It's been a few months now since we moved and everything about this place is perfect,
except for my workspace.
It's a good space, and I'm so grateful to even have a dedicated place to make art and
work from home, but as someone that's usually quite reliant on visual stimulation for inspiration...
I've got a lot of blank wall space.
This is my view from my desk- it's very uninspiring to look at for 8 hours a day.
This doesn't make the most interesting backdrop for videos.
And because the only window is up there, I just generally feel a bit hemmed in.
So, what a great opportunity to get creative.
I essentially have an entire blank slate to work with here.
The layout is slightly limited because of the size of the room and the uneven floor
means the big things have to be positioned a certain way so they're not toppling over.
So this (shelves) is staying here for sure.
And I do like being able to swivel around for a different filming angle like this.
So I think the layout has to stay the same really.
Before we start adding anything, there are a few things that are just hanging around.
I'm gonna take them out of the room and hopefully find a use or a place for them when we're
all done.
And now we've got things clear, this wall has been bugging me.
so much.
This was a child's bedroom before we moved in and they had a little chalkboard or something
down here attached to the wall which has left it a bit stained.
So I'm painting over this ASAP.
Right, now we're ready to have fun with this.
First, as always, let's head to Pinterest for some inspiration.
I like an earthy, crafty, apothecary?
look.
Like dried flowers and botanical illustrations, miss-matched vases and picture frames.
I also know, for the wall ahead of me, I want to be inspired when I look up from my desk,
but not overwhelmed with distraction and clutter.
So to achieve all this I think I'll need....
I think a picture ledge or two here will be great to put little trinkets on but also give
me the freedom to swap new pieces of art in and out.
I don't want it to be tooo busy, so I think I'll use one or two of these big canvas boards
for some or the art back here- that'll also get them out the way so they're not just back
on the floor down there.
And to add to that, I'd like some dried flowers.
- maybe I can propegate some of this pothos.~~ So I'll need some little vases
Maybe one of those poster hanging things.
The magnetic ones.
And for art....
Let's see what I've already got;
I keep every single thing you guys have sent me over the years and I've just gone through
recently and picked out a few things I think will work well with this space.
I have these beautiful prints from Veera Forsman.
Lovely Liz just sent me this with some amazing stickers- I'll have all the artists mentioned
today linked below so please do check them out.
These colours work really well together along with this Matt Forsyth print I bought ages
ago and have been waiting for the perfect place to put it.
I also bought this Leigh Ellexson print a while back and I think this works with these
as well.
So I want these all together.
I think this is what I want to look at while I'm working.
Really inspiring.
But also clean and consistent, it's not gonna distract or clutter my view.
This plus one of my favourite prints I've ever made, this Lemon print.
If I'm feeling downtrodden in my work, I want to be able to look up at this and remember
I can make art that I'm proud of.
Adore these from Autumn Chiu, these especially will go well with the vibe I want for behind
me in the studio.
And to go with that, I have one more piece in mind that I've wanted to get my hands on
forever.
This print by Lilly Pfaff, I adore her style- I find this painting so inspiring.
I'm so happy this is available on INPRNT, ordering this immediately.
Not sure if this will go best on this wall or that one.
We'll see once it's time to put it all together.
And I got distracted while browsing INPRINT and found these really cool cloud prints.
I'd love to gaze at that while I'm working too.
Then I'll fill in the gaps with some new paintings of my own.
Am I doing too much??
I think a mirror over here might be nice as well.
I think that'll help create a sense of light and space in here.
I do have this mirror that's never really had a place....
We'll think about that one.
I'd also like a couple of new houseplants- maybe a nice tall one
I'm gonna spend so much money.
Well.... it's all here.
I may have gone a little overboard.
For plants, I got a Hoya - Hoya Linearis- for something dangly, and a nice jute basket
for it to hang in.
And a Ficus- a Weeping Fig- for something tall.
The Ficus is a little toxic to cats but Thierry is never in here without me and I keep the
door closed most of the time anyway.
I got 3 of these picture ledges but the more I think about it, the more I feel like I'll
only use one.
I'm sure I'll find a place for the rest.
Links for everything will be below by the way.
Then there's this magnetic poster hangy thing.
A selection of little glass vases.
