What if you could create your own space in which you could do/be/create whatever your heart so desired? Would it better your craft? Would it provide inspiration? Solace? Separation? Focus?

Loneliness?

For a long while now I've spent my writing moments at the dining room table because that was the space most conducive to my needs. There is good natural light, proximity to the tea kettle and snacks, the lived-in comfort of HOME all around me. It was fine but it came with distractions and excuses that pulled me from where I should have been looking: those dishes in the sink, the dust bunnies below the cabinet, the daughter playing with play dough on the other end of the table...

I needed a space of my own. Not a family space. A selfish place. I needed a writing room.

There is a room just off the hallway from the back door. It was my teeny bedroom when I was a child but since moving here as an adult it had become nothing more than a dropping spot for anything we didn't have a place for. It was a room of chaos and shame. {You can see a little glimpse of it's horrible existence here.} I had plans to create a darling little guest room BUT, in taking a moment to really think about it I realized this: we NEVER have overnight guests and I want to write EVERY DAY.

I win.

It took a lot of self-talk to gear up the energy to attack the mess but once I got going it didn't take as long as I anticipated. I threw out A LOT. I donated A LOT. And the rest found a new home out in the shed unless I had a use for it somewhere else in the house.

I was left standing in a small pink box that echoed even if I whispered. 

"That's oil paint on the walls," my mother had warned me when we moved in.

*Groan*

I bought one gallon of a primer that promised to kill any type of base - oil or otherwise - and attacked those walls with the help of two young painters. {Apparently teenagers don't think it's fun to help their mother with super fun projects...?}

Walls. Ceiling. Door. Trim. Everything.

We used the entire can on that 9.5 x 7.5 foot little room.

And it was still pink.

*UGH*

But I trusted in the promise on the label and decided I could go ahead with my top coat.

I stood in front of the rows and rows of white for way too long trying to decide on the perfect one.  I knew I wanted white because I wanted it to be very fresh and bright and clean.  BUT it couldn't have too much yellow or pink or blue in it.  I wanted it to be warm but not orange.

With the help of the Home Hardware Paint Specialist {a seventeen year old girl with green eyeliner} I settled on Powdered Donuts {by BeautiTone Comes Home Collection} and it's a delicious white that was exactly what I wanted and it covered beautifully!

I ended with a white box. {Which is a far cry from the 'Vomit Pink' of years past.}

And that's when the real fun could start.

Using my IKEA Wishlist I went on the hunt through what I already owned to find/make my own {free} version and I'm pretty excited with what I've come up with!

Stay tuned for Part Two - Furniture {coming on Thursday!}