Welcome to Part 3 of incorporating art supplies into your home decor, or as I like to think of it, storage ideas for people that are "Short on Studio Space". First off let me tell you, I am the queen of thrift stores, flea markets, estate sales and dumpster diving. Nothing (not even a trip to Tiffany's ) could get me more excited than finding an old used up item and repurposing it.
When we were getting ready for the big move to the apartment, I realized that I had nowhere to put my fabric stash, other than in bins stored away in the garage. With that in the back of my mind for months, my girlfriend and I happened to be at Volunteers of America and came across this awesome hutch and buffet.
It was made of a gorgeous maple ( I think) and at a fantastic price, I decided to take it on the spot. The buffet (which is in the left corner) was equally as nice but I couldn't figure out anywhere to put it ( later regretted not buying it, note to self).
So we loaded up the hutch and brought it home to the garage of my house. I immediately wanted to shabby chic it (much more my style than wood) so on a warm and gorgeous Satuday I made a party out of refinishing the hutch.
My brother and another girlfriend of mine happen to stop over and we spent the day cooking, a little drinking (ok alot of drinking), and layer upon layer of paint. First we decided to bang up the hutch a bit, let me just say, what a great stress reliever!!! I don't know who worked off the most stress but with a rawhide bone (my poor dog!), a hammer and a big rock, we set upon beating the daylights out of the hutch. It was really quite comical, I would mention someone (or something) to my brother and he would beat the furniture with a " I hate her, I hate her, I hate her". Needless to say we had a ball with that.
Then came the layers of paint.
I started with an off white (it was in the basement and not being used), then went to a pea green (no clue where that came from) on the corners and insets, back to a ecru, and finished up with the gorgeous seaside blue you see here.
After it was painted we did more beating up on the wood and sanded off some corners and insets to bring out all the other colors painted underneath. Finished by all of us signing the back with the date.
I love the way it came out and it fast became the favorite piece of furniture in our new home. I filled it with alot of my fabric (sorry to say it did not hold all of my fabric but that's for another blog) but enough of my favorites. I filled the lower drawers and shelves with threads, rulers and notions.
The top of the hutch houses my big wicker basket of small scraps (for my little art quilts) and 2 huge jars filled with buttons. Oh, and my favorite, the embroidered art pillow that my friend Linda Reese made for me years ago.
Small scraps of fabric to use in small projects! So much fun and such a fun way
to jump start your Artist Block!
Who doesn't love buttons? Nothing is a better therapy exercise than sorting buttons!
I love this art pillow!
So that is the story of how my fabric got a proper home! Stay tuned for more storage tips.
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