Garage to Studio Remodel....The Beginning

Hello friends!  After a year of home improvement projects (kitchen and bath and an assortment of various other things) I didn't think my husband would breathe a word of projects for...well....into infinity.  WRONG-O. It's so unlike him. ;-)  Or maybe he's tired of paint cans on the kitchen table.  That's probably it.  hehehe

Out of the blue this weekend he said "I think next year's big project should be converting the garage into your studio."  Um....WHAT????  I'd been dreaming/planning/hoping for this project....but wasn't sure he'd ever be on board.  I think he wants a new garage....that might be part of the motivation.  

This last year I have been blessed with finding a path that I never really intended, but just happened to find me.  My sign painting business, Onion Grove Mercantile, has kept me busier than I ever imagined....and I love every minute of it!!  Well most minutes of it.  When I had one or two signs to paint it wasn't a big deal to work on them at the kitchen table....but when I have 40 signs to work on it becomes *a bit* of an issue.  A space of my own would be amazing....a space that can stay messy and I can dribble paint without panic.

So here she is friends.  Oh, and there are actually DOORS on this little barn....they're just all open right at this particular moment.  I'm thinking we'll enclose one side, install a window, then have a swinging barn door on the right side.  The little door up top there needs some work too....that would be neato with a window in the big space, and the window reinstalled above that. (Stained glass??  I really am getting crazy now!)

 

(source...BHG)

I sorta totally love this....I'm not insane though....there shall be no tiled floor in my studio, or curtains...but I'm really digging the barn light and details.

Here is all the interior beauty.  Can you see it?   Windows installed on the left wall there to let in some light, work tables, a big sign easel, paint storage......maybe a new floor?  This one is pretty bad.  You would think we've had a crazy earthquake or something...heaves like you wouldn't believe.  The space is really big though....would work perfectly for working on some of those giganto signs you folks come up with! :-)

Then there's this dilemma.  My husband seems to think...*rolling eyes and being sarcastic*....that this piece of junk needs to be INSIDE the garage.  Just kidding, just kidding.  I luvs this car....super fun to drive and I just look cool doing it....so the baby needs a home.  A new-garage-type-home me thinks.  Sitting in the middle of my studio is just not going to work for either of us.

Currently this is the access to the attic....as long as I stay thin and sprightly this works...otherwise, uh...not so much.  I'm thinking something more like this would be nice.....along the back wall.

 

(source?...who knows...broken link on Pinterest...shocker, right?  I'm becoming a total Pinterest snob...I know, shame on me)

This is the attic space....nice and tall.  Swimming anyone?  The whole thing needs to be shored up, and the floor relayed...right now it's a bit like walking on marshmallows....and not in a good way.  A big hearty prayer before each step comes in handy.

ANNNDDD....the electrical.  Houston we have a problem.   Not so much problem in terms of *do the lights turn on or not*...more like *I'm afraid the whole joint might burn down if I plug in a radio*.

Call me crazy....but I'm thinking duct tape might not be an approved electrical component.

So friends....you'll have to listen to me blabber on about this project for the next year....til  next summer when we hope to get to work....and recruit the greatest contractor ever.  After the door incident though, I'm not sure he'll ever talk to me again. ;-)  hehehe 

I've got a year to work on him though.