Category Archives: studio

Labels and Life

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The more I work on this blog, the more I realize that I might, in fact, be a tiny bit of a challenge to live with.  True story.  I’m the queen of “unfinished projects, but let’s start something new anyway”.  I have lots of piles all over the house.  Things I’m working on… Things I’m gonna work on…  Things I’ll never work on, but haven’t gotten rid of yet… and I’m fairly content in ALL of the chaos.

And because I am married to a man who approaches life in a completely opposite way, I am continually impressed, overwhelmed and blessed by the depth of Tyson’s grace for me. He is neat and orderly and likes to see things thru to completion before starting something new.  He loves me despite my crazy and that just makes me want to work harder to clean up my act.

Don’t get me wrong, when you visit our home, you’re not walking into an episode of “Hoarders”.  But my ability to have things more organized in our home, has LOADS of room for improvement.

Case in point… when I left abruptly last month to visit my mom, my man was surrounded with loose ends to take care of and me trying to navigate him through it all from 1200 miles away.  At one point, he was just trying to find a pen in the workroom and me knowing which unmarked box that I store them in just seemed so clearly inefficient.

Unmarked Storage

Sure, he could’ve just searched in the different boxes, but there comes a point where you’d like to grab a pen and get back to the greater task at hand.

Searching thru Storage

So it’s time to get some things labeled.

Chalkboard Labels

Look who learned to play with FOTOR this week.  Thanks Gilit!

I decided wood stained, chalkboard tags would be perfect since I’m loving both right now and they would be easy to relabel down the road.

Tyson cut me 4″ wood pieces to stain with Minwax in Dark Walnut.  I also found and wanted to try out these Chalkboard Labels by Martha Stewart and a Chalk Marker to write with.

Chalkboard Label Supplies

I was curious how these products would compare with standard chalkboard paint and chalk.

The chalkboard labels are a nice alternative to working with chalk paint.  They are easy to use and gave me a crisp, clean edge that I’m always hoping I’ll get with paint.  I didn’t try out actual chalk on these labels and I want to soon.

Chalkboard Labels

While the stain dried on the wood pieces, I cut the labels to the size I needed and wrote out the names for each box.

Box Labels

The pen worked really well on the label, but it definitely doesn’t behave like chalk.  Once it’s applied, it’s not wiping off.  That’s fine for this project, but noteworthy if you are expecting your chalk marker to work like chalk.

Chalk Marker

I added the labels to the stained wood and then attached velcro to both the tag and the fabric box.  This will give me flexibility to adjust the tag placement and move them around if necessary.

Attached Labels

We went with a neutral color palette in the workroom and the labels fit in nicely.

Labeled Storage

Hopefully, anyone can now come in and easily find glue, tape, pens, or stuff to take notes with.  Tyson isn’t a crafty guy, so he probably won’t be looking in the first box, but if he’s looking for something tiny and random, it just might be in there.  Gotta keep the guy guessing on some things, right?!

Have you tried out chalkboard labels or chalk markers?  Is labeling things and organization second nature to you? Have you realized that the way you do things might not always be the easiest way for those around you?  It’s definitely enlightening.

PS.  For those that are curious, this is not a sponsored review.  I’m just sharing what I discovered with these products in our home.

Also, this post is being linked to Thrifty Decor Chick.  For more on the party check it out here.

Vintage Signage: Aging Boards

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So… I wasn’t meaning to take a week off, but we had family in town for a visit and it was lovely to unplug and spend time catching up.  I’ll have more on what we were up to with the October Re-cap next week.  But for now, I’m feeling rested and inspired and ready to handle the 23 comments that got trapped in my spam folder.  For some reason, this photo is a HUGE spam attractor.

I’ve been flooded with spam comments attached to it and I’m not sure why.  So glad I’ve used it on my blog twice now.

Anyhow… after all that beautifully sanded and stained wood that I shared with you earlier, I have to show you what I’ve been up to lately.  Let’s just say it’s a little more… ahem… rustic.

Since the beginning of the year, I have been wanting to create a vintage sign for Tyson’s office.  He has this large wall above his computer and we both agree that it would be really cool to have an old, hand-painted sign that looked like his company had it hanging outside it’s establishment a hundred years ago.

Attempt #1: Our first thought was to use salvaged wood.  It comes already aged and you’re doing something good for the environment.  But as I walked around our local salvage yard, I was having a hard time finding exactly what I had envisioned and something that wouldn’t weigh a thousand pounds.

