New Studio Finished At Last - Time To Move Back In!

At last, after several weeks of upheaval and hard graft, my new studio/workroom is complete. The carpet is down, the furniture is back in and although I'm still in the process of moving "stuff" down the two flights of stairs from my old workroom,  I can now get back to work properly.

As you can see, I decided in the end to paint the pine fireplace and the wooden alcove shelves in an off white eggshell paint.  But I'm confident now that it was the right choice and it has really enhanced the room. 

I used  a selection of vintage style tiles from Topps Tiles and created a random effect of five different designs from the same tile range. The result was even better than I thought it would be.

The poster was from Kelly Hall Designs bought a while ago and I finally had it framed by a local company.  I absolutely love it as the artist has featured a local landmark called Wittenham Clumps for this Oxfordshire poster, which she has created in the vintage railway poster style. It really enhances the space above my fireplace.

Am still in the process of moving everything down from my old workroom but gradually the room is  taking shape.

I use vintage jugs and nursery cups picked up from local car boot sales and charity shops to store my tools, paintbrushes etc. So too old tins, boxes and even wooden boxes  are used to hold other bits and bobs. I really don't care if the jugs or cups have hairline cracks in, or the tins have dents and are a bit on the rusty side... they are perfect for what I need them for. My old tiny Victorian dolls house has now been moved from the hall shelf into here, along with my old style toy shop. A  black Victorian jewellery box, admittedly a little worse for wear, is turned up on its end and is perfect for housing three little treasures. The tiny clock was bought for just under £3.00 in the Dunelm sale - my pretty green curtains were also from the Dunelm sale at an absolute snip of a price...I do love a bargain! The lovely ancient burgundy vintage industrial style lamp belonged to daughter-in-law but she had no more use for it so it had been destined for the charity shop. However I rescued it for my desk but my goodness...it weighs an absolute ton! The beautiful painting of a French chateau on the top shelf was a very special gift from a friend.

 My lovely old 1920s cabinet is now very useful for keeping absolutely everything in!

 An old pine school cupboard has been brought down from upstairs and painted in a pale green/grey eggshell paint. I have great plans to do something arty with the doors and want to change the boring old knobs, but that will have to wait for another day. My lovely old battered 1920s/30s bungalow is now at home on the top. The cupboard itself is filled with all my paints, glues, tools, etc.

 My old squidgy red sofa is still on the other side of the room - it is so comfortable and I have had it for years now.  You just sink into it....bliss!

Another absolute bargain was this vintage key cabinet and letter rack, bought greatly reduced in a closing down sale from a wonderful local shop.

I will use the letter rack for letters but I won't be using the cabinet for keys. Instead I will use it to keep all those little dolls that I could  not find a home for in my dolls houses for whatever reason....I had to give them somewhere nice to live, instead of a dusty box?

So there we are....I still have quite a lot more to do - as yet I don't even have a lampshade. Am also looking for a massive old picture frame to make into an arty noticeboard using vintage offcuts of antique wallpaper (if I can find enough) or possibly old ephemera....but that will also have to wait for another day, as  I have now blown my meagre budget completely. Tomorrow I hope to get stuck into some KT Miniatures work and begin listing some old treasures once again. 

CeliaX