Focusing On The Main Things

Y’all, I can’t imagine that we’re already within the month of November. Not solely that, however Thanksgiving is that this week! This 12 months has completely flown by for me! And now that we’re at the moment of 12 months for extra gatherings, household time, and down time (I wish to take the final week of the 12 months to relaxation and prepare for the brand new 12 months), I’ve needed to face the truth that there’s no approach I’ll have the ability to end my studio by the top of the 12 months.

That doesn’t imply that I’m going to cease engaged on it. I’m going to maintain plugging away and see simply how a lot I can get accomplished. However as one who typically units very unrealistic targets and infrequently meets these targets, even I can go searching my studio and know that setting a purpose of ending the studio by the top of the 12 months is laughable. However I’ve checked out what’s left to do, and narrowed down 4 issues that I actually need to give attention to, and hopefully end, earlier than the top of the 12 months.

The principle factor I’d wish to give attention to in my studio is cleansing up and getting issues put away. When you’ve been round right here for lengthy, you already know that I’m a really messy employee, and when a venture remains to be “in progress”, I’ve a really excessive tolerance for dysfunction. I’ve by no means been one to scrub up on the finish of the day and begin with a clear work space the subsequent day. I typically simply wait till the venture is nearing completion earlier than cleansing up and organizing. I do know that drives some folks completely batty to see my disorganized work areas, however I’ve been that approach all my life, and there’s a couple of 0.5% likelihood that I’ll change my methods. 😀

However with that stated, there’s at all times been one thing a bit particular in regards to the starting of a brand new 12 months to me. It’s a contemporary begin, and a possibility to start out with a clear slate. So I’d actually slightly not drag my present studio mess into the brand new 12 months. Beginning with a clear slate within the studio within the new 12 months goes to be a time-consuming process of getting all of this mess cleaned up, organized, and put away. I took this image this morning…

And whereas this image was taken some time again (earlier than I bought the paint swatch cupboard completed), my work tables look just about the identical proper now.

So my foremost purpose between now and the top of the 12 months is cleansing, organizing, and placing issues away. The enjoyable half is that I’ll lastly begin organizing my issues within the cupboards. I’ve this complete financial institution of cupboards on the entrance wall of the studio that has been completed for just a few weeks now, and but a lot of the cupboards and drawers are nonetheless utterly empty.

And now I even have my giant paint swatch cupboard that’s utterly empty and simply ready to be crammed up and arranged.

So lack of cupboard space isn’t a difficulty anymore. Now the one downside is discovering the time and the motivation to truly undergo the whole lot and put issues away with out getting overwhelmed and strolling away after half-hour. As a result of I’ve tried specializing in organizing and placing issues away two instances earlier than, and that’s precisely what occurred. After about half-hour, I made a decision that I’d slightly give attention to a enjoyable venture and go away the sorting and organizing for a later time after I’m in a greater mindset for it, but when I maintain permitting myself to try this, that point won’t ever come. There’ll by no means be a time after I’ll need to select sorting, organizing and cleansing over a enjoyable constructing, portray, or dwelling enchancment venture.

After that, my second precedence earlier than the top of the 12 months is to complete portray the partitions and ceiling within the studio. I’ve been portray sections of partitions and ceiling on an “as wanted” foundation relying on what venture I wished to work on. Earlier than I put in the cupboards on the mural wall, I painted simply sufficient of the partitions and ceiling for that venture. I did the identical factor on the workplace part of the studio earlier than I put in these cupboards. And once more, I did that earlier than constructing the paint swatch cupboard.

So proper now, the partitions and ceiling appear to be a random patchwork of paint colours.

I delay ending it due to my dread of getting to climb up and down the tall ladder to do the reducing in on the partitions across the ceiling, however now that I’ve my scaffolding, I’m not dreading it anymore. Now it’s only a matter of getting sufficient area to maneuver the scaffolding across the room, which is why the cleansing, organizing, and placing issues away wants to come back first.

My third purpose earlier than the top of the 12 months is to complete the doorways within the again entry. I’ve been wrestling with a call concerning what to do with these doorways, and on the finish of final week, I lastly determined that I need the 2 aspect doorways to be wooden, and the outside French doorways to be painted white. This was my imaginative and prescient.

However now I really feel like I’ve exhausted my choices for actual walnut doorways. Buying doorways which might be already walnut is out of the query. They’re approach too costly, and there’s no approach I can justify that value for my studio. I might possibly see splurging on one thing particular like that for our new addition (though I’ve no want or need for walnut doorways in any of these areas), however not for a room that’s just about simply all mine. I can keep on with cheap DIY variations of issues for my very own use.

And that just about guidelines out walnut veneer as nicely. Not solely is walnut veneer costly, however the concept of getting to take away two pocket doorways which might be already instaled and trimmed out simply looks like busy work to me.

So ultimately, I made a decision to attempt the Retique It Liquid Wooden primer (affiliate hyperlink) for the 2 aspect doorways — the toilet door and the storage closet door. It’ll be a enjoyable DIY venture utilizing a new-to-me product, and it’ll be a problem to see if I can get it to appear to be actual wooden. And I like challenges!

And my last purpose for the top of the 12 months is to get the partitions within the studio rest room repaired, primed, and wallpapered, after which set up the trim to complete up the wainscoting. I’ve already eliminated the entire yellow tile, the chair rail, and a part of the mirror trim, and that left some broken areas on the wall that may now must be skim coated with drywall mud and sanded clean earlier than I can prime the partitions and put up the brand new wallpaper.

As soon as I get that accomplished, there received’t be a lot left to complete within the rest room apart from some ornamental issues like putting in a brand new window shade, determining what to hold over the bathroom (cabinets once more, or possibly some paintings?), discovering a brand new mirror, and so forth. But when I’ve to attend till the start of the 12 months to complete these issues, I’ll be tremendous with that simply so long as I can get the wallpaper up and end the wall trim earlier than my end-of-year break.

Addicted 2 Adorning is the place I share my DIY and adorning journey as I rework and embellish the 1948 fixer higher that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do bodily work, so I do nearly all of the work on the home on my own. You possibly can be taught extra about me right here.