WHAT A MESS I'VE MADE, AND IT ALL BEGAN WITH REFINISHING MY GRANDMOTHER'S DINING ROOM TABLE

My uncle recently refinished my grandmother's dining room table for me, as seen above.  Somehow getting this table has caused me to partially gut my studio downstairs and begin the dream studio I have long wanted.   How are these two thing related?

Well, first of all a brief history of the table. I remember eating on this table from my childhood. My grandparents lived on a farm, so I remember the creamed corn, fried squash and okra, fresh watermelon,  being served on it.  I remember my grandmother pouring buttermilk in her saucer and dunking her cornbrad in it.  We did some great "eating" on this table.
 Somehow my brother ended up with it and somewhere along the way it became a computer table.  The chairs were not used and languished in a basement sonewhere.  Then it ended up in my mother's basement and I vowed then I'd have it refinished and restored and used again for what it should be used for!   My previous table was a larger, darker more formal table.  I prefer this table and it began a huge cleaning out project.

So - on to my studio.... Getting the table left me with an extra dining room table.  Also, the storage room downstairs that was busting at the seams. It was time to have a garage sale and really clean this out. The room that had become my studio began as a downstairs den - so the remnants of that life was still there. The room had a sleeper sofa, a coffee table, 3 bookshelves (that held picture albums and annuals), and other furniture. Interspersed in that were my easels, an ugly wire shelf that held alot of supplies, an art table that was on it's last leg. I am happy to say - that is ALL gone (except the easels of course). What remains is what you can see here.

Yes, it does appear overwhelming to get it back in order again.  But I have a plan.  All the junk you see sitting around came off the shelves that I got rid of.  I am going to have a table in the center that is 6x8 feet, with a shelves underneath.    I have a double door cabinet that I may possibly cover with cork board.  I also want to put an oversized chair rail somewhere to view pieces as I'm working on them  - and possibly in the future invite artists over for critiques.  The large bookshelf will be cleaned off and will hold only art related books and books I use for collage.   There are 3 closets at the other end of the room.

The door on the left has shelves in it and I store framed pieces in there.  The middle drawer has rice paper in it, along with past Halloween costumes - it is time to find them another home.  The 3rd closet on the right doesn't belong to me!

I'm excited about the prospect.  In the next week I want to go through everything and make sure it belongs in the room.  Next weekend I plan to paint the walls and get the material for the table.  Then decide where to place everything and decide what else is needed.

Follow me on this journey - I hope it ends in a nice studio grand-opening to invite my friends to, so they can enjoy it with me.