Project tidy

After last week's post about plans for my college-bound daughter's room, I got to thinking about the level of tidiness on any given day in my house. I give it a C or D grade but my standards are high.I love to keep things clean, as in hygienic and polished but just try to get me to put the last five things I used away. Maybe next week.

My house does not look like these photos at this moment. There are Legos and random toys littering the family room, There are paintings galore leaning in my formal living room and dining room. A pile of shoes just inside the door from the garage...I could go on but you get the idea...lived in, really lived in.

I read half of Marie Kondo's "The life-changing magic of tidying up."

Well, it was half magic because I purged and organized my clothes and and we went through every book in the house, ditching about 50% but the struggle continues.

 I jokingly tell people that I am a recovering slob. I was a sloppy child and young adult but I find truly bothersome now to not live in a tidy space.

Right now the only room that seems fine to me is my son's room but that is because he is at college and no one is there to mess it up.

At the end of this week *sniff* there will be two adults and one child sharing almost 4000 square feet of space. For the love of Pete, we should be able to figure this out!

So that, along with the zhushing and repurposing of the college-bound daughter's room are projects I hope to share here. I would like to include storage solutions that are working for us and maybe (just maybe because I think its TMI) before pictures. 

In the mean time, I think I have laundry that should be put away and a pile of magazines to pitch.
Got any nifty tricks for me?

Office space

Here's a little confession: My laptop is always on the kitchen table and it is often accompanied by papers and current clutter. 

I actually only used this desk as a desk when it was in the would-be library that is now my studio which you can glimpse in the upper right of my photo. Now I write checks here and quick notes but it is not super functional. I need to fix this because my house is not exactly presentable most days.

Functional but not my style

 I perused Pinterest for some office ideas because the current cluttered situation does not make me happy. It appears that office spaces are either beautiful or functional for the most part.

I could not deal with either of the photos above or just below.

Nope

I actually really love this workspace with the built in cabinetry but it's not happening in this house.

Yes, please!

 My plan (that I came up with while writing this) is to repurpose my college-bound daughter's room. Remember the one I gave a facelift in the One Room Challenge?

It looks completely different from this now. My dear daughter has a propensity for pushing all furniture to the walls. *Sigh* Space planning is not her thing. and that little loveseat is buried in clothes.

The desk, now littered with cosmetics, can stay and the bed will be styled as the daybed that it is. I am going to remove the loveseat. I plan to add my littlest girl's easel and play tent so that creative play can happen while I stare at Facebook work. During college breaks I can move the operation back to the kitchen table.

I am excited about this.

Tell me about your workspace.

New artwork at Gregg Irby Gallery

Today I am in Atlanta to bring a new body of work to Gregg Irby Gallery.

Here is a sampling of the 8 large canvases I will be delivering.

"The unraveling" 30 x 40 mixed media

"Sleeping in the midday sun" 48 x 48 mixed media

"Mechanical music" 60 x 48 oil on canvas

Mr. Designdumonde even built me a custom two-tier rack to transport the paintings carefully.

This will be my first visit to the new gallery and I am so excited.

Stop by the gallery if you are in Atlanta!

New work at Anne Neilson Fine Art

"Melting reason" 48 x 48 mixed media

I am on the road this week taking new work to galleries.

My first stop is Anne Neilson Fine Art in Charlotte NC.

 I will be taking 7 pieces to her this week. These are just a few.

"Speranza" 36 x 36 oil on canvas

"Escape velocity" 30 x 40 oil on canvas

Stop by the gallery if you are in town this week!

Anyone else sick of midcentury modern furniture?

 Damn, I want to ditch everything in my TV/family room. At first I loved the groovy look of so many midcentury pieces and a few Chinoiserie pieces along with some funky details.

 

 First of all, I hate my citrine curtains and they were mega expensive.

The problem is that I don't dislike individual pieces. My pricey vintage Brno chairs, and the Saarinen table are dearly loved as well as the console but if they go away I won't cry.

Below is the curved console that holds our TV.

 

The problem is that in my next house ( which BTW is going to take longer than I thought) I want a more traditional, cozy feel but light and airy too.

I am imagining something like this Brooke Wagner Design.

I like the light sofas and blue and white pillows. I might add my Saarinen table and a glass coffee table but I think my taste has changed.

Am I nuts? Do your tastes vary?

I'll gladly sell every piece. Any takers???