Before I go into where I work, you all know how much I love owls, as shown in yesterday’s post. For those of you who hadn’t seen him, I wanted to share with you the little guy that started it all. I found this guy last year in a local thrift shop, and when our eyes locked, I heard Barry White playing. It was love at first sight… the robust belly, the big wise eyes, and the bisque white finish. L.O.V.E.
He sits on my nightstand and greets me every morning and sends me off to sleep every night!
Now, several of you have in emails and comments mentioned my garage. News Flash: I do not have a garage. I have a very small split foyer. This picture was taken last spring, but you get the idea.
So, where do I work if there is no garage? And how do I continue to paint all winter? And where do I spray?
1. I work in the back of the bottom level of our house, where there is a small unfinished area, which also serves as our laundry area.
2. I sand my items outside on our back deck, even in the dead of winter, then bring them inside to work. This is why low and zero VOC products are very important to me aside from the environmental benefits.
3. I don’t spray- I paint everything by hand.
So let’s look at my small dungeon, shall we? Right now I have a finished dresser, a dresser that is being worked on, and a dining set that is a custom order I am working on in there.
Cluttered? Yes, but I have to make it work, so I do. And see below- there is my “laundry room”. Yuck.
And here is a shot of what my work has done to the floor. He he.
A stash of small projects…
paint..
more paint and stains…
Tools, some of which are hidden by the giant mirror I got yesterday.
And here, my friend, iin these 10 plastic drawers, lies my stash. The stash of knobs. And I should tell you that the bucket above is also full, but those have yet to be sorted.
I save all my knobs because you never know when you might need or want them for a different piece!
One other thing I should mention is storage. We purchased a shed for all my finished projects, and I have a half door cement floor area under my sun porch where I store unfinished projects. Of course they can not be much taller than my waste or they don’t fit well under there, but it works.
So while I am completely embarrassed to show you what a pit I work in, the point is that you don’t have to have the two car garage and big house to be able to work with furniture. You just have to have a desire, passion, and the creativity to make it work. I love what I do, and I love that I am able to earn an income but be a totally flexible mom because my husband and I make it work. Does he get aggravated when I accidentally leave a paint can opener on the floor and he has walked to the washing machine barefoot and found it? Why yes. All the time. But the pros always outweigh the cons. You see the saying on my nightstand, “Go & Do.” Do just that; go and do what you love, because you can if you really put your mind to it.
Sharing here:
