Spreading my wings.

My main "studio" is housed in our basement. Most of the time, this works just dandy, but lately I've been craving a new work space. During the winter, I tend to gravitate up to the dining room table for computer work and photographs. Better light, better heat. My issue with the dining room table: distraction. It's the main hub of the house, so it's easy to notice some mundane task that must be done RIGHT NOW and wander off to take care of it.

The guest room has been the source of many conversations with my husband.  Our house is tiny, and we only have guests a few times a year. The other 340 or so days of the year,  it just sits there with no one using it. Thus, the idea was born to convert it into my studio annex. After all, I work from home every day, so it just seems like a smarter use of the space.

I gleefully cleared the room out and started getting set up. This cupboard houses reference books and a few props (It's previous life was as a pantry in our farm kitchen). I want to keep this room fairly sparse, but I can't live without a little color. The whiteness of this cupboard door was suddenly making me very sad.

So I gave it a quick and easy makeover. I grabbed a stack of coordinating wallpaper sample sheets, paint chips and fabric, then created a patchwork door. I didn't work with a plan or layout, preferring just to go with the flow and see where the patchwork led me. I also used double stick tape, knowing that I will need to repaint the door if I ever choose to remove the patchwork.

I'm so happy with the results. I squeal with delight (really) every time I look into my new room and spy the new colorful patchwork. In fact, the whole rooms makes me dizzy with delight. It's not quite done yet, but

here is a peek at the progress.

I picked these metal racks up at a junk sale. Topped with a $25 Ikea table top, they make a perfectly tall work and photo table.  You can see that they were not quite the same height-easily solved by sliding in a decorative box to fill the gap. The big bonus? Lots of supply and prop storage right at my fingertips! I'll pick up a few bins to slide onto the shelves. This will keep everything looking tidy, and allow me to move props and materials up and down from basement storage.

The height of the table and open racks below keep the room from feeling too cramped. I'm keeping things simple, using just a few key elements-a funky lampshade or two, colors and patterns-to spice up the neutral carpet and subdued wall color (Benjamin Moore-Aura/Croquet). I'm feeling more productive already!