The greatest part about getting a new house is getting to finally design new spaces.

The first room we’re working on: The art studio.

Since I am working on the book, and timing is critical, we are getting right from the start so that things aren’t messy and chaotic like most things tend to be when moving in.

I am so excited to have a room just for art. Like really excited.

We chose a room in the basement for the studio, close to the family play area so that it’s close to the kids. It’s a basic standard room: 10×13 feet I think. Closet, one ceiling fixture and one south facing window.

But the room had really junk carpet, smoke stains on the wall, and sliding closet doors without bottom tracks and heavy metal band stickers on the doors. Nice.

So, for a bargain priced makeover:

1. Ripped up the carpet to expose the concrete foundation. Perfect for an art studio! Carpet is so hard to clean with messy art happening, hardwood is too pricey and laminate still came up to about $500. And with cement underneath, it would have been hard to put in a hard flooring anyways. Solution? We’re painting the cement a bright white. I can’t wait! It’s going to be stunning. And so easy to clean. And white. I love white.

2. Took off the sliding closet doors. They were junk, wobbly, marked up and covered in heavy metal band stickers not to mention they just covered up a really great closet space. This will allow for a bit more room for furniture, and exposed storage to motivate me to keep it tidy and organized! And, curtains will add a splash of color.

3.  Paint: Haven’t chosen it just yet…you’ll see by mid week what we chose. But for one of the walls, I’ll be putting up chalkboard paint so that the kids can create and draw in there too. It’s so important for me to have a studio where the kids feel welcome. Addie most always draws at my feet when I work. But since the space is so small, we are utilizing the wall space for the kids to create.

4. Light fixture: I’ll be putting in full spectrum bulbs, but haven’t decided on a fixture yet. If any of you have good suggestions for good studio lighting with a fun design statement, please share!

5. Furniture: This will be a mix of what I have plus a bit of new. More on that in another post.

I’ll keep you posted on the progress! My amazing husband has been working on this since I am illustrating in the evenings. He spent at least 10 hours prepping the floor for paint: ripping up the carpet, pulling up nails, patching holes, scraping up carpet glue and oil stains….the man is amazing. I love him! And I can’t wait to see how it all turns out!

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