studio shots part 3: welcome to the palace

So you’ve seen a video, side 1, and my ironing table idea hack.
Want to see the other half?

Coming up my stairs and looking to the right is another room full of light and space. My drafting table is my favorite thing in the world. An art professor that I was a Teaching Assistant for one summer (I don’t clearly recall how that happened – I wasn’t an art student, I was in the architecture program) pointed me to a pile of discarded desks outside and told me I could take one. I took it apart, refinished it, and used an old door as a table top for years. A few years ago I finally made a dedicated plywood top for it that fits both the table and my large cutting board. It originally had a light table top but that was gone when I got to it.

Most days I have a print-ready cover on it consisting of a big chunk of felt covered by duck cloth that can be washed. Last week I had white poster board on top and photography lights and photo stands working on getting some good shots for my upcoming Bead It Like You Mean It part 2 online course.

Another window, more fabric and stuff storage. I move my table around as needed and have learned (the hard way of course) to be very careful if it is close to those angled walls. Ouch!

This spot is still under construction. I have to keep the area by the wall clear so that the pull-down attic steps aren’t blocked. The ugly door on the left leads to a closet I had built – filling in the empty space above the stairs. It’s the only thing I thought was badly done in the renovation but I don’t have time to deal with it. I’ll make a quilt to cover it up!!! The closet holds my book/DVD/Packing materials inventory.
On the someday list is to paint the filing cabinets there bright red. On top of it is my thermofax machine and materials.

These shelving units from IKEA were much easier to install here than making custom built-ins. AC ductwork goes through this bench so it felt like lost space. Finished quilts are stored up top and really, this is most of my fabric collection. I think I have more garment sewing fabric than quilting cottons.

The one serious drawback is that I don’t yet have a big design wall. I’ve got two 4’x8′ insulation boards covered with flannel. I’m going to frame them. The only big wall I have is covered with a full wall mirror and I love the light it reflects into the room. I might end up covering most of it anyway. I need that wall. 

Or – I’ll frame up two or three of the insulation boards and put them on wheels so they can move around. I could then use them for backdrops for filming video. We’ll see.