Carol34446

If I had a room 11 x 14 I would be thrilled, my kids bedrooms in El Paso were 8.5 x 11, and here I have about 5 sq feet in computer puppy room. You can get organized and remember to go up walls with shelving and it will really add to storage. Enjoy and don't forget pictures when you get it done.

garysgal

I agree!! and I have been married for 43 years! Make him happy first-the rest will fall into place.

Skratchie

Thanks for all the replies. We've been doing a lot of talking, and thinking and scheming the last day or so (I've been at it much longer) and I think we're getting close to a plan. Here are a few things we've talked about ...

First of all, this house is a rental, and while we plan to be here for another six to ten years, we can't do any major renovations like knocking down walls. If we could, this whole problem would be solved. LOL

DH said yesterday that he is more than willing to try out moving our bed to another room, but the more I think about it, the more I don't really like that idea. It would be much different if it was just myself and my husband here, but since my son will continue to be here for the foreseeable future (I imagine another four years while he attends college locally), I think we'll leave our bed where it is.

As soon as the spare leaves next week, I'll clear out the room he's in, paint it, clean the carpet and move my son into it. That will leave the room I'll have clear and ready to paint as well, and it will give me a better idea of what I actually have to work with. My plan is to move the desk (which will not be downsized because I have two monitors, a laptop with docking station, a desktop, a printer and a scanner on it) into the second room, and then work from there. I would also like to put my cutting table in there, and possibly use the room for storage. But before I start working on the exact storage I'm going to put in there, I'm going to assay what I actually have to store. Right now, nearly everything I have, except for frequently used small tools and fabric stash, is currently stored in my large walk in closet, but I really have no idea what's in there. So I need to go through the closet, take pictures and make lists of everything I have that I need to store, including quilting batting, fabric paints, dyes, jewelry findings, scrapbook papers, stabilizers, etc., and determine how I want to store those things.

So in short, the plan is coming together, but it's going to take a while for it to be completely finished. Add to that, I just realized that the Houston Quilt Show is just a few months away, and I would rather save my money for that ... it might take some time to get my new room together just the way I want it, but I'm pretty sure it will turn out fine.

Again, thanks for the suggestions! I'll post photos as I make progress if anyone is interested.

oldtnquiltinglady

Since yours is a rental, you don't have the option that I was given when I retired and went into sewing/quilting mode some 10 years or so ago--mine was built to order for me, a completely self-sufficient 30x40 space about 50 feet outside our back door. And it still isn't big enough......there are times when I have to force myself to go out there and clear clutter before I can even make myself get started on another project. I can't stand to throw anything away, and won't do yard sales; so I really get myself into a pickle; and beg my sisters to come over and give me a hand with the clearing/cleaning. They do, and I'm happy for another few months.

Good luck in your venture; and everyone on here is right about hubby being No. l, and sewing/quilting wherever it falls. Invite him to join you--he might be a good machine quilter--I have a grown son who does most of my machine quilting, for money or for me. He is good at the quilting, and can keep the "tension problems" to a minimum, plus he knows how to "fix" it when it starts making a funny noise.

humbird

I agree with Barny, altho, I have only been married 57 years.

Emma S

Sounds like you and your hubby are working it through. Can't wait to see the outcome. When I was looking for my current residence I wanted what would amount to two master bedrooms. Believe it or not, they do build houses like that. Well no luck, so I ended up using two small bedrooms for my sewing and computer room. They are just accross a very small hall so no great distance between them. Supprisingly I have come to really like the set up. The rooms seem far less cluttered then they would be if everything was in the same room, now I wouldn't change to a larger room, with the same square footage even if I could. Good luck with your project.

petthefabric

Our master bedroom is huge. Could be all the quilting, including a long arm in it. But DH won't go for it. And we don't have a third person in the house. I understand this issue.

What I'd do is put everything you might want to use while DH is still sleeping into the other bedroom. Put what won't disturb his sleeping in the master.

Rose_P

This is exactly what I was going to type. I have my ironing table and one sewing machine on opposite sides of a bed in a guest bedroom, and also have a sewing room with a cutting table and fabric storage, as well as a large desk. There is a Jack-n-Jill bathroom between the two rooms, but I try to make myself use the one downstairs instead because it's a little more activity and also the downstairs one is a modern water-saver, and the one upstairs probably uses twice as much water. I also have to go downstairs some to let the dog in and out while I'm sewing or on the computer, but it's trivial compared to a few years ago when we had 3 dogs. If I moved all my sewing stuff into the master bedroom on the main floor, it would be wonderful in many ways, but it wouldn't necessarily be good for me. In fact, maybe I should store my fabric down there and my clothes up here.

I'm not one to have structured exercise in my day, so anything I can do to force myself to move around a bit is better than nothing. It's not as if having to walk into the other room to get fabric or to iron is going to stop me from quilting.

petpainter

I have a whole room for sewing, but have a single bed so I can lay down and take breaks when I need to. (I have MS)
But...my Son finally moved out again and I have restored my computer room, but put my big cutting table in there. Then it is always up and I can just pop in there for cutting projects.

Skratchie

Heh. The problem isn't disturbing his sleep - I could probably run a buzz saw in there and not wake him up. It's the snoring - very L O U D snoring - when I'm on business calls. More than once, I've had a co-worker ask what the noise in the background is. Most of the time, they think it's the dog growling at something. LOL It's not so funny when it's happening - it's unprofessional and very embarrassing. He has a CPAP machine, but he always takes the mask off between 6 & 7 am and sleeps another hour or two. Half the time I can't even concentrate on what I'm doing because his snoring is so loud. I told him the other night that if he continues to do that, HE will end up in the small bedroom ALONE. I'm only half joking ... my quality of sleep is horrible when he refuses to wear the mask, and I am the one who has the job I have to get up and go to every day. And the one who's making the money to pay the bills, so I gotta have some decent sleep every night. LOL He has a business he's trying to get off the ground right now, but he doesn't have to start nearly so early as me.

As a result, I NEED the "me" space, not because I'm being selfish, but because I'm going to lose my mind if I don't get a quiet place to work soon!

As for the idea of us sharing an office ... we tried that once. It lasted two weeks. I can't really say why it's different from having a cubicle mate, but it is. I couldn't stay focused when he was in the office with me. It was a HUGE distraction. And I walk a lot when on the phone (wireless headset) and that drove him nuts. LOL