Probably too many.
And then after the initial shopping spree I was on the Zara Home website looking for
Chrismas decorations and found another little vase.
And this little sand timer that's definitely gonna break at some point.
But I couldn't resist.
Oooh okay and then in here is a pressed fern.
I've been dying to open this but wanted to share it with you on camera.
That's amazing, I'll have to get some close ups so you can see the details on there.
And- I did peek at these, couldn't resist.
Some beautiful bouquets of dried flowers.
And finally- I think this is the last thing.
The prints from INprnt.
Amazing quality.
So I'm not expecting anything else- I hope not.
And while I was waiting for all this, I got to work on some art of my own.
So now it's just time to put it all together.
I don't have a solid plan, just winging it.
But I'll start with this wall since I think it'll be the most straightforward.
'Straightforward' she said.
Little did I know how not-straightforward any of this would be.
But no, honestly, it wasn't too difficult once I'd cleared up my desk and started to
organise my prints in different layouts I might like them in.
Once I had the layout I wanted, I took a picture so I wouldn't forget once I started putting
them up on the wall.
And I started out using black washi tape to attach them but it just didn't go with the
light and airy feel of the prints themselves so luckily I have quite the collection of
washi's and I found a nice blush one with an almost matching thin washi too.
I had to constantly step back and assess whether or not they were straight, straight with the
wall and straight with each other but luckily washi tape is easy to remove without any damage
to the wall or to the prints so it was easy to make little tweaks when needed.
Which I did quite a bit, moving things over just a smidge so the spacing between them
felt right.
And just when I thought I was done, moving the entire arrangement along the wall to make
it more centred.
After that, I thought I'd put the pomegranate poster up, but then got completely lost in
trying to figure out what the layout of things would be on the wall.
I was just jumping from one thing to another, a bit too scared to make any actual decisions.
So I moved these drawers around and started playing with the dried flowers.
That was a lot of fun actually- made me want to try my hand at flower arranging one day.
These ones came in pre-assembled bouquets so I knew all the elements would go together
but it was nice playing with different heights for things and trying to get them laid out
in a way where you could see little pops of everything.
While I was at it, I also propagated a bit of the pothos.
Don't know if this is how you do it, probably should have googled it.
But it was starting to get dark and I was more and more aware that I hadn't actually
**done** a lot, I hadn't attached anything to the walls.
So I decided to just start with the first picture ledge, bite the bullet and get it
up on the wall.
Or I thought it would be that easy.
Not realising that, unlike our last place where our walls felt like they were made of
paper and nails and screws could go in no problem, these walls are solid brick.
So I had to run over to my mums to pick up her drill and carry on from there.
I think this part was so nerve-wracking because our last place was very strictly against putting
anything in the walls but things here are a tiny bit more relaxed.
I still felt like I was doing something I shouldn't though.
Oh I also got this basket from my mum's, she was getting rid of it and I decided, for now,
I could use it as a sort of plant stand at the Ficus was shorter than I expected.
When the shelf was up I had a bit more room to figure out how things would go around it.
In the end, I had Ozzy come in for an extra opinion and an extra pair of hands.
Which made a difference I think, being able to bounce ideas around and also just having
someone else hold things up so I could see them from a distance, see the wall as a whole
rather than being right up against it.
So the Hoya went up, the poster went up and next shelf went up.
More stuff on the shelves.
The Fern up on the wall.
More pictures taped up.
And then I felt like I needed more decorative but also practical bits so I brought back
that pile of vintage and antique books I have that didn't have a proper have a proper home
in here before, and I put some up on the shelf and used them as part of the décor.
Finally, my chair didn't really fit with the vibe of the room so I threw this blanket over
the back of it.
And here we are.
I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.
This room has a much warmer feel to it now.
I look forward to spending my days in here now- which I really didn't before, I'd actually
been spending a lot of my time working at my dining table before because being in here
felt almost stifling.
The mood now is completely different and I'm just so pleased.
So thank you for spending this time with me, I'm looking forward to the new videos and
art we'll make in this space.
And I'm tempted now to make some more art to brighten up the rest of the flat- what
do you think?
Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing that, but otherwise thank you so much for
watching and I'll see you soon for the next one.
Bye!