Two months ago I never thought I would be writing this blog post as I was in extremely frustrating negotiations for a new studio space.  Fast forward  to Friday, May 15th and I was finally handed keys to my new studio!  Let the fun begin.  It was a nervewracking decision as my last studio was completely remodeled when I moved in with brand new flooring, ceilings and paint.  This one……not so much!  I had a vision for it and kept my fingers crossed as I signed the lease.  Thankfully I have some amazing friends and family that helped me get to my vision in only two short weeks.  

For those of you that went to my last studio you would agree that I could not ask for a better location. It sat right on one of the most beautifully manicured parks in the Phoenix area right in the heart of downtown.  While the park was beautiful it had its drawbacks.  Old town parking is only 3 hours which resulted in a handful of parking tickets over the past three years.  Plus the traffic of old town, especially in spring, got really old really fast!  My new space while it’s not the park it has some charm with lots of brick and flowers.  Yes, it is an office complex with dentists, chiropractors and orthodontist but it has some character.  

This was the view looking in the windows when I first looked at the space.  All 520 square feet covered in old tile and mint green paint!  There were interior walls that needed to be knocked out, tile that HAD to go. It was a project but I saw past it all.  I’m pretty sure my husband thought I was insane when he first saw the space.  

Yep, that’s right I have a bathroom friends!  And an office.  Its not pretty but it will be and will be so nice to get my work away from home again.  Speaking of home my commute to the last studio took roughly 25 minutes each way depending on how I hit the 22 lights down scottsdale road.  This on, 1/2 mile from home and only another 1/2 mile to pick up Easton from school. That right there was the biggest selling point for me. 

The walls were the first to come out and electrical had to be moved around.  Look at that gorgeous tile.  

Now came the fun part!  I’ve never demolished anything in my life. Taking a sledgehammer to that tile was a whole lot of fun but a whole lot of work.  My son’s baseball coach who is a contractor rounded up a few of the baseball dads, including my husband whose back side you see in the photo, and they went to town!  It was kinda scary as tile was flying everywhere.  I was hiding in the office most of the time.  

Once all the tile was out we came in with paint.  White, white and more white.  Who knew white could be so hard to cover.  A coat of primer and THREE coats of white paint we finally got rid of that mint color.  Thanks so our neighbor and my cousin for pitching in with the painting.  I swear I still have white paint stuck in my hair!

Flooring was next. I got a great white wash timber laminate flooring from Floor and Decor.  I like it so much I want the same look in my house now.

My husband and our friend Dave did most of the flooring work and I could not be happier with the outcome.  

So here is the final product.  In less than two weeks we went from mint walls and icky old tile to bright and light with a touch of vintage.  I had to get rid of a ton of furniture from the old studio. I went up in square footage but lost a lot of wall space due to all the windows and the bathroom and office.  I downsized to this cute little loveseat from Homegoods.  Thank god for these vintage lockers for the storage.  They are lifesavers.  Gold table from Hobby Lobby, Wood heart from Olivewood Designs, hello pillow from Hello Apparel

 My shooting platform was custom made for me three years ago and is as sturdy as can be providing great prop storage underneath.  My parent shot area is still under construction as I’m waiting on a wall mount drop stand to arrive with seamless paper.  

Can you tell I kind of have an obsession with backdrops?  The white sheer curtains on the windows diffuse the light perfectly.  Rolled towels next to the platform are a must along with a vibrating disk and the Baby Shusher.  

I did a little touchup to my backdrop antlers from Drop it Modern making the balls gold vs. multicolored like before.  I also added velcro strips behind the pipe hangers to hang by poly paper drops as I don’t like to roll them.

There was this ugly reception window right by the front door that I covered with chalkboard vinyl and wrote some fun little tips for my clients.  I’m waiting on a few new products to come in to display on the hutch as well in addition to the albums, canvases and frames that are in the studio already.

I know you have heard me rave about these vintage telephone lockers from Rusty Saturday  but here it is first hand as to why these are amazing!  All of my headbands are now hanging so they are easier to see for my clients.  So many fun designers have their beauties hanging including Flourishing  Creations, Simply Sweet a Little Lady Boutique, Unravel Me, My Darling Emma, Goodnight Moon Props and many more. 

So many fun hats, accessories and outfits in the dresser drawers.

The bathroom and office are still a work in progress. But I can not get over the toilet paper holder I found on ebay.  

And a little sweet eye candy hanging on the bathroom walls.  Just a few of the sweet babies that have come through my doors.  I definitely have a lot of work to do still but my first shoot in there two weeks after getting keys was a success and I can’t wait to share more as I truly make it my own.