Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Live/Work Space


Second floor - snowman artwork still intact!
christophersnyderphotography.com


We are in the midst of what seems to be a decade long reno.
I say this because we bought the house about 10 years ago and reno'd the basement ourselves.
Friday nights became date night at Home Depot. I know more than I ever want to know about drywall and tile. I remember finally turning to my husband six months in at midnight on a Saturday and letting him know (meltdown) that I wanted to be a "girl". That included going on a date, with makeup and manicured hands that did not have remnants of grout stuck under the nails.

Those Hollywood montages of couples restoring an old house (ours is a Victorian - around 1890) and having romantic nights in a gorgeous room painted a fresh coat of white are entirely out of the realm of reality. It's more like a century of dirt compounded with poor electrical and tile choices that have to be removed, all while living out of sub-par conditions. We lived more like hi-tech squatters.

So that said, we did this thing in stages over many years. Basement first, then we reclaimed the attic space and converted that along with the second floor into an apartment for us. Lastly, we made a third apartment out of our first floor.

Two children later, we are now taking over the house. We did it properly this time. Hired a designer, ripped the plaster and lathe back to the brick and are in the home stretch.

The loft (our old attic) will become my studio. I love live/work spaces and can't wait to have a proper one. Up until now, my live/work has not been the stylized versions that are shown in magazines. More like patterns and muslin's hanging from the doorways. I'm already planning the launch party. Will you come?

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