Friday Five

Look at me blogging twice in a week!  Starting off today with a shameless plug- Did you see yesterday's office reveal???  Here's a bonus "action" shot taken by my studio-mate, Stephanie.  Check out her blog post about our office space here.

I'm pretty sure that social media algorithms are responsible for showing me every single post from Danielle Oakey Shop, and I'm not angry one bit.  I have yet to use any of her pillows in my projects, but what I'm seeing lately is SO GOOD that it's only a matter of time!!!

Everyone is gaga over peonies and peony season (I get it!  I'm excited too!) but I REALLY can't wait for the end of summer dahlia season!  I finally got my dahlia tubers in the ground last weekend and I'm crossing my fingers that all 17 grow!  Sorry, peonies, you're gorgeous, but dahlias are the bee's knees.

I'm starting to dream hard about our next house. With an almost toddler (!!??!!) in the mix, 1100sf with a postage stamp sized lot is starting to feel pretty tight. Realistically, with both Hubby and I self employed, moving most likely doesn't make sense for another couple years.... which has me thinking of doing some minor renos around here to make the most of what we have. I'm thinking bathroom refresh, a mud room, and ac. What luxuries! I'll of course let you in on any plans as they evolve!!

I've been trying to be more active in instagram, so if I seem quiet on facebook or here, you'll find the goodies over there!  I'd love to make sure to give you guys some special stuff over there.  I share a lot more of what I'm working on in real time, things that catch my eye, and design inspiration.  Message me any design questions you may have!  If I get enough, I'll do a whole Q&A on stories.  Maybe even a live???  Pop over to instagram, say hi, comment, watch stories, and let me know what you like seeing best!!

Copper Dot Office

After getting kicked out of my home office for Copper Dot Baby's nursery, I swiftly realized that the dining room table wasn't going to cut it as an office.  If you don't recall the "before" office teaser that I shared with you back in January, let me give you a refresh.  Partnering up with Stephanie of Stephanie Rita Photography, we rented a 237sf office in a historical town building from 1874.  My commute increased significantly from 50 steps to the dining room table to 1/2 mile down the road, somehow, I'm finding it manageable, however.  **this post may contain affiliate links**  

I started working here as soon as we got internet hooked up, but it took us a little bit to really make it "home."  After painting the space a crisp coat of white, we slowly moved things in and accessorized, finally putting the last finishing touches on just a few weeks ago.  I'm so excited to show you what the space looks like now!

Come on in!!

We got a little creative filling the space: we used a lot of items we already had, a table and chairs from facebook marketplace, and a few awesome hand-me-downs.  The sweet credenza was inherited from Stephanie's grandfather who was conveniently downsizing.

Not to be left out, my parents had a few pieces in their basement they were just itching to offload on me.  One of the items from my parents that I would have been a complete idiot to say no to was a card catalog that my retired librarian mom adopted when she was cleaning out a local school library while she worked there.

Since we couldn't have it just chillin on the floor, I raised it up on metal hairpin legs and I'm totally in love.  Currently, it's the perfect size to hold my paint fan decks and fabric samples sorted by vendor.  Really trying to get and stay organized here!  Some days I'm better than others, but it's WORLDS more organize than my home office ever was.

The white walls have been great for both of us as a designer and photographer: I have a white backdrop that I can tape up samples or view paints without being muddied by weird other colors reflecting, and Stephanie has already used the white backdrop for several photo shoots.

With the space being only a rental, there's more than a few things we need to work around such as permanent in-window air conditioner (that we "hid" with a black cover... totally tricked you, right??), dark blue carpet that hides nothing, pipes that are a bit less conspicuous now that the entire shell is white, and my person favorite.... fluorescent lighting (ick).  Luckily the natural light coming in from our 8 FOOT TALL windows and the character that just oozes from the old trim, high ceilings, and doors makes the other things completely forgivable.

