Friday, February 22, 2008

My Creative Space




















I know some of the the other designers have shared their spaces, so I thought I would share mine as well.

In our master bedroom is this small room, which when we first looked at the house is what made me decide I wanted it. I wanted this space as my own.

Between moving in, getting settled, and various deadlines, it was a full 6 months before I could renovate it to my liking. Well, that and the fact that my DH was out of town for a week and couldn't see what I was doing. :)

Having said that, he did have an idea as I had requested the paint as a Christmas present, which he did buy for me. So while he was off taking pictures of airplanes in Florida, I went to work. I had chosen Venetian Plaster for the walls in an orangey hue. Since I have no windows, I wanted a color that was dramatic. That being said, while I totally LOVE the effect, it was way too much work!

The thing about Venetian Plaster is that you have to apply it with a spatula, one stroke at a time, letting each application slightly overlap the other. That was easy. The hard part is that you have to sand it all.

OH MY! Let's just say that I started out hand sanding everything and after about 2 hours of that and a gazillion sheets of sandpaper, I sought out DH's palm sander. The person who invented this deserves a medal! I will say though that it's been nearly a year since the completion of my room and my right arm has just recently stopped vibrating.

I wish you could touch the walls in person. When you sand the plaster it becomes a darker hue, not only that, but it gets shiny as well; and if you sand it enough (which I did), it becomes smooth to the touch, not just any kind of smooth, but smooth as glass.

I then painted the trim in a coordinating color. I thought the door needed some character so I used Lumiere to hand paint all the Fleur di lies you see. I then sewed the curtains to hide the yucky parts, shelves that house my supplies, and of course the well pump; the pump, well that's another story! Ummm... I am still learning how to use this blog, so if you have to try and figure out the pictures in correlation to the story please forgive me!

My intent is cover the ceiling with chandeliers and would most appreciate if you happen to know of a source for candle ones!

To one wall I attached metal roofing to create a huge magnetic board. Ignore the calendar; I'm typically a few weeks behind. (In script only! Don't panic Clara!!!) I made the majority of the magnets and just love that I can look up from my screen and see deadlines, handmade cards, addresses, photographs and the like. It keeps me grounded.

Behind the doorway are wire cubes. They hold cardstock, canvas, fabric, stamps, photos and the like. In some drawers are little scraps of paper that I save. I'll admit, it kills me to spend upwards of $1.00 for a sheet of paper and not use it all, so I keep each usable scrap. Funny thing is that I most often turn to my scrap drawers first and usually find what I need. In the other drawers are acrylic paints, chalks, Lumiere and stickers, organized by letter, phrases or words.

And yes, the hands are a project - maybe one that you might see soon...

Oh, I can't help it but there is a picture of my "baby." My Dremel. DH bought it for me as another Christmas present, (Honestly, it was one of the best gifts I have ever received!) and the following year I got the stand. I'm in heaven :D (sigh)

And yes, I do realize that these images are all screwy; I've never done a blog before so give me a HUGE learning curve, besides isn't it fun to match the images with my commentary? :D

Oh and one image shows what is behind curtain #2, the well pump... ahhhh, and as I said before, that's another story in and of itself. Stay tuned....

1 comment:

Ursula Page said...

The door is my fav! How cool! I will add you to my blog list :)