Three years ago I was at the Houston International Quilt Festival and I decided that I wanted to check out sewing tables. I have a kitchen table that is 36" tall and I find it much more comfortable to cut fabric and sew at it than the current sewing table I use which is about 30" tall. So, I wanted to look for a sewing table where I could recess my machine that was 36" tall.
I talked with everybody that had furniture at the quilt festival, and eventually I found my dream table... the Koala Treasure Chest Plus IV. It is 35.25" tall, it has a leaf that extends out to create a huge sewing surface, it has wheels, it has drawers, it has an electric lift, it has custom cut machine inserts to put around your machine, it has basically everything. Then the cost... around $3000! How could I pay that much for a table??
I tried to buy the floor model at the Quilt Show but learned that they sold them all to a local shop. Later that year I found the store that sells the floor models... but the price wasn't that much less than what they were selling them for as the "quilt show special".
So, I have been stalking Craigslist for 3 years now looking for this dream table and explaining it's virtues to my husband every chance I had. I had eventually decided that we were just going to have to build my dream sewing table... it would be doable, but a lot of work.
Last week I was performing my weekly Craigslist searches, when suddenly I found MY SEWING TABLE OF DREAMS!!! And my husband agreed that we should buy it!!! (that was TWO miracles haha)
We drove almost 2 hours north of where we live to pick up the table over the weekend. I had measured my husbands SUV beforehand and I knew that it would fit, but it would be a close fit. We took all sorts of moving blankets and towels and wrapped everything up nice and safe for the way home.
The problems started once we got home.
We got it out of the car (barely) and into the house (barely) and then we needed to take it upstairs to my sewing room. It was too heavy. The 2 of us couldn't lift it up the stairs. It already had all the drawers and shelves and doors taken off and there didn't seem to be any way to get it lighter. I called my sister and my mom to complain but for some reason they didn't feel bad for me. Finally later that night I realized that I could take off the top of the table by turning the 15 cam locks that keep the top attached to the base. We took off the top and it effectively reduced the weight by about a 1/3 and we were just able to get it up the stairs!!!
My husband gave me the look of death afterwards. I had to promise that we would never move the cabinet by ourselves again. And I had to bake him a "brown-oreo-kie"- a layer of chocolate chip cookie followed by a layer of oreos followed by a layer of brownies. It is known online as a "slutty brownie" but we are trying to find a more appropriate name. Let's just say that the "brown-oreo-kie" was amazing and I am forgiven :)
I have done a little bit of cutting fabric and sewing so far and my new table is amazing! It has a bit of veneer coming off some of the edges, but I figure out how to glue it down and it will be fine. Otherwise, it is in great shape! I am trying to figure out if I am going to need a new chair or not, I am currently using one of my kitchen table chairs (for a 36" tall table).
I love the surface area of the table with the "Outback Extension"! I just might be getting a new (larger) Olfa cutting mat for Christmas :)
I am currently using the acrylic quilting table as a makeshift stand-in until I order the correct acrylic insert...
Soft close drawers and shelves! Love the table surface to the right of the machine too!
However, I'm thinking now about re-arranging all the furniture in my sewing room. How do I break that news to my husband? (because I will need his help to move it around!)
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