Before breaking out on my own, I spent more than a few working hours sitting in cubicles and corporate spaces that just ended up zapping my creative energy.  I'm loving the vibe our little office has!  A little boho, a little vintage, a little modern, and a little chic.  Renting this space has been the best decision I've made for Copper Dot!!  Not to get too woo-woo on you, but I swear, moving to the office was apparently my subconscious way of telling the universe I was serious about my business and ready for it to grow- and the universe reciprocated!  I have so many exciting projects coming up that I can't wait to bring you along on!!

Sources:

RUG!!!! // Hairpin legs on card catalog // Office chairs // Detail photos and painting by Stephanie Rita Photo

Friday Five

Hi there strangers..... it's me... Karen.... Do you remember me?  I blinked and it's been months since I've posted and even longer since I've posted anything non-flip related!  I have a lot of good stuff to share with you, but in my first effort to get my posting back to regular, I present you a new series- Friday Five!  5 things that have either been on my mind, I've been working on, or that I just want to share each week.  My goal is to post here regularly twice a week, but the other content will be more fluid.  When we get another flip, I may either shuffle my previous Flip Fridays to another day, or maybe shift this series to the Saturday Six.... I'll let you weigh in when the time comes!  Ok, enough babbling!  

I have so many good before and after photos to share with you!!!!!!!! 6 months after getting the office we finally completed the last few elements and have after pictures to show!  Check back next week for that.  I also have before and afters of a kitchen that was completed almost a year ago, AND I'm finally forcing myself to take photos of Copper Dot Baby's nursery.  He's only 14 months now.  No big deal (eek!).  Here's a sneak peek of the kitchen I mentioned that I snapped on my phone.  Are you in love with that vintage rug as much as I am??

Have you heard the NPR podcast TED Radio Hour?  So good!!  They usually pick a specific topic, pull from past TED talks, and dive a little deeper with those TED speakers.  Last weeks was especially poignant and delved into attention, distractions, and awareness in our current iphone-as-another-appendage culture.  We all know we've become dependent on our phones, but when you hear it compared to a slot machine it starts to put things in a different light.  Especially since having Copper Dot Baby I feel like my attention span has gone off the deep end.  Not that I actually plan on changing my habits per se, but now I'm going to be a bit more aware.  Check it out!!

Spring Brimfield has come and gone, and I never played show and tell!  If you follow me on instagram, you've gotten a glimpse of one of the items.  For myself I purchased this pretty lady who has been haunting me since seeing her last year's Brimfield:

Also at Brimfield, I found a few business items.  For future client projects, art was calling my name!  These cute little fruit paintings are getting reframed to freshen them up a bit.

I also came home with this vintage paint by numbers. I love the moody colors!

All three of these paintings are up for grabs at the moment.  I have a potential home for the fruit, but the moody seascape is just looking for a room to call home.  I could totally build a fun, funky modern room around the paint by numbers.  Who's interested??  Contact me if you'd like me to come up with an e-design for your space with this beauty included!

Don't think I could pop back on this blog without giving you a quick flip status update!  Our radar is up for the next project, but the numbers really have to align.  With client work keeping me super busy, we need to find a project that the budget will allow me to hand the project to my contractor while I stick to the designs and not the dirty work.  We were hopeful about a cute little house a few minutes from home, but the auction price surpassed our max number unfortunately.  Hubby is daydreaming about victorian multi-families in his hometown 45 min away (where we started flipping) but we haven't found the right money pit yet.  Of course I say "money pit" lovingly since that is our bread and butter.  There's not a ton of local home inventory so we may be sans flip for a bit.  We shall see!!!  I'm not in a rush to add a flip back onto my plate, but I will when the right house pops up!

I'm getting started on a super exciting project that I'll be giving you updates on here as it builds momentum, but just a teaser to start you off.... This nice, yet basic raised ranch is going to look (hopefully) nothing like a raised ranch in a year and change from now.  I'll be helping a very fun family make their ok house in their ideal area into the home they really want.  Trust me- this one is going to be GOOD!!!  (image via Google Streetview circa 2013)