Studio time

When moving into a new home, one that has just been built, you are foolish to think that it's back to normal. We just had whole sections of the house repainted, touched up, and today the entire place, (aside from the studio), is covered with a film of dust. In the meantime I've been busy improving on some of the design books, writing new instruction books and setting up homes in display cases for my jewelry work. A large glass case is being put together for some smaller needlepoint pieces as well.

I now have an outdoor area and a greenroom for plants galore. I've been working on terrariums and plantscapes and having a wonderful time with my hands in dirt!

This big beauty is going to a new home and a new family today! There are many more in the works.

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I declare mandatory waiting periods!

I'm here, behind the boxes... We moved into our new home two weeks ago today. I have moved at least 30 times in my life, sometimes in the same city, a few times to different continents. It doesn't get easier... Still so much unpacking and finding the right place for our stuff needed. One thing I vow is to stop buying things that I will look to donate a few years later! How much money gets wasted, and in many cases if you wait to make sure you need something, you find out that it's really not necessary. I hereby proclaim a waiting period for anything I buy! Promise!

A few photos of my green room, one of my favorite rooms in the house...

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The House I Built, not the needlepoint one.

It's progressing, right? The metal window wall is up as well as the walls of the greenhouse. The hanging wood cabinet is NOT the right color! This will have to be fixed to a color much closer to the wood floor. 

The view from my windows is not a city view, is it?
I'm very happy with the mix of shiny new cabinets and old beaten up wood cabinet.

 I love the pattern we did in the wood floor at the entrance! It almost looks like a wood area rug.

Our Master Bath is full of pattern. There are SO many decisions that need to be made when building a house and I love most of my choices. The stone floor in the bathrooms is not one of my favorites but it will do.

 I really obsessed with the tiles in the kitchen. I saw them in a European magazine, tracked down the US supplier, realized that I can only afford a small area and placed them sort of like a runner in the kitchen. I love them!! Not everyone does, I realize that.

 Our stove top is Induction. We love the way induction works, even more than gas.

That's it for now.

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Another phase closer!

The wood floor is almost an industrial grade wood, often used in old factories or warehouses. It fit the budget and I actually love the color variations!

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This much I know!

Our house is coming along, I finally feel connected to it, it seems like it may be the place we will live in. All the drywall is completed, next week they will begin putting in the wood floor and the tiles. Here are some of my choices for tiles:

This tile is called Puzzle. It is a cement tile and has a earthy look to it.  It comes in boxes with 6 different tiles as shown in the photo below. Then you lay them out in whatever design you want. You can see a sample of a dining room with the these tiles. They will be in the area between the wall of cabinets and the island, sort of like an area rug. 

The bathrooms are going to have white tiles. I had all sorts of plans for color but somehow price and area constraints led me to white. We will have pattern though. The photo below is of the wall tile. The tile is a chevron shape so we will play with the options shown in the photos below.

The powder room will be more dramatic. I am going with a cement tile, (a leaf pattern), and will paint the walls in a dark aubergine or dark blue. The faucet is the one shown below.

The other item I am excited about is a piece of furniture for the kitchen/dining nook. This will be alongside the modern kitchen cabinets we chose, and will give the kitchen a warmth and interesting vibe.

So, that's what I know so far.

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I'm in love.

With this tile which I will use somewhere in the new house! I think I'll go with the colorway in the first photo for the kitchen.

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Our house.

There it is, from about a block away, on a small city street, tucked away and yet jotting out. Standing in there you get the feel of a tree house. When talking to my architects during one of our preliminary talks, I said I wanted a house with so much light that I would need sunglasses indoors! 

It's still months away, far from completion, but I thought I'd share a bit with you. Below I'm standing in the kitchen, looking onto the living room and one of my favorite elements, my indoor greenhouse! The square frame on the floor near the windows will be framed with glass and inside I will have a lush, (cross my fingers), indoor garden. There is a skylight way above the greenhouse. 

Here I'm standing in the kitchen, this time looking in the opposite direction. The framed rectangle in the back is the elevator. I know, it sounds extravagant, but we are looking into the future and would like to be in this house for many years to come.

The studio is on the entrance level, in the back with sliding doors onto a small patio, backyard. It's about 14' x 14'.

Here are the plans:

In the center of the room there will be a big work island with large base cabinets and two sitting spaces. Along the back wall (top of plan) we will have a long desk, two seats, with upper and lower cabinets. At the bottom of the plan is a partition  a millwork cabinet which opens on both sides. It will be about 6' tall so as not to block light from all sides. On the right and left of the plan you can see the small print "slat wall" which is for hanging all the wonderful fibers! Although there is lots of storage I already know there will never be enough, but I hope we will be able to find the right spot for everything. There is a full bath adjacent to the side wall which will also serve for overnight guests.

Knowing how colorful the studio will be thanks to the abundance of fibers all around, I plan on leaving the furniture light, with wood counter tops.

Cabinet doors

To be continued...

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