Surrounded by Inspiration:

Creating a Creative Sanctuary

I am late in posting this project because I started another one as this was wrapping up. It’s part of an ongoing project with one of my repeat clients whose home we are working on room by room. We began with her kitchen last year and tackled a few flooring projects along the way, but this summer/early fall; our focus turned to a very special place in her home: Her sewing room.

I had been waiting for this day since I first met Karen. She’s such a warm and thoughtful soul as creative as she is compassionate. She has an incredible eye for antiques and vintage fabrics and she loves to sew. While I got to shop in her basement in 2022 to makeover her kitchen from an 80s oak have to something more shabby chic-inspired; that was just a taste of the treasures that were living in her basement. Our shared goal was to incorporate as many of her cherished items as we can into her home in a way that blends eras in construction and decor. Which just happens to be my favorite style.

So we talked about the layout of her room and what her dream space would provide her for storage and serenity. She definitely wanted to look out over the peaceful beauty of her back yard with a view of a small TV (to come) atop her cherished antique dresser. She needed a large surface to work at her machine, a place to iron, and a cozy chair for fine detail work. She also needed easy access to the closet where we built and wallpapered custom shelves to hold all of her gorgeous fabrics.

It’s so easy for me to be inspired at Karen’s because she has a lot of great items begging to be on display so the hardest part is picking out the foundation for it all. For paint and wallpaper, we wanted something soft and subtle, but she had a dream of pink flamingos. With her Shaw carpet from Rycus Flooring, the stage was set for a whispery-soft palette with white ceilings and trim with Sherwin Williams Arcade White walls and the most elegant pink flamingo wallpaper I could find within a reasonable budget.

After painting, wallpapering, and adding shelves to the closet, I had Mike from Michigan Handy Services install shelving around the top of the room on brackets I sourced online. We opted to wrap around 3 walls so I could display as much as Karen’s cherished vintage kitchenware she wanted so badly to display in here. We leaned some of her old doors against the far wall on which I hung vintage art and organizing tools. I, then, went to work lining the shelves and decorating the walls with everything she loves so as this devoted mom carves out quiet time to relax and create, she can be inspired by all her favorite things.

You can shop this look (even without Karen’s incredible inventory of antiques) with my curated list of items inspired by this makeover HERE.