My Home Studio

  I wanted to show you all where the color happens.  This is my little home studio; my very own space.  I had been dyeing in my kitchen at our old house, not fun!    It was a challenge since it was so small plus we had to use the kitchen for actual food prep too.  When we moved to our new house we knew that needed to change.  We decided to convert the laundry room into my new dye room.  It is about 10'x15' space, just enough. :)
  I didn't have a big budget to spend on new equipment so I repurposed as much as I could..  Luckily my parents are home improvement junkies and renovated 2 of their bathrooms recently.  They gave me their old bathroom vanities to use as countertops. Also lucky for us is that we moved into a house that had old barns filled with goodies.

  All I had to buy for my dye table was an Ikea countertop.  I wanted it dark and waterproof so the laminate wood was a good fit.   I also needed a backsplash since dyeing is messy business.  I found an old plank and painted it with chalkboard paint.  It is perfect because it's a dark color and hides a lot of the messy splashes, plus I can write on it to keep track of my colors.  I also added a shelf above the whole length of the countertop for stuff I need, like my notes, tablet, and ipod.  I found the brackets and shelf in the barn too!  I added some under cabinet lighting we had from our old house.  You can't have too much light!
  I found another set of shelves in the barn and added them to the side.  This area is for my notes, drink, towels, anything really.

  I added a few decorations.  I'm still working on adding some pictures and curtains on the windows.

The sink is a one basin laundry sink from Home Depot.  I rinse and soak fibers outside so this sink is only used for dyeing, as you can tell.  It's a mess. :)  I added an old mirror above the counter for extra light from the window across the way.

This is the other old vanity my parents gave me.  I weigh fibers here and store my dye powders on a small bookcase I had.   I have plenty of storage for all my materials, it's so nice!

  

This antique yellow enameled table was also found in the barn.  I just thought it was so cute so I had to have it in the studio.  I pack orders here. :)

Just outside on the porch is where I do my rinsing, soaking, and drying.   I was resourceful and made my own wash/rinse area using Ikea bins and an old metal cabinet.   I will probably upgrade to a free-standing double basin laundry sink someday.  For now, this works just fine.

I still have some things I'd like to incorporate in my little studio.  I'm proud that I was able to make it work on a small budget.  The only new purchases were the sink, chalkboard paint, and black countertop.  It's been working great so far!  I've got lots of storage space from the vanities and shelves.  There is also a closet and overhead cabinets in this space.   I'm so thankful to have a dedicated space for dyeing and storage for all my supplies.  I love it here!

xo