Monday, February 06, 2017

Happy Place: Journey Toward a Design Wall

One of the biggest frustrations in my sewing room, next to the sheer messiness of it all, is the lack of a design wall.

I don't have walls in my sewing room; I have doors and windows and a fireplace.  I tried portable design walls, but had nowhere to put them.  They were useless to me so I passed them along to folks who could make better use of them.

The only wall space in my sewing room that is wider than two feet is behind this rack (warning messy sewing room photo):


That rack is filled mostly with thread.  I needed to get rid of the rack and everything on it (given away or stored elsewhere) to clear that wall for a design wall.

Slowly:


Little by little:


I finally found new homes for everything on the rack and had a clear wall:


It was time to make the design wall.  I bought a sheet of foam insulation and covered it with extra-wide white flannel.  Instant design wall: just add quilt blocks!


I love this design wall more than I can possibly express.  When I'm working on a block from my never-ending supply of block-of-the-month quilts, I place the units on the design wall and take them down as I stitch them.

Where has this been all of my life?  And how did I ever live without it?

I think I need to add lights to this part of my sewing room.  They would help me see while sewing and also help see the design wall better.  That is a problem for another week, though.

5 comments:

Crystal_235 said...

I need to figure out a design wall. Will probably have to wait till my toddler is a little older.

Anonymous said...

That recessed area is the perfect spot for your design wall. Congratulations to you!

beefi8 said...

Love, Love, Love! Design walls are amazing!

Holly said...

You could put wheels on the storage rack, then put at end of cutting table, for example. Your design wall is great! Its just like mine.

Lisa said...

That looks amazing! A design wall has been percolating in my mind lately. I don't have any available wall space so I'm thinking of one of those foldable room dividers (the ones that people used to change behind, years ago?). If I line that, it can then be easily folded up when I have to change my sewing room back into the kitchen it is.