One of the things that Lauren has done at her house that I thought was really neat is to create a sewing armoire cabinet out of an armoire she bought on Craigslist. Â She’s an avid Craigslist shopper and has found some great things on there for her house.
When Iris came and claimed her craft room, she moved it down to the small office space to the left of the front door coming in. Â It’s an open space nook, but there’s room for bookcases and this armoire, which she had tricked out into the coolest sewing cabinet I’ve ever seen. Â She hired a carpenter guy to build some built-ins for them (that I didn’t show you yet) and so she had him make this armoire into a sewing station for her to use in the office. It’s really a neat piece!
Lauren has a Husqvarna monogram machine and has really enjoyed being creative with it. She makes lots of baby presents and birthday gifts using her monogram machine. Â She’s a lawyer, but has a very creative side too.
Here’s the armoire before she started working on it. Â She didn’t change the outside, but the inside got lots of fun features added.
Inside, it’s a solid wood spacious armoire, perfect for a sewing station.  She can close it all up when not in use. Notice there are no drawers below the shelf. 
After her carpenter finished with it, 2 sliding drawers were added below the bottom shelf and 2 shelves were added above  She recycled the pegboard that was in her craft room before and he framed it out and installed it on the door.
But the best thing he built is the hidden sewing table that stores away when not in use and folds out into the room when she is ready to sew. Â It has a hook to hold it in place and piano hinges fold it all out. Â He even matched up the stain on the wood so it all looks like it’s original.
The latch holds it in place at the top.
Legs fold out (notice the cute cut outs in the legs!) and it keeps on unfolding.
There are 2 sturdy legs for it to rest on.
Then she just brings out the sewing machine and can work all she wants before hiding it all away.
Here’s how it looks folded out into the room.
Looking the other direction.
The pegboard is perfect for her sewing supplies, like threads, scissors, needles, and monogram hoops.
Fabric is folded away at the top, with bins holding all of her supplies.
Isn’t this the greatest use of space?! She is so clever and we loved her tricked out sewing armoire. I know my mom was proud of this one, since Mom is a seamstress and has been all our lives. Â Lauren got the sewing gene and it skipped over my sister and I. Â I’m glad she is continuing the sewing in her family.
The bottom 2 drawers hold things that she has found, just waiting for monograms and will be used for baby gifts and other presents.
I thought all of you would enjoy seeing this creative use of space and a sewing armoire. Â It doesn’t look like a hard project, you just have to find the right piece for something like this. Â I love that it is all hidden away out of sight and looks nice and neat when not in use.
Hi Rhoda, My husband converted an old armoire to a sewing center for me about five years ago. It was a large armoire with six drawers in the base, so I have lots of room to store all of my supplies. The sewing table folds out in a similar fashion and he hung a corkboard on the back inside wall for photos and sketches. We chose to wall paper the inside of the armoire as it was used and looked less than prisine (I think it was used as a bar). I really love it and appreciate being able to close it up at the end of a project.
What a great piece!! Nice to see things repurposed. I have been thinking about looking for an armoire for my screen porch to put pool towels and such in–to also hide them away. Actually I now have a 40’s-50’s chest that I use now, but I need a little more space. Thanks for sharing it with us!
What a great re-purposing of an armoire! Such a good idea to have that fold out work table.
I wish I could have something like this..very nice!
Great idea. One of the reasons I quit sewing was trying to keep all the STUFF organized and out of the way.
Brilliant! Thank you for sharing.
Very clever!!
Love It, Love It, Love It, so versatile! That same concept would be a perfect homework station
for 2 children since the work table is so long. Two children could actually be on opposite sides of the
table and when finished just close it up……..bonus keeping the kitchen table free for dinner! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Beautiful piece of furniture and clever use of space!
How cool is that???!!! I love it! I’ve always wanted a monograming machine but never indulged in one. This is making me really want one now.
I have the same sewing machine as Lauren. In addition to embroidering, I make a lot of quilts. I had to smile when I saw the cases that were filled with ALL of the colors of embroidery threads (when you get hooked on embroidery, you MUST have ALL of the threads). The outsides of her thread boxes are marked with the thread numbers on Dymo tape…just like mine. After I retired, sewing/quilting became my primary hobby. My husband found a motorized ergonomic sewing table that fits my machine. When I get tired of sitting, I can raise the table to any height…many times I’m standing while I quilt. These are the things that make a hobby truly enjoyable!
Sharon, that’s so funny! Yes, I have ALL the threads! I even ordered some online to fill in my holes. I’m a Sulky person.
Oh, this is awesome!!! I may have to “borrow” this idea.
What a wonderful and useful way to repurpose an armoire…I just love this! Thank you for sharing this!!
Genius! Love it!
Apparently brilliance runs in your family! This is so smart and so pretty, too. Bravo Lauren!
Love love the original cabinet. So happy she kept it original. Love she made it useful as sewing center. So creative. So smart.
I have one a family piece. I use the hanging storage units from dollar store for hand bags on 2 and folded clothes sweaters etc for the other 2. Lots of storage.
Great idea! We have a solid cherry custom-made TV armoire that, of course, doesn’t work well with today’s flat screens. Now I know exactly what we can do with it! It will be moving into a spare bedroom to replace an inexpensive sewing cabinet that we bought 35+ years ago. Thanks, Lauren and Rhoda!
When we finished our basement (Man cave with giant TV) I demanded my own space; a sewing closet that works much like Lauren’s hide-away. Close the door and the mess is hidden.
I’m forwarding this on to my sewing daughter-in-law who got booted out by the arrival of children. And no closet to spare…
Rhoda, thank you so much for sharing this brilliant idea from Lauren! I especially love it because I could use some organized sewing storage and work area just like that. Just wondering… do you happen to know how wide that armoire is? (Also, thanks for sharing pictures of your sweet family!)
Hi, Dianne, I thought you all would enjoy her project too. I’ll ask her to measure and see how wide it is. She hunted down the right piece on Craigslist that would hold all her stuff.
What a brilliant idea!!!
What a beautiful piece and perfect conversion.