Y’all, I can’t consider that we’re already within the month of November. Not solely that, however Thanksgiving is that this week! This yr has completely flown by for me! And now that we’re at the moment of yr for extra gatherings, household time, and down time (I wish to take the final week of the yr to relaxation and prepare for the brand new yr), I’ve needed to face the fact that there’s no manner I’ll be capable to end my studio by the tip of the yr.
That doesn’t imply that I’m going to cease engaged on it. I’m going to maintain plugging away and see simply how a lot I can get accomplished. However as one who typically units very unrealistic targets and barely meets these targets, even I can go searching my studio and know that setting a aim of ending the studio by the tip of the yr is laughable. However I’ve checked out what’s left to do, and narrowed down 4 issues that I actually need to concentrate on, and hopefully end, earlier than the tip of the yr.
The principle factor I’d wish to concentrate on in my studio is cleansing up and getting issues put away. In case you’ve been round right here for lengthy, that I’m a really messy employee, and when a challenge continues to be “in progress”, I’ve a really excessive tolerance for dysfunction. I’ve by no means been one to scrub up on the finish of the day and begin with a clear work space the following day. I typically simply wait till the challenge is nearing completion earlier than cleansing up and organizing. I do know that drives some folks completely batty to see my disorganized work areas, however I’ve been that manner all my life, and there’s a couple of 0.5% likelihood that I’ll change my methods. ?
However with that stated, there’s at all times been one thing a bit particular concerning the starting of a brand new yr to me. It’s a contemporary begin, and a chance to begin with a clear slate. So I’d actually moderately not drag my present studio mess into the brand new yr. Beginning with a clear slate within the studio within the new yr goes to be a time-consuming process of getting all of this mess cleaned up, organized, and put away. I took this image this morning…
And whereas this image was taken some time again (earlier than I acquired the paint swatch cupboard completed), my work tables look just about the identical proper now.
So my foremost aim between now and the tip of the yr is cleansing, organizing, and placing issues away. The enjoyable half is that I’ll lastly begin organizing my issues within the cupboards. I’ve this complete financial institution of cupboards on the entrance wall of the studio that has been completed for a number of weeks now, and but many of the cupboards and drawers are nonetheless fully empty.
And now I even have my giant paint swatch cupboard that’s fully empty and simply ready to be stuffed up and arranged.
So lack of cupboard space isn’t a difficulty anymore. Now the one downside is discovering the time and the motivation to really undergo all the pieces and put issues away with out getting overwhelmed and strolling away after half-hour. As a result of I’ve tried specializing in organizing and placing issues away two occasions earlier than, and that’s precisely what occurred. After about half-hour, I made a decision that I’d moderately concentrate on a enjoyable challenge and depart the sorting and organizing for a later time after I’m in a greater mindset for it, but when I maintain permitting myself to do this, that point won’t ever come. There’ll by no means be a time after I’ll need to select sorting, organizing and cleansing over a enjoyable constructing, portray, or house enchancment challenge.
After that, my second precedence earlier than the tip of the yr is to complete portray the partitions and ceiling within the studio. I’ve been portray sections of partitions and ceiling on an “as wanted” foundation relying on what challenge I needed to work on. Earlier than I put in the cupboards on the mural wall, I painted simply sufficient of the partitions and ceiling for that challenge. I did the identical factor on the workplace part of the studio earlier than I put in these cupboards. And once more, I did that earlier than constructing the paint swatch cupboard.
So proper now, the partitions and ceiling appear like a random patchwork of paint colours.
I delay ending it due to my dread of getting to climb up and down the tall ladder to do the slicing in on the partitions across the ceiling, however now that I’ve my scaffolding, I’m not dreading it anymore. Now it’s only a matter of getting sufficient area to maneuver the scaffolding across the room, which is why the cleansing, organizing, and placing issues away wants to return first.
My third aim earlier than the tip of the yr is to complete the doorways within the again entry. I’ve been wrestling with a call relating to what to do with these doorways, and on the finish of final week, I lastly determined that I need the 2 facet doorways to be wooden, and the outside French doorways to be painted white. This was my imaginative and prescient.
However now I really feel like I’ve exhausted my choices for actual walnut doorways. Buying doorways which might be already walnut is out of the query. They’re manner too costly, and there’s no manner I can justify that price for my studio. I may possibly see splurging on one thing particular like that for our new addition (though I’ve no want or need for walnut doorways in any of these areas), however not for a room that’s just about simply all mine. I can persist with cheap DIY variations of issues for my very own use.
And that just about guidelines out walnut veneer as properly. Not solely is walnut veneer costly, however the concept of getting to take away two pocket doorways which might be already instaled and trimmed out simply looks as if busy work to me.
So ultimately, I made a decision to attempt the Retique It Liquid Wooden primer (affiliate hyperlink) for the 2 facet doorways — the lavatory door and the storage closet door. It’ll be a enjoyable DIY challenge utilizing a new-to-me product, and it’ll be a problem to see if I can get it to appear like actual wooden. And I like challenges!
And my remaining aim for the tip of the yr is to get the partitions within the studio rest room repaired, primed, and wallpapered, after which set up the trim to complete up the wainscoting. I’ve already eliminated all the yellow tile, the chair rail, and a part of the mirror trim, and that left some broken areas on the wall that can now have to be skim coated with drywall mud and sanded clean earlier than I can prime the partitions and put up the brand new wallpaper.
As soon as I get that accomplished, there received’t be a lot left to complete within the rest room aside from some ornamental issues like putting in a brand new window shade, determining what to hold over the bathroom (cabinets once more, or possibly some art work?), discovering a brand new mirror, and many others. But when I’ve to attend till the start of the yr to complete these issues, I’ll be positive with that simply so long as I can get the wallpaper up and end the wall trim earlier than my end-of-year break.
So these are the 4 foremost issues I need to end earlier than the tip of the yr.
- Cleansing up, placing issues away, and organizing issues within the new cupboards;
- Portray the remainder of the partitions and ceiling in the primary space of the studio;
- Portray/staining the doorways within the again entry;
- Repairing, priming, and wallpapering the partitions within the rest room, after which ending the trim on the wainscoting.
If I can get these completed, I feel I’ll be in an excellent place to get the room fully completed very early subsequent yr.
Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do the vast majority of the work on the home on my own. You may study extra about me right here.
