Koala sewing cabinet or other?

[kaz2009]

We are looking at furniture for our new office/ my craft room. I'm currently eyeing up a koala quilt pro or quilt mate. Does anyone have one of them, or something similar? Any opinions? I know they are expensive..... And I'm not sure we can totally justify it but we are looking into them. Does anyone have a recommendation for a sewing cabinet/ table that the machine goes into? One of the things I like about the koala stuff is I can get it in the same colour wood/ veneer as our current office furniture and also it can be folded away too if we need more space for something else.

Any comments
TIA

[theduckis]

They seem so expensive, but they are high quality and I haven't come across anything as nice. We don't have the space for one at the moment, but my dream craft room includes the CraftPro.

[TBM]

I saw this earlier today while I was searching for lighting suggestions....she's really happy  with her koala sewing cabinet. 

I thought the optional shelving was smart.

[kaz2009]

Mar 19, 2013 19:50:47 GMT -5 theduckis said:

They seem so expensive, but they are high quality and I haven't come across anything as nice. We don't have the space for one at the moment, but my dream craft room includes the CraftPro.

Yes it's expensive.... I'm still trying to justify spending that much, but I think we will go and look at them again this weekend DH hasn't seen them yet. And since it is in a visible room from the entrance and not hidden in the bedroom I want it to look semi nice at least. I'd be happy going the ikea route too but it won't go with what we already have really, and it'll be too high with the machine... But I've been sewing on the dining table up to now so it'll be the same. The advantage of the koala thing is it would also fold up a bit, am ikea table won't fold up unless we take it down

We will likely get some ikea furniture too though, shelves and maybe a small something for card making.....

[kaz2009]

Mar 19, 2013 21:40:16 GMT -5 TBM said:

I saw this earlier today while I was searching for lighting suggestions....she's really happy  with her koala sewing cabinet. 

I thought the optional shelving was smart.

Thanks for the blog link.... Ooooo I like her sewing room I definitely don't have that much room to play with though! I'm glad she is happy with her table....

And lighting.... Yes I need that too.... The room currently has no lights... Yes absolutely no lights in the ceiling.... That'll be another challenge!!  Did you find any good lighting suggestions?

[TBM]

I learned that you need a lot more light than you think...and if you have deep pockets you can get some pretty nice lighting. lol


My studio space at the house we are buying across the country, is 12' x 17', with tall ceiling...or not. DH can't remember for sure, but thinks it is sloped from 8 or 9 ft to 12 ft. Should be interesting.

I have not seen it irl,(only in photos, although I have seen the rest of the house via skype ;p) but DH hired a contractor for some other work and the guy will take care of some work in there too for a great rate since his guys will already be there, so he wants decisions on stuff like lighting, windows and outlets before we close next week. The rest can wait for me to actually be there. whew!

Everything that I have read says to at least double the lighting that you think you need, and there seems to be a lot of 'I love my track lighting' and 'I love my fluorescent fixtures with warm white light', 'I have can lights' and 'I use pendants for task lighting'. Most people have at least two types of light sources, and lighting really should be close to your work, so some of it should be hanging/suspended and not mounted at ceiling height. Some people like to Use OTT lights and find that having floor lamps to move around works for them. I saw some kind of nice wall mounted lighting that now has me rethinking the layout so that I can have them hardwire for some of those.

The more that I read, the more confused I am. It could be all of this long distance stuff is overwhelming to me, but I think it is more the idea of creating a dream space without ever having seen it. I am a person who has to spend time in a space to figure out what to do with it, so this whole thing is counter-intuitive. I find my self thinking and researchign instead of purging and packing. Oops.

[TBM]

Before you invest in a cabinet, really think about how you work and where you would put it.

I can't sew facing a wall, and I like to stand or perch on a stool when I sew, because it is easier on my back, (and I can move around from task to task more easily) so height is really important to me, as is the ability to face it in a direction that I am comfortable working.

My business partner has a sewing cabinet that is just all kinds of wrong. It is too high for most chairs, but too short to stand, and it is really awkward to use the pedal for the machine where you have to put it, because of where the door to the cabinet is.

I took one of my cutting tables over there and she wound up putting her machine on my table and using her cabinet to perch on while she sewed.


Just something to think about.

[kaz2009]

Thanks TBM... You have given me a lot to think about. Up to now I've been sewing on the dining room table which is far to high for me, the height of the koala cabinet is 29 in and I think that would work better. With working on the dining room table though I have been in the middle of the room, so he question is can I work look at the wall.... And have my back to the windows although daytime sewing would only be limited to DSs nap time... So probably more in the evening.... I could maybe turn the table around but then it would be in the middle of the room.... I might need to mark out things with tape on the carpet, doing it on paper isn't really giving me a good idea. If we were going to put it in the middle of the room it would be worth getting the shelves on the back.... I know I do like to sit down though

As for lighting... I'm going to have to think hard about that... But you've given me some ideas

[kaz2009]

Also TBM good luck with your move and sorting out your craft room from a distance! I've moved many times so know how stressful moving can be! It'll all get done ... Even if you do spend a lot of time researching lights

Looking forward to hearing about your new space too!