I’ve been a bit preoccupied… but all for a wonderful reason. Over the last year and a half, we’ve been under construction inside and out, updating and adding our own touches to my childhood home.

Bit by bit we’ve tackled mundane features like adding lighting, more outlets and smoothing out wall texture. But the most exciting project is turning an old carport into a light-filled Art Studio and I’m so excited to show you.

Come on in:

My parents built our mid-century modern home in 1965 and though we wanted the addition to echo the bones of our older house, we chose materials that resonated with our more relaxed, comfy style. Take a peek HERE for some of the materials we chose.

I also wanted my Art Studio to serve multiple purposes - yes, a place to create art, but also a place to gather, a cozy space for reading, a place to write and puzzle and eat, and enough space to possibly serve as a retreat space now, and retirement space when we’re older.

We shook things up a bit by placing the lower wall of windows on the side with commanding views of Puget Sound and Mount Rainier (all of the other windows in our house face this way) and the tall windows facing our gardens and forest behind the house.

I’m loving how the morning light completely fills the room! And don’t worry, we have solar shades on the exterior to cut down on UV and heat.

Thought I’d darken up a photo so you can appreciate the gorgeous views that surround this cozy spot! I’ll show more views in a bit…

My painting area is tucked into the NW corner that is filled with soft, natural light no matter the time of day, or what the weather is doing. My hubby built this AMAZING wall easel system for me. Take a peek HERE to see how it works.

I’d like to say I keep my paint area nice and neat and clean… but I don’t. It’s messy, a bit cluttered, but full of color!

My paint cart fits nicely under the window:

And paint brushes crowd into old jars

This picnic table has served so many different purposes - it’s the perfect size for 8 for a cozy meal, or 4 for a relaxed one. My laptop lives here and I can choose which view I want to gaze out on while writing.

It also makes a lovely puzzle table for when my bestie and I just want to hang out:

Here’s a glimpse at the sink area. I probably should have tidied it up for a photo shot, but then again thought you might want to see it in it’s less-than-perfect natural state.

The old brick wall is the original between old carport and house, though we had to save some of the bricks from the doorway and storage area to fill in up to the new higher ceiling.

Taped to the wall, is my outline for an upcoming online class. I found myself getting overwhelmed with this huge project on my computer and needed to visualize each module, lesson and exercise. So up went the Sticky notes. They’re SO darn helpful, aren’t they?

Here’s the door we punched through into the older part of the house. Above the door is a piece of driftwood we carried off our beach and the side door trim is made from old bleachers (Read more about them HERE)