in the studio: a makeover

Well you guys, I don’t move very quickly on things like this, but I’m so glad we finally got around to perking up the studio. (Check out a before picture here).

My studio is in an old textile mill turned event-office-loft-arts space and I rent one of the artist studios. As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, when I moved into the studio last summer I was put on a waiting list for a window studio, and here I am… still waiting. I was holding out on the new studio to make any changes to the studio design/layout, but then I realized I could be waiting for a very long time, and there’s no sense in spending all day in a room that you don’t really enjoy. Right?

I enlisted the help of an interior designer friend to figure out the layout and furniture options, and my husband and I did the whole thing (layout, buying, projects, everything) over a 3 week time frame. Lots of nights and weekends in the studio! Good thing my husband is so helpful. And that my studio is so small.

Pinterest was a big help during this process. By pinning the projects/purchases all on one board, it was easy to pick and choose to get the look I wanted, and also get a snapshot of what it would cost. Unfortunately the chair and lamp I ordered were out of stock, so I supplemented with some items from home for the time being. (You might recognize the chair from our sunroom)!

The cork inspiration board was a DIY project from Ambrosia Creative (see the instructions here). I had a hard time getting washi tape to stick to the cork, but it looks good at least as a temporary solution! Another quick and easy DIY project was the drawer for the desk in the entry way. Painting it gray (inspired by Barb from Knack Studios) and updating the hardware made a huge difference (I was ready to toss the table, but was glad to save room in the budget for other items)!

The chalkboard/clipboard project was inspired by so many beautiful studios seen with clipboard inspiration walls. A couple of the boards are being used for current projects, one for press, but most of them feature clippings that would otherwise be hidden in drawers.

To separate the front of the studio from the more functional back 2/3 of the studio, we turned my storage shelves to act as dividers. We had 1/4″ boards cut to fit the backs of the shelves, and painted one backing with chalkboard paint and covered the second with wallpaper from Anthropologie. Since my storage shelves have a glass front but are crammed with stuff, I covered the side of one bookshelf with burlap to partially hide the clutter.

My desk! A few months ago when I was lamenting the cost of all my favorite desks, Kate Miss suggested hairpinlegs.com and Ikea countertops. This was one of our easiest projects and much cheaper than the alternatives. We made a second desk just like it, which will hopefully make an appearance once we have more space. Until then, we’re using a found desk, and our meeting table doubles as assembly space. See below for sources on the rest of the furniture:

wallpaper / cube book case / chevron rug / floor runner / red cabinet (ikea, no longer available) / table lamp / file cabinets / striped baskets  / side table / tripod table / meeting chairs / bunting / all other items thrifted