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| Margaret Sindelar's Sewing Room, designed by Pamela Porter |
Solid surface countertops like Dupont's Corian would make an ideal sewing cabinet surface for so many reasons. Corian isn't shiny, so no glare from your sewing machine's light or task lighting. Pins shouldn't damage the surface, but if you ever did get a scratch it would buff right out. Corian is slippery, which would be great for free-motion quilting. Best of all, you can get Corian in any color you want, custom fabricated all in one piece to the shape and dimensions you specify, with no seams or sharp corners for your fabric to catch on. I especially like how Corian is smooth all the way around the edge and on the underside of the countertop overhang, unlike laminate countertops, which have a sharp points at the top and bottom of the corners.
I stopped by my local Lowe's Home Improvement Center and picked up some Corian samples. Witch Hazel was one of my favorites, because it's light enough to reflect a lot of light without being a stark white that would create glare and eye strain. It has just a bit of beige streaks, giving it a stone-like appearance that would be gorgeous in my sewing palace:
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| DuPont's Corian in Witch Hazel |
Beauty plus function -- what's not to love? I was all excited about this idea... until I calculated the COST of a Corian sewing cabinet surface. The sewing cabinet configuration I'm leaning towards would have room for my main sewing and embroidery machine on one side and my serger on the opposite side, each with machine lifts so they could recess completely into the cabinet when not in use. I planned a cabinet that extends forward on the left side of my main machine, to give additional support for large quilts and also to provide a place for a small cutting mat or secondary ironing station, as needed for different types of projects. It's a BIG cabinet, with lots of workspace on top and lots of storage beneath (basically a counter height kitchen island) -- and it turns out that this beast of a sewing cabinet I've designed would require around 33 SF of Corian. Even the cheapest, plainest, brightest white Corian is around $39/SF, and 33 SF x $39 = around $1,300 before we even add in sales tax. The lovely Witch Hazel Corian that I selected costs almost twice that amount. And that's just for the sewing cabinet -- I had been thinking of how nice it would be to use the same Corian for the big layout and cutting table as well. Ugh! This project was supposed to be an exercise in RESTRAINT and thriftiness! I hate budgets!
Back to the drawing board...
Meanwhile, I've filled two giant leaf bags full of junk from my sewing room, and am about halfway finished emptying the room. Bernie has been cutting lots of holes in the drywall and I think he managed to install two of the can lights today while I was battling with a son who INSISTS that his science fair paper does not need an abstract. Time to open a bottle of wine and saunter upstairs for a look-see, don't you think?
1 comment:
AS I was reading this I was wondering, "Does she know how much that would cost?" Yep you do. My sewing set up is all home made with 2x4's and plywood. I did buy the sew it all table for my Juke, but wish I could figure out a more sew friendly set up for my space. YOu have me thinking about a way I can change some things.
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