I have a new painting completed but it’s been raining so much lately that I haven’t been able to get a good shot of it. The sun has finally returned though, so hopefully I’ll have a picture of it to post soon. Meanwhile, in spite of a holiday break, progress continues with the new studio. We’ve done some exterior painting to the posts and doors, and I finally have a floor as well!
This shot shows the doors painted red to match the doors on our house. The pavers create a sidewalk and courtyard to connect the studio to the house. I’ll have enough space on either side of the french doors for some flower beds. It’s probably good that I’m shooting this in winter while the Crepe Myrtle is dormant, as I’m able to get a good shot of both the side and end elevations at once:
It’s interesting to note how different the angle of the sun is in winter. During the summer we don’t have the long shadows coming over the yard from the trees across the street. The end elevation (below) faces the back door of our house. This is the door I’ll use most often:
I took a shot of the Pergo flooring just before covering it up with contractor’s paper. I initially considered solid bamboo but at less than half the price I really had to go with the laminate. I must say this looks pretty good for an imitation:
I think the hanging wire and bare lightbulb really tie the room together 
We’re cutting the trim/mouldings this weekend, and we hope to install the track lights and overhead fixtures next week (more on the lighting I’ve chosen in a future post). After that, we just need to take care of the sink and the interior painting. I do think I want a wall color other than just plain white–though nothing near as dark as the deep sage color mentioned earlier that seems so popular with many of the portrait painters. Right now I’m eyeing a much lighter neutral gray/green/beige. My description makes it sound like a hospital color, but it’s really quite nice. I’ll wait and see how the color looks after the lights are installed, however. It’s amazing how much colors shift in different lighting conditions.
Jennifer
Young; Vibrant LandscapesOil Paintings and Art Prints Online
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Hi Jennifer, and Happy New Year. I think your year will be a great one with your new wonderful studio. The floors look like a “real” art studio – much better than my dirty beige carpet! lol Great to see the progress!
Jennifer! That’s amazing progress. It looks beautiful.
Sorry if I missed it, but do you have plans for your little loft above the door?
I saw the floor of my “studio” a while ago. Your studio! Beautiful room! I look forward to seeing beautiful paintings. Very nice feeling “space”, and the pavers are a beautiful addition to fit it into the landscape.
Thanks everyone! I’m pretty excited that things are really starting to come together. It’s looking so pretty I’m almost afraid to paint in it (Not really! I miss painting too much!) Bonnie, that loft space above the door will be used for storage. It’s pretty high up and we’re trying to figure out some kind of library ladder dealy to use for it now. Ideally a loft or library ladder on tracks would be great, but the ones I’ve seen online are way too expensive for me, so we’re still working on that.
Since it is up a ways, I’ll not store anything that I need to access often, or anything very large or heavy. But I’m thinking it will be a good place for things like my large roll of bubble wrap, smaller frames, stretcher bars, rolls of canvas, etc.
This is a dream! Everyone should have a space as nice as yours to create!
You planned this out well! Thanks for going to my BLOG. Laura Jeannie in Radford (Jeannie)
I like how you’ve managed to build my dream studio without even knowing who I am!
Past this point, the only major upgrade I would concern myself with is a high-quality audio system, and perhaps even soundproofing as well so that it doesn’t sound hollow inside. While I would use the space both for visual and audio work, having a great sound system is good for inspiration too! I also really like those lovely red french doors. I’m sure they made the remodel much easier and they’ll also be great on beautiful spring days.
****siiiighhhhhhh*****
Thanks Vernita- Glad I could help
I agree about the sound system. While sometimes I do like complete silence when I work, most often I loves my tunes.
Jennifer,
What are the dimensions of your beautiful studio? I did not see that information. Where will storage be located?
Diane Dorn
dianedorn@verizon.net
Hi Diane,
The only “built-in” area for storage right now is the loft area above the single door. But this will be for excess items and things I don’t need to access that often as access will be by loft ladder. Original plans had a closet and bathroom, but due to setback restrictions on our lot we had to nix those as we were required to reduce the size of the studio overall. The building is 16′ deep by 28′ long, not including the loft/portico section.
I *hope* to have my office, storage AND work area all operating out of this space….we will see. I won’t really know until I move in there which will hopefully be very soon! Storage will be the next big issue to resolve. At my old studio I had shelving for storage and art bins built for the space, and I think I will do the same for this space. But I opted not to have built-ins so I could have more flexibility about how I could use the space. I’m sure I’ll be blogging about storage solutions in the future. Any suggestions are also welcome!
i like art stuido please send me more alivation of buidling