Ever since I read Anne Lawson’s inaugural In My Studio post I could hardly wait to shift furniture and unpack the contents of our new-old third bedroom at Taylors Arm so I could join in, and share my embryonic dreams of creative space. The reality is it was the last room to be sorted.
But in time for Anne’s January 2016 In My Studio post I can unveil… the Backroom.
It’s early days yet, and other than blogging & Instagram artistic creativity remains in chrysalis stage. But for now it’s enough that I created the Backroom. For 10 years I’ve been dreaming of occupying this room that opens onto the verandah where the G.O. and I could share space on our big old table made from floorboards and fence posts topped with pots of pens, photos, notebooks and… stuff. A room that fits our books and collected knickknacks, where the old night & day sofa that reminds me of one at my grandparents’ old house sits below paintings done by my Great-Aunt Emma in 1911. Tall drawers and a repurposed drinks trolley hold other stationery and creative bibs & bobs, some untouched for more than a decade since I last did art courses, and recent gifts of sketchbooks & pencils.
It’s a beginning and a space where inspired by Anne’s artistic life and Ardys’ creative life & mindfulness I can play with the seeds of possibilities and creativity that have so wonderfully come my way.
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Oh, bravo for you and your dream of creativity! Inspiring others is the best part of my life. Sharing our exploits is truly one of life’s pleasures. xx
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You wouldn’t believe how much richer our move is for the inspiration of the blogging community over the past 4 years… its effect has benefited so many aspects of our today-to-day life before & after 🙂
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Fantastic! Your space looks like it has been set up for ages, and it is going to be a wonderful creative place for you (and the GO, of course!). I wonder what you will do first? And I love Aunt Emma’s paintings.
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Some of the room is as it was but we added the table & chairs, 2 additional bookshelves, drinks-storage trolley & reading lamp to turn it into a useable space, which can also still serve as a spare bedroom or dining room if necessary. I had to rescue Aunt Emma’s paintings – they were almost given away! At the moment I’d just be grateful for some decent blocks of blogging time… setting up a new life is quite time consuming.
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You’ve inspired me Ella Dee, I like the idea of an In My Studio community. My space is currently a bedroom for the grandkids, it will be mine again soon
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The blogging community is very generous allowing glimpses into kitchens, gardens & studios. Our life is better for the shared ideas. Our Backroom used to be a spare room for the grandkids + storage but we now have a shed for storage, and the grandkids & their parents are better off holidaying in town where there are shops & ‘things to do’ with day trips out to us.
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What a fascinating room. Looks fantastic. It looks very light and airy. An appropriate first wed ann present. It’s paper as I recall, isn’t it? I got a set of tyres for mine …
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The G.O. said tyres are a perfectly acceptable gift! The room is very airy even though we have a lot in it but can be closed up & cosy in winter.
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It’s done! I couldn’t do without my room any more; the idea of having to shift things to make room for other uses is unthinkable! Enjoy spending some dreaming and scheming time in there, and I look forward to hearing about how it’s going when I see you soon.
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I’m so used to having a desk-centric lifestyle the Backroom was a necessity as a organisational space as well as creative. And the G.O. loves having somewhere to park his stuff. I’m still not getting as much blogging-creative time as I’d like but it’s early days yet.
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It’ll come… It sounds mad, but schedule some time, and stick to it. Announce you are going to spend an hour in your room, and do it, even if you faff around. If I wait to find time, my creative time gets pushed back and back. I carve it out and stick to it.
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A room of one’s own to dream and create. A lovely space indeed.
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That, and at least a lovely space to pay bills, make calls, look things up and all the day-to-day dross one has to do regardless.
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Its all happening, Ella. Good on you. Your room looks fab. I will be interested to see what comes out of it.
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Thank you. I’m looking forward to seeing what having space and free time inspires… at the moment I’m working on carving out more free time 🙂
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Awesome!
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Thank you. We’re happy to be here 🙂
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A special room to be creative , you did it Ella . Congratulation , have fun and enjoy!
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It’s amazing to have so much more room, rather than our all-in-one apartment space. We’re aiming for fun and trying with varying degrees of success to feel like we’re having a holiday.
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Everyone needs a space all of their own – your new study is just great, good light, lots of honey in the wood tones – excellent. I hope it will inspire to even more great things now that you have so much more time c
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Funny thing about the time… it seems to have filled up. We’re never quite sure where the days go but we’re making progress. I’m continually counselling patience & process.
