Designing the Studio

I have the extreme fortune of designing my sewing studio from the concrete blocks in. Right now it is a completely gutted 8' x 12' room with a nice sized window that will look out onto a garden. I have spent the past few hours researching sewing room ergonomics and have decided on a final layout. What really got the ball rolling is that I have to choose where the electrical outlets will be installed. Oh yeah, those. Here are some of the images and sites that inspired my final decisions (yeah right).

The Domestic Diva has a fantastic blog entry on sewing room organization and design. She talks about everything from room planning software to cutting table ergonomics and offers many great tips. In fact I fell in love with an image on her site that is from Anthropologie. The paint job will perfectly complement the hand carved door from India that will serve as the entry way to the room.

Susan Wright from New Mexico State University wrote an excellent article on Designing A Sewing Center complete with measurements for a storage cabinet.

After perusing and digesting the plethora of information at my fingertips I was able to quickly sketch out a u shaped room layout. The sewing station will be under the window and have enough room for a straight needle machine and a serger. To the right will be a desk for the desktop computer and printer followed by a floor to ceiling book shelf that covers the remainder of the wall. The pressing station will be to the immediate left of the sewing station so I can iron while seated. Following the pressing station will be a cabinet for housing patterns, fabric, etc. In the center of the room will be a large cutting table approximately 34" or waist high, 60" wide and 72" in length. Of course, the base will consist of a variety of drawers, nooks and crannies for storing tools and notions. This table will also serve as a station for the laptop computer which I use most of the time.
Below are some practical elements that will be incorporated into the design. Oh and I did decide where the outlets will go, which of course was the purpose of the hours long research project.