So through the magic of Pinterest I started keeping my eyes out for how to age your own boards.

Attempt #2: I found one tutorial that the gal beat on some boards with chains, a hammer and screwdrivers.  Once it was “textured” she then soaked a steel wood pad in balsamic vinegar and “stained” the boards with that.  I gave it a try and my results were not as wonderful as what I had pinned.  My “texture” looked a little too planned.  Also, the steel wool had something on it that turned the board blue.  And lastly, the whole thing smelled funny. (duh!)

Attempt #3: And just as I was starting to wonder if I would be able to tackle this project, Beth at “Sunshine on the Inside” created this beautiful lemonade stand for her kiddos and she gave a great tutorial on how she aged the boards herself.  YAY!!  You may remember that I featured Beth’s Houndstooth Pouf.  She is a very talented lady!

So for about $30 in supplies I picked up half inch plywood boards from Home Depot and the stains that Beth had recommended: Dark Walnut and Ebony.

This project was perfect for a staining novice like myself.  Because I was wanting a rustic look, once the boards were cut to size, I skipped any sanding and went straight for applying the stain.  I started with the ebony and my first attempt was WAY too heavy. Yikes!

I flipped the board over and started again.  With a minimal amount of the ebony stain, I went over the entire boards, wiping off the excess as I went.  I quickly got the hang of it and love the results.

It was really fun to take my time and keep applying stain until I got the vintage tone I was wanting.  I definitely want to try working with stain more in the future.

Then it was time for the dark walnut stain.

This second application really brought out the details in the boards.

Beth had also recommended staining the boards before assembling the project so the tint gets on the edges and in between the boards which was a great tip!  Once everything was complete, Tyson was able to hammer the boards together and get the sign ready to be hung.

He added three boards across the back to hold them together and give the sign support.

We’re still kicking around ideas on how we want to hang this on the wall once it’s finished.  But for now, it’s put together and ready for the design work.

Now comes the hard part… not screwing up these gorgeous boards.  I’ve got to tell you, I’m a little nervous.  I’m hand painting the lettering and this can be amazing or really, REALLY bad.  I’ve got my sketch and I’m ready… fingers crossed.

Have you worked with stain before and achieved great results?  Have you had any Pinterest projects that didn’t go according to plan?  Did you throw in the towel or did you find a plan B?

And I’d like to say a huge “thank you” once again to Beth for sharing her project.  She was a life saver and gave me the confidence to try something new.  Check out “Sunshine on the Inside” here.

Studio Rug Edition

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For months we’ve been kicking around ideas for an area rug in Tyson’s Studio.  The man really wanted a vintage style oriental rug (something a little rock and roll), but we still needed it to be durable and we were hoping it wouldn’t break the bank.

A friend had recommended FLOR and so we started there.  We picked out a couple of contenders and then sent away for samples.

There were a lot of good ones, but we thought we’d ultimately wait until we got the bookcase built and painted before we made any final decisions.

Now that the bookcase is in, we revisited the topic.  A few months have passed and some new options have become available so we ordered more samples.

Tyson really liked several of these but we still weren’t sure.

Luckily, FLOR’s website has a rug generator so that you can mix and match patterns and come up with a design you like.  This proved to be a huge benefit for Tyson.  A designer being able to play around with the cut and arrangement before making a purchase… score one for FLOR!

The site also allows you to upload a photo of the space the rug is going into so you can see your options even better.

Here are a couple of ideas for your amusement:

Choice 1 – Has some fun Union Jack (yay!) and a lot of grey (not so yay!)

I should mention for those that have been following this process from the beginning… we haven’t added doors to the base cabinet yet.  Tyson got a little creative with Photoshop so that we could get a good idea of the final look.

Choice 2 – A lot more patchworky (it’s a word) and Tyson really liked the pop of the center square.

Choice 3 – A little more oriental rug pattern mixed with the Union Jack.  Still too grey.

Tyson did about 15 comps so in the interest of time I’ll jump to:

The Crazy Choice – We went from Crazy AMAZING to Crazy NO!

The Final Choice – It has a little bit of everything and picks up the colors we’ve used throughout the studio… blue, green, gold and black.  Subtle, but still fun.

