The Evolution of My Cutting Table

Hello Everyone

Well, two months later I finally have my birthday gift from my DH.  I had been asking for a new cutting/storage table for my sewing studio for quite a while.  I had PVC for my table, you know, the plastic stuff that stacks.  Well, my table wasn’t very level, especially in the middle so it was hard to cut properly with it.  Doug and I had been looking at tables and ideas for a while and I finally decided on 0ne that I really liked.  After some negotiating, measuring, and pricing, we decided on a solid pine table with a shelf underneath for storage.  It is very solid, made out of pine and stained a pecan color.  Doug is not the greatest carpenter but he did  a pretty good job!

Here is my new cutting table under construction:

I decided that I wanted a bookcase at one end:

And shelving on top.  I thought I would use it as an entertainment center for my TV and VCR, but that turned out differently.

Doug then stained it with MinWax, a pecan color, only one coat, after sanding it down.  After it set for 6 hours and was completely dry, we did the finishing touches.  I still had my original top from my old table and Doug put that on top, with the cutting mat on top of that.  I then did some decorating:

I started on Mother’s Day to put the bins underneath and on the shelves, by then it was getting a little late and I finished up the next day.  The top shelves:

The bookcase:

Surprisingly, I was able to fit about 2/3 of my books in the bookcase.  The remainder are in the top shelves along with my binders full of different patterns, ideas, etc.

And my many bins!  It took a little while to decide how to do it and make it work, but I did it!  I have 10 large plastic bins full of fabric, and several smaller bins full of thread, and other things.  I took the bins full of thread, 3 in total, used one of my smaller drawer units, (plastic) and consolidated them altogether.  I now only have one plastic bin for my large cones of serger thread, and that is on top of my sewing table.  I took all of the large drawer bins out, except for the small one, as I no longer have any room for them.  All of the stuff has been stored elsewhere, in my new 20 drawer organizer.  So much nicer and easier to access.  And it really does hold a lot!  I also took the little pressed board bookcase out and put that in my bedroom for my paperback books.  That freed up some space in my room.  My new table takes up a lot of space but at the same time, makes more room as everything is organized with it.  My sewing table is also cleared off with all my binders now on the new shelf unit, and that gives me more room for quilting.

One side of the table:

The other side:  Actually looks the same all the way around, lots of bins.  I am storing my small ironing board under there with a towel over it to keep the cat hair off of it.

Yet more bins, but also a space for my iron:

My closet is also a lot less cramped for space.  All of my bins are now under the table or on shelves, except for 2.  One is just for magazines and the other is for special fabric such as silk.

And finally a picture of the table put together and organized:  Sorry, couldn’t fit it all into the frame of my camera!

Now, I’m organized!

Chat soon!