice where the old Ironing board ended up (I can't send big things to the dump very easily).

Here is the bare window and shade; it went years without a curtain:

Here is the new curtain:

Here is the completed room. I used the storage boxes as a handy, sturdy table holder! The table top is a very large piece of cardboard with a cutting mat over it.

And just one for fun. Have you ever had one of those laundry days when you felt like you'd been through the wringer?