I originally started setting up my studio space in our basement about a year ago, which turned out to not work very well for me as it was a smaller space, right near our wood stove, and worst of all.....no windows! Too dark and dungeon like for me considering the amount of time I would be spending in there. We have a front to back living room on the main level of our home which we only used the space towards the back of the house for our living room. The room in the front has always just been a 'sitting room' as I have never really known what to do with it. It definitely was not the greatest use of space.
Enter my idea to use it as my home office/studio. With three big windows, it was much more practical and much less dark and depressing. The primary use of the space is for me to work on my online eBay store. I needed a space with good lighting for pictures, a place to take pictures of my items, a desk with a computer for posting my listings, and a nice and organized set up to keep my shipping and packaging supplies.
I hung two long white rods across to hang some sheer white curtain panels to separate the space just a little. In below picture, you are looking into the living room.
Here is the space getting a fresh new makeover! All of the walls, trim, and baseboards got a coat or two of primer which completely brightened up the room even more as all of the trim was wood which I loved at first but now prefer all white trim throughout the house.
One small wall needed to be a chalkboard wall just because I love chalkboard walls!
I love this large wicker basket with handles that I purchased awhile ago at the Christmas Tree Shop. Perfect for holding my eBay items that have been packaged and ready to ship! Of course it needed a pretty chalkboard label so I knew it was my 'out' bin!
Below is a dresser that my dad got for free for me to use in this space. It was in desperate need of a makeover! It was the perfect piece of furniture to use for storing all of my shipping and packaging supplies in the drawers, weigh and package up my items on the top, and the perfect little open cubby for my new basket to live.
Adding some wood filler to a very large crack that went right across the top of the dresser. There were a few other cracks that got filled as well and then I sanded the entire dresser in preparation for paint.
The dresser handles were a gross brassy color so I gave them a quick coat of gold metallic spray paint to clean them up and make them look pretty! I did like the gold, but later decided to spray paint them pink as I wanted all of the furniture white with pops of gold and pink throughout the rest of the room.
Here is an 'in progress' picture of the dresser after it got one coat of primer and two coats of white paint. The basket could not fit there more perfectly! LOVING the white so much!
The pretty pink handles were added for just the right pop of color!
What a difference a couple coats of paint can do! Of course a side by side before and after picture is necessary to show the awesomeness!
The next piece of furniture to get a makeover (there may have been just a few!!) was this wood desk that I found on the side of the road awhile back. Of course I drove by it and had to turn around to go get it!! My mom was with me that day so I pulled over and had her get out to grab it while I sat in the car hysterically laughing as she was walking back to the truck with it (had to be there....it was a good time and we both laughed so much!) Anyways.....The desk was nice solid wood and just needed some PAINT! I did the usual steps prior to painting, I filled any holes, sanded, wiped down, and then started priming.
I surprisingly did not get anymore before or in progress pictures of the desk or as I lined the insides of the drawers to add some prettiness, so here it is after a couple coats of white paint, lined drawers, and spray painted pink handles.
My very favorite picture of the desk {almost} complete, looking fresh and new!
I absolutely LOVE how it came out but decided to give it just a little more of this pretty color......
......by dipping all four legs into the paint and then letting it completely dry.
Who doesn't love some legs dipped in pretty pink paint?!! I sure am smitten with the outcome!
Next up is a wooden microwave kitchen cart that I scored at a yard sale for.....you guessed it....FREE! This was also in great condition, just waiting for some paint loving.
Looks all nice and new with some fresh white paint!
Side by side before and after......
All done and ready to be used. Printer on top, my laminator lives on the next shelf, and a basket on the bottom which holds my label maker and extra printer ink cartridges. My craft bag hangs from a hook on the side. There is also a bar on the side and wheels on the bottom which makes it very easy to just grab it and roll right over to my desk when needed.
I already had a couple of black filing cabinets which store a lot of our important files although they were looking a bit too plain for me so I taped off diagonal stripes and grabbed my best friend spray paint, sprayed away, peeled the tape off while still wet for a nice clean line, and voila.....a 'brand new' piece of decor for my new studio!
I purchased this very, very ugly dirty green colored stool for $0.99 at Goodwill. Nothing that a can of spray paint couldn't fix! I used a gloss black spray paint which definitely made it look a whole lot better instantly. It did take awhile to dry and it was quite sticky, although, that stickiness did go away after some time. A flat spray paint or even a fabric vinyl spray would most likely prevent it from getting sticky.
There's definitely still a lot more to go, hence this post being Part 1, but painting the walls, trim, and all of the furniture was definitely the biggest project to tackle so it feels great to have that completed and now I can focus on some fun, crafty projects to get all of my supplies organized and add some decor.
The wicker chair in the below picture was also found at Goodwill for around $5, that and the small stand next to it both got a fresh coat of white spray paint as well. The black sheer curtains I already had on hand and I just hung them to see how they would look and also for some privacy but they will not be staying. I plan to get some fun, colorful fabric and make some diy roman shades using mini blinds. I think I will also move that white storage unit to another room and replace it with a tall counter which will probably be diy as well.
Here's a shot of the other side of the room as is now but that will likely change around until I figure out exactly where it will make the most sense to keep all of my supplies so that the more frequently used items are within reach and easily accessible which, in turn will result in increased productivity!!
Be sure to check back in as I have lots of upcoming posts already planned!!!
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