I am hoping to have this same dilemma in a few months if we actually move - it's up in the air. I'm hopeful but only time will tell right now...

What I'm hoping to do is to find some kitchen cabinets that people give away on freecycle or craigslist and then put a piece of wood or a door or something on top if I can't get a piece of formica or something. I'm going to hit some second hand stores after - if - we move and see what there is to see. We have a fabulous Habitat store that sells donated building supplies and whatnot so I'm hoping to get something fabulous there :)

People give away old kitchen cabinets *fairly* often if you keep an eye on your local freecycle. and craigslist.

I was also thinking of using a kitchen island for my cutting board. Remember to check out your local craigslist. I found several of them which were pretty well priced. Most have lockable wheels so it is easy to move. I really don't have the space for one but i was sure looking! Good luck! patt

My husband bought 2 bathroom cabinets from Home Depot and clamped them together back-to-back...lots of storage on both sides. He put a large piece of solid wood on top (found at auction on an old lawyer's desk), and it makes the best cutting table/island work station in my sewing room :-)

My table was built for me by my hubby.

It is 20"x42" when closed.
I can have a working table top 46"x42" with one leaf up.
Fully opened, I have a working area of 72"x42"

He put a drawer on either end of the center section and a shelf under that section for storage.

I couldn't work without this table or without the guy who built it.

This is my dream - to have a room set aside for my sewing/crafts...one day...one day!

The ideal height is to bend your arms at the elbows and measure from the bend of the elbow to the floor and that is the height your table should be, for you. The bend should be the top of your table.

Since my sewing room is also my spare bedroom, I placed two long folding tables over the bed, elevated them to my height. Not sure how big the tables are or how high but they are perfect for me. Then when company comes and I need the spare bed, I just take the tables down and store them in the closet. When company leaves, put them all back up. Gives me a good reason to keep my sewing room straightened up :D

You have exactly what I'm planning on for mine - although I'm going to try my best to get the cabinets free if at all possible :D
If all goes well in 6 months I will begin looking for those cabinets!

The one we made is 48 x 96 when folded out, folds down to 48 x 24 and is about 40" high. Base is made from 2 18" cabinets. Will try to attach photo, 1 st attempt at this.
This is with only one leaf up.

Nice, very nice.

My DH built two shelving units and set them up with a board on top of them the way you did your bookcases. I am taller than average, so he made them a little higher than the kitchen island.
I bought baskets for the shelves and that is where I keep my WIP and future projects.

The best cutting table is made by Martelli but it is extremely expensive. I'm going to look around consignment furniture stores and thrift shops for an old table, put it on those risers you can get at Wally's and add a cute skirt around it so I can stow bins of fabric below.

My cutting table consists of 2 2 drawer filing cabinets I got at a garage sale, a 2x4 spacer unit hubby built and all topped with a sliding closet door I bought at 2nd hand store. The whole unit cost less than $50.00. As for height, that depends on your height. Check around for places that have cutting tables (an excuse to go to your LQSs) and find which height feels the best for you.

My cutting table is similar to BarbP's. Except I had a 10' piece of counter top cut into two pieces and then put a laminate on top of both. The cutting table is 53" long and 34" high. I put a skirt around 3 sides to keep the fabric protected from sunlight . The other piece which is 67" long and only 25" high uses shorter runner frames and smaller baskets. That is my one of my sewing tables. I had the sewing table cut longer so I could have more than one machine set up and space underneath for storage. It's worked well for me the last 15 years and it has gone through 4 cross country moves with no damage.

I have been using this cutting table for 15 years and it cost me very little to assemble: I have an old pine dresser that has three drawers and the top is 32 inches off the ground. I then added to pieces of 2 x 4 to each side and topped it off with a piece of plywood that is 30 x 60. i then tiled that top with sticky back floor tile to give me a nice, easy to dust and clean up surface. You can get these tiles at the $ store, or $ General for very little, cometimes 2/$1. The finished height is 37" (I am 5'6" tall). I use top two drawers of the dresser for fat quarters, and the bottom one for UFO's. The top piece of plywood does not need to be that big; you can scale it down depending on the size of your room. I like it big; I have a lamp, utensil holder and other stuff on the surface, along with my very big cutting mat 24" x 36". Hope this helps you!

