Art Studio Reveal

Ten days ago, my husband and I rearranged the configuration of our home so that I could use our converted garage as an art studio and office. The garage is not insulated, which is a challenge in the hot Texas summers and cool winters. The carpet is laid directly onto the sloping cement foundation and the walls are covered in plastic siding. It's a funky space to work with. But this two-car garage has something I need: square footage!

Previously, we were using this space as a TV room and catch-all for my children's toys.  Now, I'm so pleased to have a room where I can work on large scale art pieces, host workshops and classes as well as continue my work with Houzz.com and Harris Publications as a freelance writer and photographer.

Here's what I did with the space:

Just as a reminder, here is what the space looked like ten days ago:

What did I do to change it?  I painted the walls in Black Suede by Behr paints. Then I took all of the furniture in my former office and set it up in the new space.  I did not buy a singe new piece of furniture for the new studio space. Everything you see in the photos was either in my home or stored away in my tool shed.  The total cost of my garage makeover two gallons of paint: $76.24.

 

I love to play piano. This instrument has been languishing in my dining room for the past three years.  The only time I can really play is when my children are asleep.  But then the piano wakes them up.  Now that the piano is tucked away in the very back of the house, I can play whenever I like without waking anyone!

A very dear friend of mine gave me this Mary a few years ago.  She got it at a street fair in Brooklyn, New York.  Now, she is mounted above the door in the studio.  I'm not a religious person, but I like to think I've got her energy watching over me.  Isn't she lovely?

I am over the moon about this new set-up. I am so grateful to have the space to do something like this for myself.  This goes so beyond anything I ever though I'd have as an artist. I'm teaching a workshop on April 7th and I'm so excited to see how the space handles 8 women for a day of art and writing.  Thank you for all your encouragement, dear readers!  Let me know what you think of the new digs in the comments section below!

xo - Sarah