OMG - Another New Studio!!!

It's no news that my studio has become quite the issue over the past 18 months. And I have become weary of not having a space of my own to work/create in! I store everything in my studio but all of my work is done at the kitchen counter, dinning room table or on the floor in the family room. None of this is the end of the world but I am spoiled I guess and for the past 10 years I have had my very own room to retreat to, to create in and to just do what I love to do. So we have been tossing around the idea of switching rooms here in the house. In other words I would turn my original studio space into the girls' playroom and I would take over their room. This is all well and good, but I need all new, all real wood furniture to make all of this happen. I have a TON of stuff and I need a ton of storage. I have also had a TON of medical bills and other studio related bills so the funds for purchasing this new furniture are not really available to me.

I see all of these HGTV shows where people find these old pieces of furniture on the side of the road and they take them home and refinish them into lovely treasures. I personally have never seen any great old furniture sitting on the side of the road! But I believe in prayer and I started praying that God would help me find some of these lovely treasures! Well, God is so cool and this past Saturday I was at my daughter's house and we were standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes and I looked out the window and what do you think I saw???? That's right - there was old furniture sitting on the sidewalk in front of her neighbor's house! I grabbed Bug and headed down the street to take a closer look.There were several things out there but the 2 things that caught my eye were a solid oak entertainment center (circa 1980) and a sweet little solid pine cabinet (also circa 1980). I knocked on the door and asked if I could have/buy it and they told me I could HAVE it but I needed to hurry because a donation truck was on it's way to carry it off. Bug and I ran back to the house where I begged my dear son-in-law to bring the truck down (NOW) to pick it up for me. He left the food on the grill and off we went. The little cabinet went into the truck easily but that solid oak entertainment center was another story! It was way too heavy for me to help lift it up into the truck, but God loves me and the darn thing was on WHEELS!!!!! So, I pushed that thing down the street and up my daughter's driveway until Gary could get there to help load it up and bring it home.  

I was so excited and that evening Bryanna and I sat together at the computer looking at Pintrest for ideas on how I wanted to paint and alter my new treasures. She also mentioned that I should go on Craig's List to find other pieces. I have never been a fan of Craig's List, but when I got home I decided to take a peek. Wouldn't ya know it I found the perfect solid oak book shelf from the same era. But I closed it out and said I shouldn't do it. The next morning I woke up still thinking about that "perfect" bookshelf. I prayed about it and by that evening it was sitting in my house! So for the past couple of days I have been refurbishing furniture and having the time of my life! Below are my new studio's treasures. . .

 This is my Craig's List bookshelf just the way it arrived at my house on Sunday. It's pretty big - over 6ft tall and 3ft wide and 20" deep. Lots of storage on the shelves as well as the little cabinet doors underneath.

 This is the cute little cabinet I found while visiting my Daughter's house. It is missing it's hardware and is a little dirty but in great shape!

 This is the entertainment center that I pushed half way down the block in my daughter's neighborhood The big space that the tv sits in has doors that slide out to hide the tv That will eventually hide my paper racks, but still keep them easily accessable. The tall skinny drawer that you see there is for VHS tapes and cassette tapes. It will soon hold ink pads and paints. And who knows what else will be stored and displayed in this great piece!

                                                 

This is the book shelf now that it's been painted. I LOVE IT!!!
(the walls in the new room are tan so the black will show up - I know it's a bit hard to see against these black walls)

This is the sweet little cabinet, partially finished. It needs a little more varnish and the doors put back on. This piece will hold my Cricut machine and all of my cartridges. It's like it was made for it - my machine fits PERFECTLY on top!

This the hardware I bought for my pieces. I bought wrought iron hardware and then refinished them. Lots of rusty red and turquoise and a little copper going on here. The first piece is before I refinished it.

This is my current studio - I am showing you this so you can see my table that I bought a while back. It was my inspiration for the paint job I did on my "new" pieces. I thought about painting it all different colors but then I looked at my table and decided this was the perfect way to go. It would update my 1980's treasures and help the room look a bit more cohesive (even though I am trying for a more eclectic look)

I sold all of my white furniture this week (except for the office chairs if anyone is interested in them) and it will be all be picked up in a week or so. This gives me a little bit of time to finish up my pieces and get my studio all packed up again. Man, am I sick of packing up this room!!!! Now I am praying for a desk and a couple of chairs. Oh yeah, and some imps to come pack all of this up and set it all up in the room next door!

I hope you all have a great 4th of July!

Till we meet again. . .