I am 5'2" and like the height of my dining room table: 29.5 inches.

I cut a lot of denim for Operation Quiet Comfort Quilts, so the lower height allows for better leverage when moving and cutting the denim.

For me, it is also a good height for sewing, using the regular dining room chair.

Works for me.

I've been using tables put on those bed risers-seems to be perfect for me. (5'4" and shrinking:) )

I use a cheap plastic table that my DH extended the legs with PVC pipe to bring it up the the proper height. the table is the plastic banquet ones you can buy for $25-$40 from Menards, KMart, Shopko, etc. He cut the pvc pipe and then added a 3 way elbo. The table legs fit into the PVC pipe. It works for me and was in the budget.

I use an old kitchen table...It works for me for the big stuff. I also have a drawer pull-out deal when I need something small chairside while I sew (I can convert it to chairside ironing with the appropriate pad). Either my smaller cutting mat or the ironing mat fit on it.
I believe that you need both the large and the chairside small surfaces.

My DH took an old kitchen trestle table that was a freebie left at DS home when he bought. He added an additional "foot" on each trestle for height- a 2x4 for me, and painted her up nice. Then he took a sheet of plywood (4x8) and made a removable top that I use for sandwiching my quilts. I clamp the edges with the big construction clamps I got at HD, and that holds everything snug while I pin. A LOT less back pain while cutting and/or pinning. No pics right now. The top also fits my dining room table. I do need an extra pair of hands to get that plywood top up and down, so I usually will pin 2 or 3 tops while I have it on the table. The height needs to be what works for you.

Ah, the Horizontal Surface Syndrome! I got that here big time :roll:

I have a drafting table from Aaron Bros. with a magnifying lamp attached to it. The height is about kitchen counter level (35") and it's 36x48. It's just right as I don't need to bend over when I'm cutting. The lamp adds light directly on anything I'm doing and it can be positioned wherever needed. The magnifying glass in the lamp helps for 'unsewing' stitches or trying to thread a needle.

When we moved into our home 2 years ago, I took one of the bedrooms and made it into my sewing room. Against one wall I put kitchen cabinets from Lowe's and covered it with a piece of formica. I bought just the plain oak cabinets and have all the drawers and storage underneath. I especially like the deep drawers, wish I had bought all drawers but they were in a closeout. I am 5'6 and this fits me perfectly. If I had more space, I would have put 3 of them back to back with 3 more and had a formica countertop made just for that.

A very simple inexpensive way is to get a folding table available anywhere, could be any length, mine is 8'. The legs on the table do not come straight down, they have a bend in them near the bottom. My husband bought some PVC pipe, cut 4 pieces the same length and I slide them over each leg of the table. He made it as high as I wanted for comfort. If I don't want the height, I simply take the PVC pipe off the legs of the table and can use it if all my family comes to dinner and I need more seating space.

My husband made me a drop leaf table that is 42"deep and 72" long and only 29" high since I am very short I wanted it "my size". I love the fact that I can drop one leaf or both and it becomes very compact which is a good thing since my sewing room is small.

My DH made my cutting table out of - now this is not sophisticated at all - two saw horses and a piece of 4' X 8' wooden board. Sound primitive? It may be but he made it tall enough for me to stand and not have to bend over AND there is all that room underneath for storage. I love it and it certainly wasn't a big investment. I made a cloth to go over the board and the after two cutting mats are down, there is still room on the table for other things I need. Of course I am lucky that I have the room that I can leave it up all the time.

I have a custom made cutting table.
It is 38 x 72, so a large cutting mat fits the top. Since I am 5'4" it's 35" tall, a person has to measure what is comfortable to them.
It has drop sides, so it can go down to 18" deep. When the sides are up, their is a full wood support bracket with a roller under each drop side. The center (18") has a small drawer each side for scissors and cutting weights. Then a door on each side where I keep my interfacting or can be used for sewing machine storage. The top is off-white formica and I keep a cutting mat on top of it.
I have had it about 20 years and it still looks new. A cabinet shop made it to my design.
I also have 2 door made into tables for making drapes. We took (2) 36" doors and put the banquet type folding legs on them. Then my husband got some metal electrical conduit pipe and added extension to the legs to make it 35" tall. When I take the extension off, I can use the tables for banquet tables or sewing tables.

