I was hoping to post about our cloud-painting class on Friday, but it is taking an eternity for the videos to upload and process, so that’ll have to wait until tomorrow. We will be having another class this Friday and a special cloud-painting class on Instagram Live with Megan Gray Wednesday, April 22, 2020, at 2:00 CST. I’ll share more details in tomorrow’s post.
So, today, I’m going to share the tidied-up sewing room! This was one of the projects I worked on last week to get ready to work on bigger projects over the coming weeks. The sewing room, also known as the “cat room” and “Sebastian’s room”, had become a dumping ground. We loaded up on kitty litter before Minnesota was under a stay-at-home order, so there was a healthy stay of litter buckets randomly placed on the floor. While cleaning other rooms, stray home decor pieces were deposited here. The closet was an avalanche-waiting-to-happen. And Sebastian had taken over the daybed, which was unfortunately covered in a comfy blanket from when we first brought the cats home. That blanket was like velcro to Sebastian’s fur and the cream fuzzy blanket was absolutely covered in black fur. It didn’t help that he desperately needed to be groomed.
Anyway, I spent last Saturday morning getting it all cleaned and organized. I changed out the bedding and put Sebastian’s bed on top, so he could still sleep there. I vacuumed and sorted. And I organized the closet, sewing desk, and armoire.
The purpose of cleaning this room was three-fold. Number one, it drove me nuts every time I set foot inside and now that was resolved. Two, I have a bunch of sewing projects to work on and now I have the space to work on them. And three, I plan to pick up working on this room. I don’t have all of the materials to install the chair rail, picture frame molding, and starch the fabric to the wall, but I do have the fabric to upholster the daybed and the primer and paint to start prepping the room for those other projects.
The biggest victory was getting the closet cleaned out, though. It has been a mess since we moved in…overloaded with pillow forms, bolts of fabric, and upholstery supplies. It was pretty impossible to find anything in there, which was frustrating when I needed the sewing machine manual or a specific foot for a project, or header tape.
I’d like to add some shelves in here at some point, but for now, I can at least find what I need! I was able to refamiliarize myself with the contents of those bins and found some trim that was perfect for the bed.
I also organized the wardrobe. It wasn’t too bad, but it’s gotten a little disheveled as I’ve pulled things out and put them back in over the past couple of years.
I love this antique piece and I sort of hate that it’s in a room where it’s not seen very often.
I enjoyed looking through my linens, seeing if I could use any of them for upcoming projects. (You can read about how we added those shelves to make this piece functional HERE.)
The cleaning was effective and I have since made slipcovers for the two end chairs in the kitchen…
I filmed and took pictures along the way, so I’ll be sharing a tutorial soon! Until then, you can find my other slipcover tutorials HERE.
I’m hoping to get to upholster the bed this week, too. (HERE is a post showing how I did it the first time.) I feel like I’m on a bit of a roll now with sewing and upholstery projects and I want to take advantage of that…
I love to see freshly tidied up spaces, makes room in your head for other things.
You are ambitious! I take it your shoulder is functioning well again? That is the happiest thought of all!
Biding my time to see your amazing slipcovers… My sewing room looks like a whirling dervish went through…but it also has a lot of extra space due to my donating fabric and supplies to folks making masks! Win-Win! Hope you know we love hearing about your to-do list and how you get to DONE!
You mention, “the last couple of years”. Wow, it seems such a short time since you moved there. Time does fly!!
How will you clean any marks or grime that builds up on the starched linen on your walls.
I love that you too have a “ cat room” I thought I was the only one! Truthfully it’s a bedroom used as an office and it has tons of storage potential with a big desk, drawers and file cabinets and even a bookcase, too for displaying books and other favorite things. You have now inspired me to go though all the drawers, cabinets and shelves and make some sense of the mess! I had good intentions for this room so thank you for the post to get me re-started on decluttering.
Your sewing room is set up really nicely. The key is being able to see your stash to begin creating! Looks great
I remember seeing, in your home in Pennsylvania, fabric that was “wallpapered” on the walls with starch. And is easily removable. Do you have a tutorial on that already? If not, would you do one when you put the fabric upon your sewing room wall?
I love your wardrobe too… it really is so beautiful!! And thank you for the idea of storing rolls of fabric in a basket! Had not thought of that! Looking forward to all the sewing projects about to come forth!
Where do you purchase your fabrics?
Hi Marian! Wow, even your mess looks good (so many beautiful fabrics) and I wonder if you have any tips about removing pet hair from fuzzy blankets. I have a stack of blankets and throws that need laundering but need to be de-furred first. So far a damp rubber glove seems to work okay but it doesn’t cover much territory. And the fur weaves through the yarn. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. PS: I agree that your gorgeous wardrobe is hidden in the sewing room. Could it be moved to your foyer where you have the cabinet for the boys’ backpacks and jackets? It’s a beautiful piece!
Love that armoire! You might want to consider stabbing those white brackets with ‘something’ (I’m so helpful, aren’t I) so the white doesn’t jump out at you so much. But they definitely make the piece so much more functional. Yay for functional!
Could you bottle up your energy and send me some? Wow! You are amazing!
Marian,
Where do you get your gorgeous blue fabrics? Would you mind sharing? Thank you and stay well!
Could you please tell me a bit more about the oval painting of the girl, the one that’s in the closet? I love it. I also love that wardrobe!