Dainty Button's Studio Extreme Makeover

For those that are now following or thinking about following my blog, this is blog entry #2 for the "Happy Birthday" giveaway. You can find all of the wonderful details in the first blog entry, titled "Dainty Button's Turning 1!". I'm so excited to get this series of blogs started. The extreme makeover of Dainty Button's new studio. Technically, it really doesn't need a makeover. It's quite nice. But, I don't like, well, normal. I need my own signature to it. The first thing I thought about when I looked at the studio was "how am I going to decorate?". Once I signed the contract and it was a done deal, my brain began racing on color schemes, themes, shelves, work stations, paintings, etc. I drove, and I'm still driving, my family and friends crazy with "What do you think of this?", "Ooohhh, look at this!", "Do you like this?". Yeah, annoying. I finally came to two choices. Do I go with a modern, state of the art deco or a warm, cozy, feminine look? Yeah, I know. Both are completely different, but I was very fond of both. Decisions, decisions. I knew I wanted something that was "me", that fit my personality, my likes, my character. I'm very feminine and love girly things, but with a lil' edge. Pink. I needed something with pink. I like vintage. Vintage definitely needed to be in there somewhere. And I loath the cookie cutter look. I wanted something that was different. Shabby chic. That's what I wanted. What is shabby chic? Well, here's a lil' bit of my inspiration.

Like? Once I decided this was the theme, I couldn't think of anything else. I knew it was "it". The real deal. The huge advantage of living in a city like San Francisco, it's a piece of cake finding vintage deco, antiques, etc. Thrift stores are a dime a dozen. And not these lame, sorry thrift stores. We have the best! 95% of my wardrobe is from our thrift stores. I love thrifting. So, the search has begun. I'm looking for bookshelves, cabinets, tables, picture frames, vases, pots, you name it! 

The idea is to distress everything. To sand, strip it and beat it up. I don't want anything to look the same. Everything different.

Ok, so the above picture would make a neat freak reach for the closest bottle of disinfectant, trash bags and a duster. But, I think it's great. Maybe a lil' disorganized, but awesome! 

Better? A lil' too "prissy" for me, but I like a few things about this scene. Alot of our shelving, cabinets, my desk and the shipping/packaging station will be a distressed, beat up white. It will be a dominating piece in the studio. Set against a pink wall. Ok, now I said I like pink, but it has to be a certain pink. I attended a wedding a few years ago with pink. I identified about 7 shades of pink. Gross. I love pink, but let's stick to one, maybe two shades. Remember the scene in Steel Magnolia's where Sally Fields argued with Julia Roberts about Pepto Bismol pink. Well, I can assure you, it will not look like Pepto Bismol was puked on the walls. It took me forever to choose a shade. I wanted something soft and subtle, but pink. What do you think of my choice? They call it "tea rose".

It's not gross pink that will have me begging for a bottle of Pepto Bismol after a week of staring at it. I thought it was subtle enough and would look great with the choice of deco and furnishings. 

And so now, the fun begins. We're currently scouring the many thrift stores and flea markets in San Francisco, as well as garage sales, looking for shelves, tables, cabinets, anything we can get our hands on. Fun, right? We start painting on Thursday and my desk, along with the shipping/packaging tables will be sanded and stripped, ready to paint and distress. I'm so excited about this! I'm even more excited that I can share this makeover with you and I'd love to read your thoughts, ideas or even suggestions, along the way. We have roughly, 2.5 weeks to have this completed. Ahhh! Wish us luck!

Charity @ Dainty Button

xoxo