Sam's Club has adjustable height tables. They use those at the local quilt shop. I purchased an adjustable height table at Camping World. Both of these can be viewed online. Table we bought at CW is still in the rv. Working on the sewing room this week. DD is picking up the bed and nightstand today!! It will be a dedicated sewing room!!! Getting there!
I may use a gate leg table from Sauder/craft table for cutting as it is more than 24" deep and 5x" long with both leaves up. Has storage underneath. I found it on the Sauder website and Office Depot special ordered and delivered it for me 4 or 5 years ago. Guess I will take mirror off the dresser and use it for an ironing station???? Not sure.

I like this one. Its pretty and folds up. I need one that folds small for my room. Never thought about using pre made legs. or are they for a ballister?

I went to the thrift shop and bought a dining table. My husband put 4x4 pieces of wood under each leg and that put it at a good height for me. 36" Cost me $15.

If you have "Freecycle.org in your area, you could see if anyone has an old counter top that they are getting rid of, since many people are updating their kitchens, these days. And also see if anyone is has any lower level kitchen cabinets. Attach the two together to have storage space and a cutting table. We recently got granite for your kitchen, so I saved the counter top to the island/bar and put it in the basement for now. I'm just waiting to find some cabinets to attach it to. Once I get that done, I'll set up my quilting/sewing center in the basement. A work in progress.

If you are not familiar with Freecycle, it's a website that if you are looking for something, you post for it, and if you have something you don't need, you post for someone who might be able to use it.

I bought a white table from Wal-mart in the camping section and put leg extenders under the legs. These are very duraable tables. It is just the right height and size. I am 5'6 1/2" tall. the price is right, around 30 for the table and the extenders are usually 12. I got some at Ross for much less. Compare the price to the sewing tables at the sewing centers.

My shelves are incredibly messy at the moment after a year of making Farmer's Wife Sampler blocks, but no matter ... the cutting table is a sheet of heavy plywood with a mat on it that has a grid of 36" x 68" and is actually a few inches bigger than the grid. I've had this setup for many years and is the size I needed when I made all my clothing in the days of yesteryear; it works well for cutting any fabric. I have it at 38" up from the floor, which is a perfect height for me - I'm 5'5". The two end shelf units were home made from really cheap pressboard, so I covered everything but the backs and bottoms with wood grain patterned Contac paper. To support the center of the plywood, I have a really heavy (but on wheels, so easy to move) solid wood shelf unit, where I store everything (on 2 sides) from sewing machines to books & fabric. It's not tall enough, so I have additional support between the desktop and the plywood, leaving some space at either end to store really large and/or fragile acrylic rulers, etc. This set-up is certainly not for everyone, but I have that entire basement room devoted to fabric storage, cutting, and machine quilting. Other than machine quilting, I do all my sewing upstairs.

I use an old office desk, works for me and lots of storage.

I have two of these from Ikea back to back with two 36" x 24" mats on top and plastic tubs on the shelves for fabric. The drawers hold cutting equipment and bits and bobs. I have screws in the ends to hang my rulers. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60045393

Home Depot sells unfinished oak kitchen cabinets. 2 spaced table length apart (however long you want your table), with a counter on top, gives you a table at about 34" high with 2 drawer units at each end, that can be finished to match your decor

The perfect height is different for every person. I am 5'1". I like my rotary cutter to be an extension of my hand and for my hand & arm to be a 45º angle from the table and from my body. Doing this, I need a table 30" high. A desk works great for me.

I converted a desk to a sewing table and have a fold down table for my cutting area.

I purchased 4 lower cabinets on a close out. I put them along a wall. Now I have cabinet space for fabric and a place for ironing and my cutting mats. It works great. I've also had 2 cabinets back to back for a large square which works great also. I'm 5'7" and it works great. A one point my hubby put them on rollers so I could move them around but we don't have the big house anymore.

I bought a wood dining room table from the clearance center at a local furniture store, and added wooden bed risers from Bed, Bath to get it to 34", and then placed the top from my old JoAnn's cutting table on top for an extra 1/2". It is actually way more stable than my orginal JoAnn's table.

I am 5'3."

It also depends on your height and needs.

What about a solid door or a simple piece of plywood? You could place them across the bookcases and secure them with brackets underneath.