3.12.2012

A Long Time Coming. Or, How Mel Became Room Inspiration.

About two trillion years ago, I decided that I wanted my studio (or whatever you want to call it) to be the next space that I tackled in the house.

So I bought a huge comfy chair (that could easily fit two people) and the ottoman (that you could lie flat on for a nap, it's huge) at Salvation Army. It was a great brand and I got the chair/ottoman set (nearly new) fifty percent off the Salvation Army price. We loaded it onto and into Old Red and brought it home.

That was last summer.

For about six months I was stuck deciding on a color. Then, over winter break, I decided on blue.

But I couldn't choose a blue. None of them looked right. And I bought probably six different samples:
This is not even all the blues. More blue crimes were committed after this photo.
 I seriously hated them all. Plus, Jeremiah had gotten me two prints - one as a graduation present and one for Christmas. And I didn't like the way either of them looked in my room against those blue samples. So I decided that blue was out.

And then Mel walked in the room. In case you have forgotten, Mel looks like this:
I swear, she poses. This is her thoughtful pose.
Anyway, I was like, brown. Hmmm...and then I remembered how much I love the brown room at my parents' house. And I was like, brown...some more.

So I found one sample, just as a trysies.
I was sold. I didn't even need to try any other browns. This one was PERFECT. It was a darker brown with some greyish/purple-y tones.

 After one coat I was loving it, but I was also frightened. I did NOT want to have to do ten coats of paint, and with the horrible textured walls that exist throughout the Southwest, I thought there was a good possibility of ten coats coming true. All those raised bumps make it really difficult to get the low-lying spots.

After two coats, however, I was good. I will need to do some light touch-ups in some extra-textured areas, but other than that, all is golden.

And I love it. It's not a large room, and I know some people are into the whole "Small rooms + Dark colors = No" but I don't think it makes it feel any smaller. The high arched ceilings probably help with that.  Also, the room gets constant light, from sunrise to sunset. So it never feels cave-like.

I went back and forth on whether or not to paint the ceiling and trim white. You might remember that EVERYTHING in the house is a horrible creamy color. Everything. Even door hinges, vents, and outlet covers. Finally I sucked it up and Jeremiah painted the ceiling my go-to white (Delicate White, Olympic Paint) and I tackled the trim. It looks SO much better. I'm glad we did it. It makes the brown pop and feels clean and fresh in the room.

I am also happy because the cats love coming in and sitting in the window and watching/scaring the pigeons. Now that the room is finished, they can actually do that again. Plus, we rigged little doggy gates so the cats can have free range upstairs but the dogs can't. Which is good.
What can I ruin in this empty room? The blinds, meow.
Since the pictures were taken, we've cleaned all the carpet in the house with a rented carpet cleaner and then transferred most items into their respective rooms. Two of the rooms (my studio & one guest room) look quite messy right now. So no more pictures for a bit.

I can tell you, however, that I already have spent numerous evenings sitting in my cozy chair with a cat or dog, covering myself with a handmade quilt from a dear friend (Sara!) and read. Oh, how I love it.

Oh, and for the rest of the colors, I'm thinking of more creams, tans, whites, and browns. Like Mel in Siberia.  I might switch out some accent colors seasonally. Not like Mel.

What's still to come in the studio?

  • Curtains/blinds
  • shelving (I already know what shelving I am getting. For free. Under the cover of darkness. Shh...)
  • Art (Already have it all. Just waiting for the shelving so I know where the art will go.)
  • Bookshelves. Oh, I love the bookshelves. They need to be sanded, primed, and painted. We got them from Borders when they went out of business. 
  • A rug (already have it, taking it to the laundromat to clean it in one of their large washers).
That's what's up in our house. I'm hoping that as we wait for the studio to come together, I can get Jeremiah to help finish painting the walls along the stairs.

Anyone else doing any painting? Anyone else take their inspiration from their cat?

P.S. This weekend Jeremiah and I volunteered for Odyssey of the Mind. It was a really fun time and it was great to see students challenging themselves and getting excited about doing it. I didn't see Jeremiah all day, but afterward he said he had a great time and would judge again next year. You don't have to be in education to assist/judge/coach, so check it out! Or get your child involved! Next year, because you've missed this year.  So sad for you.

2 comments:

DeAnne said...

I can't wait to see this room once it is completed! I am most excited about the booksheleves!

Emily said...

Thanks, I'm really excited about the bookshelves at this point - I've already got the lighting up, so the shelves are the next big thing.