The Reconstruction of Field of Dolls Studio. Part 2

     Yesterday, I talked about the destruction and reconstruction of my studio. I left off talking about painting. Well, I really left off talking about the issues with the detached sewer pipe. But that wasn't actually related to the studio, just something we discovered during the already planned projects. And let me tell you, the sewer issue was insanely expensive and was definitely not on my list of things I was expecting (or wanting) to do. But back to the studio. 

     After I took a day off of work to paint I had to do trim. Why did I take a day off of work to paint? Because after the drywall, mud, and tape went up in the bathroom, we couldn't shower in there until I at least got the 2 coats of primer up. We had already had to leave because of no usable plumbing, and showering at other people's houses while possible, wasn't practical. Did I mention we also didn't have a usable shower during a heat wave? That totally happened. Just for fun though, as soon as I got the painting done, the temperature dropped low enough that I still need the heat on. I really wish I was making some of this up. 

     After spending 8 hours JUST painting (not including wait time for coats to dry) I was officially sick of painting. But I still had to do the trim in the studio. I was immediately having regrets about not just doing it white like the walls and ceiling. I was hoping that one coat would be enough. It's black, black should cover in one coat, right? Well that would be a no. But I decided the sort of "rustic" look was fine because I was really mad about painting. 

     I was mad about how splotchy it looked anywhere I put it on with a brush. I was mad about still having to do it. I was mad about the tape not doing it's job and paint ending up where it didn't belong. I was REALLY mad about the paint that splattered all over the wall when I closed the can. So one coat was more than enough. Like makeup, it looks nicer from a distance. And really, I am not painting for resale, I am going to live here for a long time (because I have now spent so much  money on this place I don't have a lot of choice, even if I wanted to run off and live somewhere else). 

     So then it came time to do shelves. I asked Elecktra if she could come and help me, because shelves are easier with 2 people (though I have totally done them alone) and she said she would help. These 3 shelves were as far as we got in a couple of hours. WTF, why is everything so hard? For one thing, the brackets were not the ones I actually wanted, but they were the ones that Home Depot actually had enough of in stock. The ones I wanted the website SAID my store had enough in stock, but if they did, they were hiding them well. And I have discovered the people that work at that Home Depot will not help you, unless you insist and are kind of mean about it. IF you can even find anyone to help you. So I got these brackets, which are not as good as the ones I wanted (they are fine, just not for maximizing the usable space). And then my stud finder pretended there were no studs in this wall. I KNOW they are there, I saw them! So while I was getting cranky about shelves Elecktra was googling the issue. She said that if a stud finder isn't finding studs it could have been calibrated over a stud, making it think the whole wall is solid, the battery could be low, etc. But the knock method is a fairly reliable way to find studs. And it was. So after a few missed studs (because of the stud finder not doing it's job, not because of the knocking) we found the studs and put the shelves up. 

The 2 long shelves I had Elecktra help me prep for before I brought her home. Meaning, we held them against the wall, level with the shelf in the corner, and actually level, and drew a line so I knew where to hang them. And we found the studs and drew a line on the bottom of the shelf to know where to put the brackets. Then I brought her home. I was going to wait to hang the long shelves, but they were prepped, so I went ahead and did them myself. And everything was prepped, so it went quickly. At this point I had figured out some good shortcuts to doing the shelving, so I just put up the top shelf on my own, which went very quickly. And I sent Elecktra the picture and told her I was really done for the day. 

     The next day I was all excited to get to work again! The first task was to find all the pieces of my desk. I had to take it apart to get it out of the studio, and the pieces got moved when I had to make room on the porch for Drew to cut things (because it rains a lot here). I eventually found the pieces but then I couldn't find the screws. And I couldn't find the feet. Why is everything so hard??? I did eventually find the pieces and I put the desk back together. The brackets caused me some more issues and I struggled to figure out where to put the small shelf on the desk, which technically goes on the corner part. My sewing machine always went right in front of that, but it doesn't fit well with the shelf. So I had to rethink about how to put everything in. But it's my new studio, things don't have to be how they were. 

     I brought my tall shelf back in and hooked it to the wall (knocking easily found the stud this time) and it fits perfectly between the door and the outlet. The shelf brackets caused me more issues because the small shelf almost perfectly fit up against the side wall, but didn't actually fit because the bracket hung down too much, and is just a tiny bit in the way. But crystals go on the small shelves, and I should be able to easily see them from that angle, while sitting in my desk chair. Even though it looks a little bit weird. 

     

     I do still have my big hutch (which isn't black, lol) to bring back into the studio, but I need help with that. The first time I brought it in, I did bring in the large bottom portion by myself. Anger and physics together made it possible. But no amount of anger allowed me to lift the top cabinet portion high enough by myself to get it put together. So yeah, I will wait for help. My friend Alan helped me move it out and hopefully he will come and help me move it back in. But the studio was finally back together and ready for me to fill it back up with all the crap I have. I have too much crap. It might be time to cull some things. But we can talk about that another time.