The Studio/Office Makeover continues...

 This is the biggest change to happen... 

... since this room became my studio/office.

Our plan had always been to eventually move the bookcases that we've had in the hallway of our small split entry for the past several years (where they blocked an air intake vent) into the office.

Well, "eventually" came sooner than we'd expected. This is now the view from my desk. It's beautiful, and I love it...

... but how I wish this sweet girl was still my view. Every time Tiger would go up and down the 'stairs' to get into her bed, she'd pause and look out the window.

It's two days shy of a month since we lost our Tiger girl. She was my office-mate and my muse. She loved watching me at my desk from her bed, the same one she'd slept on for 22 years.

It was her spot from the time she joined our family as a tiny little kitten until the day she left us.

It took several weeks before I was ready to disassemble the bed and move the bookcases in, but I finally felt it was time to do so.

Some of you might remember that we used to have a baby gate on the office door. (You can even see where the bookcases used to be, down the hallway.)  The gate kept Mr. J from having access to the office. When Tiger just didn't have the strength to go up and down the stairs to the basement where the litter box was kept, we put one in here for her. Well, apparently what is deposited in litter boxes is a big treat to all dogs (yuck!), including Mr. J, so we definitely needed to keep him out!

So the gate has now been removed...

... and Mr. J is having a grand old time visiting me in the studio/office whenever he wants.

This is the view looking toward the window.

I hope to get rid of the clutter on the floor and in its place put either a small reading chair or the mannequin from the bedroom.

Right now I have my paints stored under my desk. I'd like to find a better storage solution for them as well, but for now this will do. 

Some of the books on the shelves are mine, but most are (or will be) for sale in our Etsy shop. 

Some shelves have family photos.

And, of course, sweet Tiger's comb and urn are also on the bookcase shelves.

And then, some things never change. Baby is Baby. She looked deep in thought when I snapped her photo today.

She had been staring at the window and eventually went over and stretched out on the window sill. Today was GORGEOUS here in New England - low humidity and a lovely breeze. All the windows were open and Baby really enjoyed it. We were all sick of having the AC running constantly, and there is nothing more enchanting than billowing curtains!

And always the clown, she loves to make me laugh!

Wishing you all a beautiful weekend! The next time I post it will most likely be September!! Hard to believe!

Donna

The Masters of Classical Music

I've been lucky enough to be in the right place (thrift stores) at the right time (three different occasions), resulting in this eclectic collection of composers.

Mozart is a plaster type bust, very rustic and chippy.

 

As a matter of fact, he's missing a bit of his nose as you can see in this photo. I think it just adds to his charm. Vintage imperfections always seem to have a positve, rather than negative, impact on me.

 

Mozart usually spends his days on the fireplace mantel, but I thought I'd try him out in the bookcase for a while.

 

Beethoven, on the other hand, is made of a resin type material.

 

Like Mozart, he's usually on the fireplace mantel, but I rather like the way he looks in the bookcases.

 

I must admit, though, Beethoven looks a bit grumpy in his new location. That being said, he looked grumpy on the mantel as well :)

 

My newest acquisition is Bach, who is just a small, plastic bust found at a Salvation Army a couple of weeks ago. Plastic or not, he looked quite regal with the late afternoon sun streaming in the other day.

 

Unlike his counterparts, he has lived on the library shelves since his arrival at the cottage.

 

A handsome trio, I'd say. Never mind the different materials, sizes, styles, or ages. I think they complement each other nicely.

 

And of course you know I was not tweaking this all by my lonesome!

Just peer down the hall a bit and you will see that I had a pair of eyes watching my every move whilst rearranging and snapping photos!

 

This week I'm joining Claudia at Mockingbird Hill Cottage for Favorite Thing Saturday

and Brenda at Cozy Little House for Tweak It Tuesday.

 

Have a great week, everyone!!

 

Donna

 

 

Organization is the key!

Oh my gosh, it feels so good to be organized!! I'd love to have a room completely lined with floor-to-ceiling bookcases. Not only do I love the look of bookcases, but I have so many more books than this (not to mention all of my girls' childhood books), so I'd have no trouble filling them up!


(click on any photos to enlarge)

I love having the bookcases pushed together on this wall (why did it take me so long to do this?)... And although I hated having the TV and/or treadmill sitting in front of the bookcases (this post), I think the chair looks right at home in front of them... A cozy little place to sit and read (recognize the free reading lamp I found this summer? Perfect for this spot!)...


I used to be so embarrassed by these cluttered, messy bookcases (previous post), but not anymore...


Oh, I know, they're probably still too "packed" with books and such, and there's probably some perfect "book-to-knickknack-to-basket-to-dead space" ratio that I'm way out of whack with, but they're so much more organized than before!!!


(It wouldn't be fair if I didn't let you in on a little secret though... the wing chair is conveniently hiding the shelves that still need some organizing... so don't look behind it!!)



But the rest of the shelves got tidied up... I've started organizing old photos in storage boxes, and I picked up these great woven baskets at Home Goods. That place never lets me down - I take my measurements with me when I go and I always find exactly what I'm looking for! (Remember the vintage chenille scatter rug storage baskets I got there that looked like they were custom made for what I had in mind?)

I also did a little shopping for the top of the bookcases at Home Goods... I fell in love with these garden rabbit statues. I'm really trying to incorporate a year-round "garden room" feel for our family room, so these were perfect! I must have put them in my basket (and taken them out) about 3 times... My daughter, who was with me that night, said, "Mom, you're really going to be sorry if you don't get them." I'm so glad she gave me the nudge I needed because I really do love them! I already had everything else... it was just a matter of pulling things from different places and then arranging it all. (The little resin fox in the birdcage might go back to the garden come spring, but he likes being inside for the winter!)

The tall bunny sits on an old copy of The Wizard of Oz that was mine from childhood. (As a child, I was apparently quite worried about losing all of my books because I wrote my name in about five different places in each one!)

In keeping with the garden theme, a little birch tree birdhouse sits between books and little stone birds...

My bluebird music box and Mellen Infant Formula bottle (thrift finds I posted about over the summer) are on another shelf...

And here's another little garden bird statue, as well as a closeup of the beautiful woven baskets...

I also spotted this little "bookend Scotty Dog" at Home Goods and, since I was picking out a few things for my bookcases, he came home with me as well...

I like this view toward the sliders so much more than this..... What took me so long to rearrange this room???

(P.S. We had a beautiful New England snowstorm today... I'll share some photos tomorrow!)

Donna

The Traveling Bookcases

We've had these bookcases for a long time and over the years they've done some traveling...

The 1990's

Back in the 90's the bookcases made their home in the living room (they were actually quite organized back then!). I love our current cottage look, but I still have such a fondness for primitive decor. It's amazing how different the living room looks now considering the fact that we're still using the same sofa, wing chair, rocker, curtains, shutters, birdhouse church, and apothecary chest that appear in this photo!

Summer 2007

The bookcases were moved into the family room roughly 8 years ago (I am so symmetrical that I couldn't envision them anywhere but flanking the sliding glass door, which was a disaster for TV and treadmill placement.) And the bookcases, no longer organized, had also exploded into a disorganized, cluttered mess by 2007!

October 2008

This is where the bookcases ended up. I really wasn't sure if I was going to like them pushed together on one wall, but I was willing to give it a try... Before they were moved, I got serious about donating some old books and also got rid of a lot of clutter from the shelves... However, they were far from finished when I took this picture back in October.

I'm happy to say that I've grown to love their new location as well as the 'flow' of the family room. And I'm doubly happy to say that the bookcases are finally organized!! I'll share pictures of the finished project in my next post.

Donna