When you are building a house or renovating, there are so many details that need to be managed and problem solved on-goingly. For example, in my new studio, suddenly there was a baseboard heater that had been installed on the wrong wall. My bookshelves from my last office were going on this wall and at this stage it was way too late to move it somewhere else.
Photos by Maria Killam
The way we solved this was to build a platform for the bookshelves and install the heater in the front.
After
In the end, it feels more custom and built-in. Here they are filled with all my fabric books.
The dining table and chairs that were in my last kitchen are now here as they won’t fit into my current kitchen.
I painted the studio walls and ceiling, flat white ‘Beyond Pale’ by Cloverdale Paint. I will be taping video in there and wanted a white background. The casings were painted CA002 Silk to relate to the bookshelves as a lot of IKEA furniture is exactly that colour.
My best advice for managing a renovation is to be there as much as possible. This way any misunderstandings (and lack of enough direction in advance) can be corrected immediately without a great deal of expense.
The studio is complete, I’m just waiting for the door hardware . When the first set arrived, the handle was on the left and it should have been on the right, can’t wait to show you how it looks now!!
Related posts:
Is White worth the Extra Maintenance? Yay or Nay
Inspiration and my Tiffany Blue Office
My Design Studio behind the House
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Looks great Maria – just love love your studio space!!
Great solution! Love seeing the process of your move in! So happy for you Maria!
Looks fantastic as always! Wish I could work for you, would even do it for free!
Always a silver lining or in this case, a platform for your heater. Great fix.
Maria,
Some things are unavoidable for sure. This is what design is…thinking fast and creating a solution as you did. I really like how this is coming together and excited that you are having so much fun with it too. It’s all good.
Your future clients will appreciate this experience you’ve gained and it’s documented by photos which in most cases is the only way to “get the message accross” to contractors.
Maria,
Some things are unavoidable for sure. This is what design is…thinking fast and creating a solution as you did. I really like how this is coming together and excited that you are having so much fun with it too. It’s all good.
Your future clients will appreciate this experience you’ve gained and it’s documented by photos which in most cases is the only way to “get the message across” to contractors.
What a beautiful place to work, create, design. I wish I was your intern 🙂
Love your studio! Problem solving seems to always be the key–your solution was quite creative.
What is the flooring? I love the light stain on the wood.
Looking good Maria!
What a beautiful studio! And I love the look of the baseboard heater on the front of the shelving. Lovely…
Lovely! Of course you can’t ever go wrong with WHITE!
How wonderful to have a dedicated studio space! It looks beautiful.
I will repeat BETTE’s comment from above…
Your future clients will appreciate this experience you’ve gained and it’s documented by photos which in most cases is the only way to “get the message across” to contractors. well said!
Looks wonderful, I think the platform makes the bookcases look so much more important, great job… ps love your old kitchen table and chairs in the office, always need a fabric staging table!
What paint is CA002 Silk? Is that a Canadian color and what would that be in the US? Thanks!
It’s equivalent to Dulux New Divine White 66YY 85/045.
Maria, that is quite scary… I have almost the exact same table and chairs & very similar cabinetry in my studio here in Sydney, Australia! the Eames chairs are so comfortable aren’t they! – unfortunately, my set up is not quite as glamorous as yours.
Nicole 🙂
I have the same chairs and bookshelves ..
great looking bookshelves! watching you transform the house is great.
Nice work!
What a beautiful space to work in. You inspire me – you should see my office!
🙂 Tess
Ahhhh!!! It’s stunning!!!!!! I’m so excited for you. I would love to be a client in that space.
A good Designer always has plan B! Looks great Maria.
It looks amazing Maria!! I can’t wait to see the rest.
You are doing an amazing job with your new home.
Jenn
The platform is fabulous! It’s so true – nothing replaces regular ‘face time’ on a reno or new construction!! And how nice to have a roomy table and four chairs in your studio!
Looking amazing! xo
What a happy work space, Maria. I love the orange, turquoise and yellow accents!
What a happy workspace, Maria. Love the orange, turquoise and yellow accents!
SOOOOooo want that space for myself!
Excellent solution Maria! The book shelves are looking good and I totally agree, if one can be present during any renovations they should be.
If you can’t; posting on-site information as a friendly reminder for trades-people explaining your ‘exact’ needs can prove beneficial to all parties. This can be in the form of a written communication, a sketch or even a photograph sample. Most Contractors who are overseeing a team (and may have a number of jobs on the go) will appreciate it, provided there has been no changes from the initial contract. -Brenda-
Good going Maria. It’s is always good to see continuous advancement on any project and it looks like you are getting very close to the “end” on yours. Congratulations! As far as our house is going, the insulation is in and passed and the drywall is starting to go on. The siding is complete on the exterior so now comes the maddening wait for the drywall to be complete. Ciao
What an inspiring place to work, it looks fab! Well done Maria!
What a cute place. Have you thought about painting the table Tiffany Blue? Like your old office? It would be such a pretty contrast with the white chairs & walls.
It would have saved us a lot of time and frustration if I could have been on site more during our build. I was totally dumbfounded and surprised about how much contractors just assume, guess or completely decide for you while you are not present. Wow! And their choices, NoT Cool! Like the towel bar height and the height of the light fixture over the table. One guy installed handles on the laundry room cabinets totally the wrong why. They were suppose to be horizontal and he installed them verticle.
What a great space for you to work, Maria. I am surprised that you don’t have more colour on the walls though.
Hi Brenda,
The walls in here are white because I will be shooting video as well as using the wall as a screen for my projector when I have small workshops here.
Maria
Thanks for letting us see the process. So happy for you!
Hi Maria
I love your solution to the problem. And it makes the shelving look less “Ikea-ish” not that there’s anything wrong with that. Too bad Ikea doesn’t have the Lack shelving anymore. They are so substantial looking. How nice to have an office (and such a beautiful one) that you can spread out in instead of having to store everything at the end of the day. I work at my breakfast bar….I think I need one of my people to move out!
I totally agree, in fact I drove all the way to IKEA in the middle of my reno to buy a 4th one because I thought maybe I should fill the entire wall with shelving and I was very disappointed that they did not carry it anymore. They also used to have a great, parsons style sofa table which was a LACK as well and it’s long gone. Anyway, I was happy to have the 3 that I have in the end!
Maria
great solution! I am in the middle of a home remodel and we have decided to celebrate those things that do go right rather than complain about all the things that go wrong since all we were doing was complaining. Would love to have you check out my blog on the remodel
http://jenrick1.wordpress.com/2012/06/25/good-night-moon/