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I love the light and airy feel and also that lovely bookshelf. Creativity – look out here you come!
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Creativity can cool its heels for a while longer but it’s good to have a little space where I can take myself off to, and the G.O. wanders through on his way to or from his shed…
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The studio looks perfect as a ‘to do’ room. You’ll have many a happy hour in there I’m sure.
xxx Hugs Galore xxx
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it’s definitely a to-do room as it has a to-do list or two!
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So comfortable. A real place to think and dream. 🙂
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And conveniently handy to the verandah should I be inclined to outdoors thinking & dreaming.
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lmao – a room for all purposes 🙂
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How colourful – but how tidy 😉 – quite shaming!!!
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Tidy but cluttered… like the rest of the house. We don’t do minimalist!
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I’m totally jealous 🙂
I’d love a room like that to take myself off to and be creative. Enjoy the space 🙂
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Before we moved my space was the kitchen table, so this is a vast improvement!
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Nice. How fun to play with that space … and to have the time to do it without work in the way. So happy for you.
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Thank you. I’m working on the time thing but it’s been good realising the dream of a dedicated space 🙂
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Nice of you to show us your studio so early in its life, EllaDee. What possibilities! Love that it opens onto your veranda and cannot wait to see it evolve as you and the G.O. settle in.
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Thank you. I’m happy to have it set up, useful as a home office currently and a space for creativity as time goes on 🙂
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I love that first pix on the top left. Looks inviting, comfy, and full of ideas waiting patiently. Totally wonderful!
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Oh, how fortunate you saved those paintings!
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I know, it gives me the horrors thinking I might have lost them.
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Thank you. I hope those ideas have better patience than me as this week I’ve barely spent time in the Backroom except to attend to household business…
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They will all you in soon enough, don’t worry. (Seasoned things only get better with time HA HA)
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I’m jealous. That is a gorgeous creative space for both of you! So happy you are getting to fulfill that dream. 🙂
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Thank you. Some days the weather has been so hot that the added bonus of the Backroom has been the louvre windows & the breeze from the river… not much creativity happening but some recreation -which I hope is a precursor 🙂
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I think it will happen. But moving is such a big project. Once you are settled in and you’ve set everything up the way you want it, I bet that room will be blooming with creativity.
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You’ve created a wonderful creative space for you and the G.O.! I wish I had a room like that. Any time I’m sewing or ‘whatever’ I trash either my kitchen, living room…. or, often, both rooms. Now that you have a room dedicated to creativity, you can just close the door when your finished for the day on whatever project you’re working on – and then begin again where you left off, without having to put things away…. just to take them out again. (I know… that’s a ‘run on sentence’ but that’s OK!!) ; o )
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The Backroom is a thoroughfare to the verandah but the table is a good place for our WiP things that haven’t got another place, and we can always spill out to the verandah if the day is nice.
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I always seem to have a place where things ‘live temporarily’ until I either find them a place – or put them back where they came from!
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I forget if I told you before (I think I did) that I plan to put my beloved ‘yellow farmhouse’ on the market next February. I’m already ‘sifting through’ things but I just have sooooo much stuff. I have a home in the mountains and already told the son I want to build a shed there for some of my ‘stuff’…. like my Christmas decorations, summer clothes, winter clothes etc. etc. while I’m ‘traveling the world’. Our mountain home will be where I’ll stay between trips… at least that’s my plan at the moment!! ; o )
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I cannot recommend shed space highly enough for secondary storage. Even though we’ve only accomplished stage 1 unpacking & sorting the overflow tubs on the shed shelves are priceless, a short walk from the house for useful things Iike plastic storage, glass jars, linen etc that I can’t fit in the house.
Your mountain home sounds lovely, I think travellers -like us anyway- need somewhere to come home to.
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I was thinking exactly that… that I’m going to want shelves for large plastic tubs. Right now I’m sure you feel like a good part of your life is being taken up by sorting and unpacking. I’m doing a good amount of sorting and giving away…
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(Sorry – me again!) Hey – I recognize that photo of ‘Southern Style Biscuits’. Thank you very much!!!
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Yes, I ‘Liked’ the post yesterday 🙂
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I saw that – thanks!!
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