My Studio/Craft Room, phase one REVEAL!

Do I even have to mention that it's a work in progress???

I still have some projects to work on and fun goodies to arrange on the walls but I couldn't resist showing you the results so far!!


Your first peek as you come from down the hall. It delights me every time!


What you see when you walk in the double doors. Yep, the dresser drawers are still wonky. It's on the honey-do list.


The dresser hutch is the focal point of this room for sure. I know I'll always be rearranging things and that's part of the fun! I'm thinking about painting the back of the hutch pink. Whaddaya think??


I was so happy to be able to use this green "tower" to store and display my small amount of fabric that I use for making flowers. I like to SEE my pretty stuff! Plus my friends can pick through it to make a project of their own. I like everything to be user-friendly!


My tea station. I'd love to add a Keurig or French press eventually. I know some people prefer coffee, some prefer tea! I'm happy to cater to either. If you're an "I'll just have some water" type, bring your own. Hehe. I thought I was clever, putting fabric in the toast holder!


My seating area so I can have coffee or tea with a client or friend. {Or my mom!} I'd love for people to come sit and peruse my color and decorating books, too! I'm on the hunt for a bigger table (side table or nightstand, possibly with a drawer and a crystal knob) to paint pink for between the chairs that will fit two cups and saucers comfortably. Function over form, baby! See the pillow cover on the right?? I'd love to find a similar fabric and have a seat cushion made for the wicker chair {I scored for $7 at a neighbor's yard sale}.


My work space/craft table/desk and screen. I scored the screen for $19 from Goodwill WITH the $70 Hobby Lobby tag still on it!

Here's what on my table at the moment. The fabric samples I ordered to help me decide on what to use for our family room curtains. The turquoise and gray colors are what we already have in the house {this room was painted 'TAME TEAL' (the second one down) FROM SHERWIN WILLIAMS}, the yellow will be a POP color. Our final decision on fabric will be coming in a future post! :)



Wondering what is hiding behind that screen?? {I'd would be! I'm the curious sort who has to resist the urge to peek inside your bathtub or medicine cabinet when I use the guest bathroom!}


THIS mess!! My boys will be watching TV and playing X-box in the back of my room so we're working on getting their area better organized. For now, the screen hides it perfectly!

PHASE TWO will include my craft supply storage, bookcase and wall art!

What is in YOUR dream studio??

And if you're wondering where I got anything you see here, I'm happy to tell you (if I can remember). Just e-mail me or leave a comment!

If you want me to help you bravely choose the colors you love, Hire Me!.

Tablescape Fun

We've been in this house for two weeks and when I invited a potential future friend over for breakfast today, I looked around and decided that I better get rid of all the empty boxes and actually do some styling!

First up, my front hall table. I'm not hanging anything on the walls until everything is unpacked and we have a good master plan but for now, it's fun to play with artwork and accessories. I was inspired by a blog post about creating tablescapes using four elements: 1) candles 2) books 3) artwork and 4) flowers so I grabbed some of each and here's what I came up with.

I also tried to keep in mind the rule about using odd numbers when decorating and I felt like the five elements were a nice balance.



1) candles. The best I came up with was this candelabra and yes, its missing its taper candles! I have some turquoise ones but they're still packed up.

2) books. I used my Nancy Drew collection my parents just cleared out of my dad's office. It's important for the books' colors to tie in with the rest of the vignette and I love how the yellow ties in with the painting!

3) artwork. My painting from Southern Living At HOME/Willow House I scored on clearance years ago. I love the colors!

4) flowers are a faux bouquet I've had since decorating for my wedding 9 years ago and I still love the color and how realistic they are. I also happen to adore the turquoise SLAH/Willow House pitcher they're in.

I eventually added a lamp, too. I'll be on the hunt for a matching pair of similar lamps for this table.



Here it is as you come in from the garage.



Moving on to my dining area, which I had set up this morning for a new friend's get-to-know-you breakfast. I love the sunlit look....



and the pink bromeliad against the turquoise.

I need place mats!!




And here's a Chinese antique cabinet/sideboard in our family room. Again, I created two groups of odd-numbered objects (three) although the shell does make it four! Here's what I did:



Then my husband came along and made one small change and I do like it better (I think it's because I like the separation between the bold orange and turquoise pieces)! I swear, he has a better eye for design than I do. Bless him.



Do you "style" your tabletops? Do you typically use the four above-mentioned elements (candles, books, artwork, flowers)? Do you leave them alone or find yourself tweaking them all the time? SHARE! :)