Sewing Room

There are times that I can get really into things. Most of the time I am pretty ho-hum about things. I'll get to eventually or get it over with or whatever. Lately I've been more into doing things than usual. Unfortunately, this usually results in me working way too much, too late into the night, and back to work early with very little sleep because all I could do was think about the project I've been working on. 

That's been the last few weeks for me. I just inherited my mother's old sewing table. Seriously, this is more exciting than Christmas for me! Finally a place to keep my sewing machine up and ready to sew! No more dining table sewing messes. But to prepare for the sewing table...well, that meant I had to prepare the room. I needed my wood floors because string, tiny pieces or fabric and the occasional dropped pin are much easier to clean on a smooth surface than they are on carpet. 

So the prep work began just a few days before the big trip to get my new sewing table.

The ugly blue carpet (sorry no before pictures of that) came up and the base molding came out. I am not a fan of using the quarter round around the base after installing laminate floor so do everything I can to get the base molding out before doing that. The holes left from removing the carpet tack strips were repaired even if they weren't very big and didn't need it. 

I then laid plastic sheeting, 6 mil thick stuff. The reclaimed laminate flooring I have has the padding attached so I just needed a moisture barrier for the cement. We don't really have problems with moisture in our basement but you should put the barrier down anyways. The wall right there under the window was bowed in the middle a bit so it took some work to get the floor balance just right in the corners but once that was done the rest went really quick. The install kit is from Harbor Freight and I can't recommend it enough! The rubber tap bar is awesome! (not the hard plastic like the ones at the big box store) Seriously, the whole kit is awesome and at seriously just $10 (1/2 the price at other places) you can't go wrong. I've used it on two floor installs now and still love it. Moving on....

 TADA! Beautiful right?

After the floor was all done I went through and reinstalled all the base molding. (Doesn't it look so much better than quarter round?) If you go this way, remember to be very careful when removing the old molding if you are going to use it again. I did break a smaller piece but that was an easy repair.

 The transition hasn't been installed yet but if you look closely out the door you can see the lovely blue carpet that used to exist in this room. I wish I would have had enough left over flooring to do the hallway as well. But alas, no such luck.

And there's the lovely closet....

that had to be redone as well. The door were sliding glass ones that just never operated right. On the left side there, the previous owners had placed a piece of base molding sideways up the wall to be the edge of the closet on the flat wall. I removed that and bought a 1x4 to place there and cut the base molding to fit around it. It looked so lovely I went back and bought more to frame all around the closet with the 1x4s. It looks so much better. (Pictures to come)

I finished this 2 days before the trip to get my table....

You want to see my new-to-me sewing table??

I know, you just have to see what I have been getting so lamely excited about right?

Well here it is...

I'm not sure of the age but it is solid wood and older than I am (My mother bought it used when she was pregnant with me)

Ignore the mess but this is my lovely table.

Both sides fold out (only the larger is folded out in this picture), there is a hidden thread holder in the back and it all folds up nice and just looks like a beautiful desk. It is also holding my new machine. My old one was beyond repair. It's on the left there, the one with the black gorilla tape on the knob....yeah, still sews but the very old, almost as old as my marriage, Brother, got a broken knob and the plastic parts just can't be repaired. So the new pretty Babylock is mine. It was very hard to spend the money and buy it but it sews like a dream!

 

Remember that awful closet?? Well, it's been transformed. I'll put that in a new post since this is so long.