Converting a Garage To Satisfy Ms Seamstress’ Hobby

The old garage has been transformed into its new life as a sewing and craft studio. Walls, power and lights are in, ready for use. The windows have been fitted, completely recycled from the material-waste taken out of the house during its renovation.  

Unlike the shed that cost us $23 (our last construction) this one needed some new product and costed a bit more than $23. Drywall, insulation and timber was used to complete the walls and ceiling. A rotating ventilator was installed on the roof.

Margo fears the shed will heat up in summer, so we’ve put strategies in place to combat it. The insulation will make a huge difference… right after I close-in the ceiling and walls! An even bigger temperature drop will be noticed after the roof ventilator is installed. Margo asked for another sliding window to be installed on the front of the building for extra ventilation. Altogether, I think we’ve achieved an acceptable result at beating rising temps. The other major issue is light. Margo wants to work with natural light to save on power.

The garage never had windows in it, it was just a box that went dark the moment its door was closed. Now it has a window right where she plans to work. It also has a large sliding glass door and virtually allows direct light to stream in from one end of the building. It does the job, but that won’t be direct light for much longer. The old tilt-a-door we took off to replace it with the window will soon become an awning. It’ll produce shade over all that glass. It’ll reduce the heat… but it’ll also take away the brightness. The question she asks now is: Will it be too much?  

Why the sewing room is being made!

Margo drags another dusty window frame out from the stockpile of bits we took out of the house. “Can you add this somewhere?” She asks, eyeing off the walls from the inside of the building, visualizing positions of where it might go.

“Why not?” I reply, knowing that after a whole-house reno, one little window in a garage that has no major plumbing or electrical sections make the request a relatively simple one.  

Shelves, Shelves, Shelves! There will be shelves, copious amounts of horizontal surfaces – varying levels of assorted and stacking space to put things in and rid ourselves of clutter, freeing up our man garage so we can park our damn cars in there!  

It is ready right now. The challenge has been met. I know Margo will have bundles of fun moving her gear in over the holidays and setting up the place. Two sewing machines, an over-locker, two desks, a plethora of fabrics, bits and bobs will fill this room in the days to come.    

-Michael Forman (Author of Dark Fiction – See below)

“Forman’s writing style is artful, with the protagonist Mitchell’s warped thought processes masterfully exposed. The author has a powerful and vivid command of language and his word pictures are stark and disturbingly real.”

– Linda J Bettenay, author of ‘Secrets Mothers Keep’ and ‘Wishes For Starlight’.