With our options locked in, Tyson sent away for the rugs.  We had decided to do rugs for both the lounge and office areas of the studio.  Tyson picked out similar/complimenting designs for both.

It felt like Christmas when they arrived!

For those (like us) who haven’t used FLOR, it was SUPER easy!

We laid out the squares using the design Tyson had created.

Once we got the carpet tiles set out, we were then able to start playing a bit more with the design.  We realized that the rug in the office was too large for the space, so we peeled off a row.

The most challenging part of the process was working with our “helpers” who wanted to test drive the FLOR before we got everything laid out.

Some of the squares, even though they come from the same overall design, have more pattern on them than others.  We mixed and matched our squares to get them the way we wanted them and then we used the FLOR tabs to stick them all together.

The completed look is exactly what Tyson had imagined for the space.

The pups like it too.

So that’s pretty much it for the studio right now.  We still have a few things left to do… like add the cabinet doors and a booth for meeting with clients on the opposite wall from the bookcase.

However, it’s time to move along to some other items.  I have a summer project on deck as well as a few other stories to share.

But before I do, I thought it’d be fun to share one last before:

And after:

Thanks for following along through the process.  I still can’t get over how much this space has transformed!

It should be noted that we were in no way compensated by FLOR.  We just loved the flexibility of their system for this project and wanted to share the experience with you.

Project Notes: Secret Storage

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Well, I’m back from itch-fest 2012 and so excited to share our latest update…

I’m always captivated watching a movie where someone sneaks into a high security library or office, searching for important documents that are being stored in some sort of hidden compartment.  Things aren’t always what they seem and I love it!  Once, I had the privilege to visit a friend of a friend’s beach house and when you slid out a particular book, a secret door opened taking you down to a hidden wine cellar. I seriously about died!!

So guess who has some secret storage in their new bookcase?  Shhhh… don’t tell anyone… that’s where we are storing our secret documents AND miiiillllllions. (Okay… that’s a lie… please don’t break into our home!)

The original cut-out in the wall is really deep so that it can hold a large screen TV. Remember back in the day when you needed a big space to hold a behemoth TV with all it’s tubes and casing?  They required such a huge space.  But now we’ll be using the area for a flat screen computer monitor… we don’t even have to store a monster hard-drive. We have a ton of room just begging to become a hidden compartment.  Yay!

The plan was to put a shelf in for storage and have space for speakers and whatever else we might need to store in the studio, but don’t need to gain access to often.  Last week, we got the shelf installed and were ready to create a screen to hide the area.

Originally we were thinking about putting in a door, but decided a fabric screen would work better for the speakers.  The screen will go just in front of the wood frame here:

I picked up two tension rods and a yard of black, opaque, polyester fabric to create the screen.

I measured the opening 34″ wide (edge to edge) and determined I would want to cut the fabric 35″ across allowing for a .5″ hem on each side.

I then measured the length which is 29.5″ tall.  I have a little flexibility in the height since I’ll need to leave a gap at the bottom for cords to connect between the power outlet, speakers and computer.

I cut the fabric 32.5″ long so that there is a 1.5″ of extra fabric to fold over on each end, creating a pocket for the tension rod to slide into.  To figure out that magic number, I wrapped a tape measure around the rod to measure how much fabric I would need with a .25″ seam; much like you would when measuring and cutting fabric for piping.

Once both pockets were stitched, I inserted the tension rod and adjusted them to the width we needed.

Then my Hot Assistant climbed onto the book case to finish installing everything.

Thank you, Hot Assistant.

With the screen in place, the space looks like this.  Ta-da!

Oooohhh…. aaaahhhh…. it’s a black screen.  Okay… this may be the most anticlimactic reveal ever.  But that’s exactly the point!  You’re not suppose to see it there.

One rod hangs at the top and the other is at the bottom.  When we need to gain access to the storage area, the bottom rod can easily be moved to the top, folding the fabric in half. Of course, I could’ve taken a photo to demonstrate that, but I clearly needed to make this a little challenging for anyone every needing to break-in to the secret storage.

And once everything is in place, you definitely don’t see anything behind the monitor. The fact that the whole built-in is black helps too.

I’m thrilled to be in the home stretch of this project and have one last item to share before I give it a rest.  It wasn’t my intention to share SO much about the studio when I started this blog, but for better or worse, it’s helped keep me focused on one project at a time.  And the last project is a doozy. (Who say’s doozy?!)