Island Paradise is a Craft Room Away

I have been dreaming of craft room in some sort of island paradise setting. I know you can picture it. Warm salty breezes gently whispering through white, veil-like curtains, cool, hard wood floors and juicy, island colors surrounding you. Up until today, I thought that place was somewhere in the Virgin Islands, somewhere in the distant future.

Pink Roses Wall Border Sample

I recenlty picked out two wall borders and ordered samples to see which one would look best with my studio color theme. The rose wall paper is gorgeous in person and has a shimmer to it. Although I do like it, it gives the room a subdued feel. I want to feel energized when I step into my studio so I think I'll have to pass on this one.

Island Floral Wall Border Sample

After putting this next sample on my wall I realized that with it, I was actually creating that island paradise craft room I've been dreaming of for years. Not only do I not have to relocate but I actually get the best of both worlds. I'm not looking out over turquoise waters but that's a small price to pay to be near family, enjoy 4 seasons instead of one and have a beautiful, new craft room in a home I absolutely love. Our dreams may not always take the form we expect but the universe does hear us and gives us exactly what we need. Life is good!

Kell Belle Studio is Lookin' Cherry

The weekend was a whirlwind with the craft room remodel going on. Saturday was spent putting down  the underlayment of the new cherry wood floor and prepping the threshold for placement.

Underlayment and threshold prep work

 My brother, Pat contemplates placement as the first board is laid. He did much of the cutting with his electric saw. I live in a condo on the second floor so I'll just bet I've made a ton of new friends this weekend especially my new neighbors below me who have a new baby. Well, I did try to let them know but they opted not to answer the door. Cest la vie, it's done now.

Laying the first board

 We didn't quite finish getting the floor laid Saturday so Sunday afternoon was a continuation although laying the floor went much more quickly. I had purchased just enough board to complete the project and I mean right down to the last board perfect. Alas, my brother cut one of the boards too short and it was off to the hardware store for me. No worries. That was really the only hitch in the project so I have no complaints.

Nearly finished as nephew oversees progress

 The floor is nearly finished as my nephew, David watches dad and learns technique for future floor installations. We've already informed David that he'll be the one laying the floor the next time so we hope he's paying attention. Haha, just kidding David.

Meet the crew left to right: nephew, brother, dad

Meet the hard working crew who laid the floor of Kell Belle Studio. From left to right is my nephew, David, my brother, Pat and my dad, Bill who will be moving to Phoenix next weekend which is why the floor was laid this weekend. I must thrive on the drama of waiting until the last minute to do things.

My new cherry wood floor

Ta-da! Here it is. Just putting the nails in the base boards and we're finished. It's just gorgeous! I LOVE it!! Thank you so much guys. I am truly grateful for your hard work and perseverance on a job well done and for giving up your entire weekend to help me. (((applause))))

Seafoam and Popped Corn on the Walls

This past Friday I finally arrived at a definitive paint decision for the craft room. After typing in the phrase "blue green rooms" in a Google image search, I found tons of ideas for gorgeous looking rooms in juicy shades of blues and greens.

Aftermath of carpet and baseboard removal

So what colors did I ultimately choose? I had originally chosen and purchased two gallons of Seafoam Pearl at 50% color value which I took back to the Home Depot for them to darken to full color value. The trim and ceiling will be painted with something from the white family called Popped Corn which will warm up the cool blue-green color on the walls. Darkening the paint would allow for better contrast between the trim color and the wall color.

The blue green room aka Seafoam Pearl

So, yesterday morning at the ungodly hour of 4:30 a.m. I entered the room with paint roller and brush in hand. I was not able to finish before dad and brother Pat got there to install the floor but I am 100% happy with my paint choices. I can always blend the darker blues and lime green shades into the room using fabrics for window treatments and basket liners as well as using accent paint on furniture. Predicament solved! Looking at what I've done so far, I absolutely love the room.