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All Things Home

adding shelves to an antique wardrobe

Remember this antique pine wardrobe I bought off of craigslist a couple of weeks ago? One of the last projects my brother was able to complete before flying home to Oregon was installing shelves inside. And one of the last things my mom and I got done before my parents drove back to PA was to unpack my fabric and fill those shelves. There is something about stacks of beautiful fabric, specifically antique linen, that make me giddy. I mean, seriously. I open these wardrobe doors and a rush of excitement bubbles up and I can’t help but release it in a giggle. This wardrobe only had a rod and a small shelf up high. That would’ve been okay if I wanted to hang clothes inside, but I wanted shelving for fabric and notions. Since the wardrobe is a beautiful antique, I also wanted to add shelves in a

August 31, 2017 45 Comments

All Things Home

studio transformation | part 3

Today, I wanted to share more detail on the “window walls” of the studio. I was so excited about all of the natural light that comes in from not just one, but two full walls of windows. This room is flooded from sunrise to sunset. Fortunately, though, it’s not direct light until late afternoon, so I don’t have to deal with sunbeams in my face all day. I will have to add some window treatments to diffuse the light, when needed, though. I’m thinking I’ll make some simple linen shades that will just tie up. The old hardware store cabinet is really the focal point of the room. I bought it off of craigslist earlier this year and it’s the one large counter I decided to keep from my last studio space. It was tough to sell some of those beautiful antique counters, but I felt like this one was

August 30, 2017 40 Comments

All Things Home

Cleaning behind the stove

Every time I move something from where it’s been sitting for a long time, I realize just how gross my family (myself included) is! You know what I’m saying? All of those spills and crumbs and dust-bunnies that haven’t seen the light of day and then they are exposed? Even the cleanest, tidiest house has a few dirty secrets. And one of the best hiding places for splatters, crumbs, and grease is behind the stove. I mean, seriously, how often do we pull out the stove to clean behind it? I don’t know about you, but in the 11 years I lived in my last house, I pulled out the stove three times – once for tiling the floor, once for painting the walls, and once for tiling the back splash. Each time we moved it, I took a few minutes to clean the sides of the stove and all

August 29, 2017 60 Comments

All Things Home

Painting the Studio Floor

So, let’s chat about the studio floor. As a reminder, here is what the room looked like when we purchased the house…. I actually didn’t get to see the house until after we had made an offer on it and Jeff was the first one to see the pictures of this room (it wasn’t in the real estate listing). Before he forwarded the pictures along, he warned me that I probably wouldn’t like it. He was just looking at the dark, cedar planking. When I saw it, though, I questioned whether he really knew me at all! My voice got high-pitched with excitement. “It’s perfect!! It’ll look amazing painted!” So, a couple of weeks ago, we primed and painted everything. The ceiling, the walls, and finally the floor. You can read about the ceiling and walls in THIS POST. To prime the floors, we used the same primer that we

August 25, 2017 57 Comments

All Things Home

studio transformation | part 2

I shared about priming and painting the studio walls and ceiling in PART ONE of the studio transformation and I shared about the oak hutch in yesterday’s post… Today, I am sharing my “working corner” of the studio… I purchased the drafting table off of craigslist in PA for $100 and it’s been a great work surface for art. I clamped an old wooden lathe trip to it as a “shelf” to hold a palette, brushes, paper, etc. The clamps are antique wooden canning clamps! I picked them up any time I spotted them for sale, because they can be used for so many things! The drafting table does need to be refinished at some point. I don’t ming it being splattered with paint and imperfect, but I don’t want a big water ring on it and it’s bringing a bit too much orange to the party for my taste.

August 22, 2017 50 Comments

All Things Home

oak studio hutch

I have so much to share… all of the work that was accomplished when my brother and parents were here, the goodies I found while shopping the Gold Rush Days in Oronoco and Rochester, a tour of the rest of the rooms in our house, tutorials & details, more of my plans, etc. Lots to share. But, today, I’m just going to share one piece. We’ll pace ourselves. (And, if you just can’t wait, check out my Instagram Stories. I did learn that there is an extension for Google Chrome, so you can view them on your computer. You can get it HERE.) Sooo…when I set out for the antique market this weekend (I’ll share more on Gold Rush in a later post), the piece that was at the top of my list to find was a storage piece for my studio. I sold most of my counters and hutches

August 21, 2017 52 Comments

All Things Home

spraying paint again…

When I first started my decorative and painting business, buying a paint sprayer was a no-brainer. My pieces would have a smoother, more professional finish, and I could crank out pieces much faster than painting by hand. I did a ton of research and ended up buying a Graco HVLP FinishPro. (HVLP stands for high volume low pressure.) I used that thing a ton and Jeff even built me a spray booth in the basement. (Man, I can’t believe I didn’t watermark that image.) I started working with different paints and finishes and found I loved the look of a piece painted by hand. It was therapeutic for me, too! I was painting so often by hand that we took down the spray booth to regain the space. A gut instinct told me to hold onto the sprayer, though. I thought about selling it many times over, but I could

August 17, 2017 92 Comments

All Things Home

card room green front door

Well, it’s been a whirlwind few days! My brother came into town to work on my new house along with my parents. I love that my family is all about hard work and we can accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. We’ve been working at such a rapid pace that I haven’t even had a chance to post about all of the projects, but once things quiet down, I will take pictures and share. It’s exciting stuff, though, and the house is already looking more like our home. When I last shared the front door, it looked like this… It just needed some color. After holding many paint chips up to the pinkish-beige siding, I settled on Card Room Green by Farrow & Ball… …and I had it mixed by Benjamin Moore in Rust Scat Semi-gloss Enamel. My dad and I took the door off the

August 16, 2017 71 Comments

I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

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All Things Home

adding shelves to an antique wardrobe

studio transformation | part 3

Cleaning behind the stove

Painting the Studio Floor

studio transformation | part 2

oak studio hutch

spraying paint again…

card room green front door

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

Now Available for Preorder

Move Slow & Make Things

From the Studio

Artful pieces for your home and everyday life.

From the Studio and Home

Shop the Feed

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