THE BIG REVEAL! - The Build Part 1

My Inspiration Colors

The day is FINALLY here! Well, we are getting closer. A bit of backstory:

My office (I'm a writer) and studio are in the basement. My space is about 120 square feet (10x12) and has one small casement window. Air flow is a real issue. Then I have a separate room about the same size for my sewing and mixed media - no window. When we moved here seven years ago I had a place for everything and room to work. However, with time to play and explore new mediums - not to mention new techniques and products being introduced daily - I've outgrown the space.

During a quiet dinner for two about four years ago, my darling husband made the comment I needed to get out of the 'dungeon' (the basement).

Challenge 1: Funds
We looked into determining the cost of building an above ground addition for me. Though the estimates were comparable, I was not ready to go into debt for my work space. So we put the project aside and I continued to outgrow my 120 square feet.

Challenge 2: Knees
I know I'm overweight by about 50 pounds but for some reason I never considered myself 'fat'. I am very active, though not athletic. I never was. But I don't stand still for more than about 5 seconds... if you're lucky. Since I also work from home, I have to make multiple trips up and down the steps every day to multi-task between work and household stuff. I have finally gotten to the point where by the third trip my knees are telling me to pick a level and stay there. I was raised family and home come first yet I'm at a juncture in my writing and music promotion career where I can't let that slide either.

So with both vehicle payments behind us and needing to put a new roof on the house, we revisited the possibility of my addition. We signed the papers on Monday afternoon.

This is a check register designed specifically for the project. I will track every bit of spending. Over the coming weeks I'll share some of my inspiration pieces with you. However, I am querying a couple of magazines and since they will want 'first rights', I may be limited to what I can show. I hope to know more on that part soon. In the mean time, updated posts of some sort will run on Fridays... recapping the week's progress.

And Now... The Floor Plan:

Our house is the front rectangle - about 1200 square feet. The new studio will come off the south side of the house into the backyard from off the dining room. The new space is 16' x 30' = 480 sq. ft. 

Thanks to a 1/4 credit in Home Ec in the 1970s I am able to draw floor plans to scale. I have utilized every inch of space to accommodate:

Office

Mixed Media

Sewing

Spiritual (currently in our bedroom)

Paper Crafting

Collections (Broncos & Girl Scouts) that are currently still in tubs in storage

In future posts I'll show you more of how I'm utilizing the space. Some of what I've learned along the way will be used in my Organization Class in mid January. 

In the mean time, tell me what you would do with this much space and what your medium of choice is (paper/ mixed media/ fabric/ etc) . I'll draw one person for a Surprise Bag of goodies!