Getting Close

It is spring break here and I have been busy getting the studio ready. I have some before and after shots to share! We finally chose colors and I am really pleased with how it looks.

 Obviously, these are the before photos. It's a huge space with lots of white and pretty darn boring. It is one of four (yes, I said four) garages on my property and it stored cars, car parts, and riding lawnmowers for a very long time. Making it girly was no easy task. This is my sewing corner where I have my personal machines set up. Super ugly and not at all cheerful.

 This spot was a little better because there was some color here. It served as my cutting and ironing station. But not super functional simply because the space on the shelves was being utilized all wrong. Bicycle helmets and hot rod magazines DO NOT belong in a sewing studio :)

I knew I wanted a spot to sit and relax so I moved in a loveseat and a coffee maker. But still... not the best set-up. Behind that quilt hanging up is an awesome peg board that could be used for all kinds of things, but I hated the red so I covered it up.

Ready for the after?! So much better, I promise!

DRUMROLL PLEASE!

 Ta Da!!! I switched the cutting and ironing station with the loveseat and coffee area. It makes so much more sense. Now I am using the peg board to hang scissors, rulers, cutting mats. The shelves above the loveseat now hold craft magazines and books for folks to look at while they hang out and have a cup of coffee. 

I still have a bit of cleaning up and organizing to do, but I'm mostly finished. My favorite part of the room is, by far, my fabric shelves. I had my fabric spread out in different places around the room. Shoved in cabinets, crumpled up in baskets, folded in tupperware bins... Now it is all in one place and out where I can see what I have.

Now it is time for me to start sifting through all the ideas in my head and come up with a class schedule. That will be finalized and posted within the next week or so. Be watching for it!

And So It Begins

I am slowly moving things around to figure out an arrangement. The trouble I'm having is that this needs to be a functional classroom, but still has to be where I sew too. I won't have room inside my house for a sewing space until my kids start moving out, and I'm in no hurry for that. For now, I'm just trying to get a layout of the room in order. It's like a giant jigsaw puzzle...

 This insulation on the garage door needs to stay, but it's so ugly. I'm thinking of taking it down and wrapping it in some pretty fabric before I put it back up. Or even cover it in batting for a design wall of sorts.

 Once I have everything situated where I want it, then we will begin moving it all out. Then the cleaning and painting will begin. There are many things in this room that belong to my husband. So I'm waiting for him to make a space for his things somewhere for his things. I don't really think basketball trophies and car parts fit in with the theme I'm going for.

Choosing Colors!!!

It has been unseasonably warm here (I'm talking 30's and 40's, so certainly still pretty cold). It hasn't snowed here once this winter, and all our reservoirs are empty. This is very bad news for our crops, my veggies, and my grass.

But since it hasn't been super cold I'm expecting spring to come sooner than later - or spring-like weather anyway -  which means I will begin working on the studio earlier than expected. Last week my husband was sitting next to me watching television and he asked me "have you chosen colors for the studio yet?" Normally he doesn't care even a little bit about that kind of thing. So after the shock wore off, I realized that, no, I had not even thought about it yet!

This is where you come in. I need some help. I have so many ideas swimming through my head and I'm having a hard time committing. This space is huge, people. Once it's painted, I'm done. Whether I like it or not.

There is a site called Design Seeds. This lady has hundreds of color palettes to inspire! Here are a few of my favorites:

I'm not really sold on that one. But as you can tell from the first three, I definitely have a certain color scheme I am attracted to. I would LOVE LOVE LOVE some input from you! I'm thinking a lighter color (more neutral) on the walls, then something fun, bright, and cheerful for the shelving and pegboard. Take a peek at the Design Seeds site. I'd love to see what you like.

If you find something awesome, it would be great if you'd leave a link in the comments so I can check it out. I'd also love to hear which of the 4 I posted here is your favorite. Much thanks!

My Favorite Room

I'm linking up with my friend Sharon's blog for her weekly "For the Love of" post. I missed out last week because the topic was books. I love books, a whole lot. And I have massive amounts of them. But unfortunately they are all packed away in boxes buried beneath other boxes in the garage of my new house, in which I am not currently living.

Which brings me to the topic for this week... My Favorite Room. I was at the new house not too long ago and I thought to take a few snapshots while I was there. I really do love it and am very excited to finally be living there a week from today! Can you believe it? You're probably relieved because very soon you will no longer have to hear me talk about it =)

Anyway, here is a peek of our new digs:

Isn't it cute? I normally can't stand split level homes, but I actually like this one. Plus, the exposed brick kinda does something for me. Now as I'm sure you could guess, my favorite room in the entire house would be my sewing room. Of course. Although it isn't as much a room as it is a closet. My bedroom has a walk-in closet (never had one of those before!) and I don't have nearly enough clothes to fill it. So my clothes live on one little hanging rod and the rest is for sewing!

It's not all set up yet but it has a big window that lets in lots of natural light which I love:

And there is just enough room on the far wall to set up a table for my sewing machine:

I plan to have that wall covered in mini quilts soon. I hope you have enjoyed the little peek into my home. I'll definitely be posting some more pictures once we get moved and settled in.

If you have a favorite room of your own, hop over to Sharon's blog and join in on the party.

Ooh, and in case you're wondering, I finished the kids quilts today! Bet you can't guess what my next blog post will be about...