Sunday, January 13, 2008

Is Bigger REALLY Better?

My husband is one in a million and he's my biggest supporter when it comes to my art. I've been trying to get my studio put together in our new house and he's been tripping all over himself trying to help. The only thing is that his ideas of what I need don't in the least match mine!

So, when I said that I'd like to have a work station sort of like a kitchen island, he couldn't wait to build it for me. I told him what I'd like to have and he built it for me but way bigger than I needed or wanted! I had been very specific about the size but I ended up with something that takes up most of the space in my studio!

Today was moving in day of the island I'd requested. He'd built it in the barn only to discover (what I knew all along) that we couldn't get it into the studio without doing some dis-assembly! He's a pretty good carpenter so had not only used screws but also glue for putting it together so it was a major ordeal to remove the legs and get the thing down the hall and make the sharp turn into the studio. Fortunately, he didn't attach the top but that's in the works next!

It's really a gorgeous work center with plenty of room! lol He split the top so that I would have room to put my supplies on the right (I'm right-handed) plus, added a sort of storage area under the top . Both of the split sections of the top can be lifted to access this storage area. The left side of the top is like a drafting/drawing table that can be inclined.

Under the table are some slide out baskets for holding supplies. Since the whole unit slides out making access to the individual baskets a little tricky, I may just use one basket & maybe put a stand-alone drawer unit under it.

It's not quite ready to use yet as final finishing has been left up to me. My husband dislikes painting or staining where that's what I like best. I'm seriously thinking of painting the unit & maybe adding some vines or flowers up the legs or something! The top will have that self-healing mat or some other protection on it. It will be a while before it's completely finished as the painting will take a while and the drafting table mechanism has to be ordered and received. We had hoped to be able to get it locally but guess there isn't much call for those things around here! I imagine the mat will also have to be ordered.

So, I'm trying to visualize a studio arranged around this monstrous work center - so much stuff and a lot less room than I'd counted on to put it!

2 comments:

Paulette said...

I bet it will come to be your favorite thing in the room!

Jan said...

I'm sure it will. I came home from the reunion to find that my darling husband had painted it for me! Now I have to get busy and use it!