Our Studio Transforms to Meet Changing Lifestyles

I have opened a shop on Etsy, Greater Retro Area, where I offer handmade sewn and vintage goods. This of course required our space to transform into part-home, part-sewing factory. With a little re-arranging, the purchase of a compact desk on CraigsList, and a shabby shelf on eBay, I am all set to start production without it impeding on our living space...

My trusty StyleMaker 3100 and my new Singer ProFinish Serger sparkling in the sunshine!

I really love this shelf. I have a place to hang my spools of ribbon (on a tension rod) and fabric for inspiration, as well as other odds and ends. My little yellow ducky came from the historic Gift Shop in the Herb Cottage where I volunteer, and it reminds me of all the wonderful ladies who run that lovely shop.

Update 12.2.08

I was just looking over the blog, and I realized that things have filled out a bit since the last post. Thus, an update seemed to be in order.

It of course takes time to find just the "right" items when you are decorating a new place, especially one that is so drastically different than anywhere we've ever lived before. Take a look at the latest.

Matt Elected to Board

I wanted to give a shout out to Matt on his election as Secretary to the Board of Directors during the condo association's annual meeting. He quickly became a valued member of the community after we moved in, and I know he will thrive in his new capacity. Congratulations!!

The Final Reveal

Well, this is it! Welcome to the new and improved unit 104. It has been a while since the last post but I don't like inviting people over unless the place is spotless, and apparently the same rule applies to Internet posts. We’re mostly done, just some final decorating things to buy but that of course takes time to find just the right thing.

I suppose I could run through the things that have changed since we got the place, but I figure it’s easier to mention the things that have stayed the same:

• The floor.
• The wall studs.
• The windows.

Other than that, all that you see in the following after pictures is new.

Kitchen

The kitchen was a big transformation. Simply replacing the appliances and lighting has made a huge difference.

Before (Wide-Angle)

During (Wide-Angle)

After (Wide-Angle)

Before

After

The plates in the window sill are AWESOME! They were after all the inspiration behind the color on the walls, so what better way to display them and maximize our storage space than to keep them in the window?! I got this great shelf on eBay, and I plan to keep a small herb garden and spices in pretty glass jars on it.

Bathroom

The bathroom was our biggest challenge. Between the toilet breaking, the mirror that we couldn’t get off the wall, and not being able to move the location of the light fixture, there were definitely times we wanted to just give up. But, the final product is a very warm and beautiful oasis. The medicine cabinet is definitely the focal point.

Before (From Inside)

During (From Inside)

After (From Inside)

Before (From Doorway)

During (From Doorway)

After (From Doorway)

Living/Bedroom Area

The night we bought the place, we sold the Murphy Bed for a rather pretty penny (I already had a buyer lined up). Our bedroom furniture has never looked more amazing, as I’ve always wanted to display it against walls with some color on them, neutral as it may be.

Before

During

After

Before

After

We went shopping this weekend and picked up this Mercury glass apothecary jar on top of the dresser and the topiary in the window.