It's been six months since our last move and here we are moving yet again. After some rough calculations, I've realized that I've moved about sixteen times in the past fifteen years with the most time spent in one location being just under three years. I suppose I can't really call this blog, Museum Trekker if I don't keep on trekking. I'm hoping this will be my last move for a while because now I'm very tired! It's not easy to constantly pack up and start over in a new place, find a new job, a new place to live and make new friends. Plus, for the first time ever, we finally own this dwelling. An actual house; not a one-bedroom rent-inflated shoebox. We bought a foreclosure which I was really excited about because I love getting my hands dirty and I love fixing things and it had quite a lot of fixing that needed to be done. The picture below is the room I decided to make my art studio. I was probably the first prospective buyer to ever get excited that the flooring had been ripped out. Our realtor looked at me like I was totally insane. I thought it would make the perfect studio because I wouldn't have to worry about making a mess on the floor.
This closet also has a lot of shelves to hold all of my art supplies.
The previous owner added this tiny office in the living room. It blocked all of the light coming into the house and it also made the room quite small.
We tore out the office and recycled all of the 2x4's to build a large desk/workbench in my studio as well as shelves in the garage to hold all of my tools and hardware.
We also saved all of the moldings to replace in the areas of the house where the previous owner had ripped them out.
This is a picture of my husband and mom removing the walls.
Taking this room out made a huge difference.
This is what it looks like now. We now have a large open dining area with lots of sunlight.
My husband and I made this chandelier for the new dining area.
My grandfather was a lamp maker and I think he would be very proud.
The color on the walls of my studio was very dark so I picked out some orange paint and my niece and nephew volunteered to help paint. Orange is my favorite color and it also promotes creativity!
We had to buy some extra cans of paint when we realized that the kids were only tall enough to paint the bottom half of the wall!
This is the room with the finished paint job. I added some cheap rubber tile flooring which makes it much more comfortable to work on than the bare concrete floor.
Here's where those 2x4 beams got put to good use from the office we tore down. We even saved and re-used all of the screws. The bench had to be built in two pieces so that it could fit down the hallway and be maneuvered into the room.
Instead of using plywood, I bought masonite for the tabletop so I could have a smooth work surface.
We painted the table white using the left-over paint that we used to touch up the molding in the room.
I was a bit nervous that it wouldn't fit right but the measurements were perfect and it even fit right under the windowsill. Whew! We cut holes behind the computers and printer so that the cords could run neatly underneath the bench to the power supply.
This Anco drafting table in the picture below was a fantastic flea market find. I bought it for a 1/4 of its actual value and it even came with the original drafting machine and lamp.
Here's a picture of the finished space. I added shelves under the printer to hold all of my paper and envelopes for shipping my prints. I'm surrounded by some of my own art, the art I've collected from my travels and the art of my friends and family which keeps me inspired.
I have to give all the credit to my husband for this one.
He paved the entire patio with recycled bricks.
I only work with oil paint outside because of the chemicals so now I also have an
outdoor workspace which I love to use on cool days.
Now that I've got my new art studio, shelving for my tools, a workbench in the garage and a beautiful outdoor painting area, I can get back to making art. This truly is an artist's dream come true!
