A Really Big Difference, Indeed

It's taken a long, long time. Since 2011, actually. Here's what the sewing room, which was once a dining room and is now a room where we can dance, or I can sit and stitch, or I can set up the ironing board for projects (not for ironing actual clothes, of course) used to look like. If you want to be totally truthful: it's the room where the cats bask in the afternoon and evening. It looked like this:

I know it looks all hoarder-ish and stuff, but it's not: I used that stuff. I worked on those projects, and all those drawers were holding stuff I used. Or thought I would use. Or planned to use. You know how that goes.

Most recently, it looked like this, after I started taking down the shelves. They were those temporary, unstable things on brackets, and while I really needed them at the time, as I've pared down and simplified, I've made it possible to get rid of them. Most of them held the folded thrifted t-shirts, all laundered and deconstructed and stacked by color. But I realized this past week that I used those only once or twice a year; I have drawers of smaller pieces (the sleeves) I use more often, and they're at the end of the day bed down there. The larger stacks easily fit on three bins, which I labelled by color and put in the—duh—storage building. Like it's a long journey to go get them, right? All of about 20 yards.

Ready to paint. I used the same color, Valspar's Sunset Glow, and just refreshed these two walls and covered up the places there I had to patch screw holes and those strips where the shelf bracket holder things peeled off the paint, perhaps (ahem) because someone was too impatient to let the paint cure before putting up those shelves in the first place.

And here it is today. You're looking into that same corner. The paint's the same color, but it's a different time of day, and the paint changes as the sun moves though.

This stuff on the bed, below, will go on the permanent shelf up there above the chair once the paint is completely dry. There's a tray with current projects, all neatly bagged up (these are long-term on-going projects I can grab and take on the road or out for wine, so they aren't really exciting ones that I work on regularly). The black clamp-on lamp will go on the shelf to use when I sit in that chair and stitch while The EGE prepares dinner. I'll also have it to use when I set up the ironing board for tedious stuff, like making bias tape or stuff where I need bright light. The iron will go on that shelf, too, as will my dragon spray mister, which you can also see on the bed. I could have waited to take these photos after it was all finished, but, no: I actually couldn't. I'm pretty jazzed about this room now.

Then there's this totally cool thing: a big, wood-framed mirror. More than I like to spend, but I got a slight discount because it has a chip/crack in the frame. No problem, as I think eventually I may tape it off and spray paint the frame bright metallic gold. For now, it's OK being (gack!) white because the windows are trimmed in white and the shelf hardware is white and the hooks are white. So: eh. I can live with it for a little while, at least.

It's directly across from the triple windows, so it will help bounce light around.

So that's what I've done this week. I also made a handful of aprons out of lightweight linen, but they're not stitched, so I'll show those later. Now I'm thinking about removing the huge bulletin board on the wall behind the iMac and replacing it with yet another mirror.

The extra space and light are fabulous. I have come to crave the lack of clutter and things demanding my attention. Once they're not there, nagging me, there's more room for new ideas, and that's always a good thing.

Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, and hope you're inspired. If I can go from this:

to this:

imagine what *you* can do!