Our Empty Room - Making Changes Slowly

I love that so many of you have asked about my empty room. :)

We have been so busy this summer that we really didn't do much with the space until just recently. We did trek down to IKEA and purchase the futon...ended up with the brown textured cover which is glorious. The futon itself is a little hard so I haven't slept on it yet. I like the way we positioned it so we can see out the window. People who know me in real life can't believe I have been able to leave the futon askew...I am usually someone who needs things to be "straight". We scooted the rug to be askew as well so it actually doesn't bother me at all.

We decided to not move the television out to this area since so many of us really are enjoying it as a "reading nook" sort of area. I did separate the two bookshelves to sort of balance the space out. The walls under the lights are sort of bare.....but keep reading to find out what is going there soon!



The desk was already built in when the boys used this as a bedroom so I cleaned it up and arranged the majority of our art supplies on the shelves and in the red rolling cart (under the desk). The only things I purchased were the three striped plastic bins on the bottom shelf and the light that is hanging under the bottom shelf. The new bins are filled with Mr. A's Sharpies and paints. I hung a watercolor drawing of the boys that we had done at Disneyland in 2000. I have never had a spot for it but I love it right next to our art desk.....perfect! Underneath the painting is Mr. B's Lego bins (an IKEA purchase from years ago). The desk was made with a door that we cut down to size and legs we purchased at IKEA.



I had this collage frame in the closet and I decided to use it to display some of the Charley Harper postcards that came from my Charley Harper Postcard Calendar. This is hung on the wall next to the french doors. I put a small table underneath (from the garage storage) with a few nature related items on it. I forgot to take a photo but I will share that another time. 




This is the other side of the french door where I put one of the bookshelves. I am slowly moving a few of my art and nature related books out here to use as references. The stitchery on the wall was made by my dear aunt and is a woods scene with a cabin. This is how she envisioned our area when she first learned we had moved up into the Sierra Nevada foothills. It is all hand embroidered so it gets a place of honor. :)

I did purchase the two blue fabric bins for the bottom shelf and those will hold all those various items that end up looking messy on a shelf like headphones for the stereo and magazines.



Last but not least, these are my two art prints that I purchased last weekend at a craft booth at the local apple orchard. We happened upon this artist who does colored pencil work and he had this sleeping bear framed on the front of his tent. I fell in love with it immediately. My husband really liked the artist's work too and he chose the raccoon print to go along with the bear. One will be hung under each light at the end of the room. My dear husband is going to make frames for them out of some wood he has had stashed for a "special" project. Love that man!

In real life, the colors are much more vibrant than in the photo....I love it when you stumble upon something that is just right and these are perfect for the space we are creating.

I know that I had a totally different vision for the room when we started but after watching to see how the family used the space this summer I changed my mind. I also had to take into account that the original colors I wanted were not very "manly" and I need to face the fact that my husband spends just as much time in the room as I do so I wanted to respect his tastes as well.

I think it is turning out great! I am still looking for a quilt or blanket to put on the back of the futon. I may need to make a few pillows too once I find the blanket (perhaps in the box of things I have stored away from my grandma's things). I also need to frame and hang the baby portraits that I printed for each of the children. Mr. B is going to paint two little shelves I have on hand to display a few of my stitchery projects. We are getting close to being done with making the space more like home.

Barb-Harmony Art Mom