I've changed my mind. (You knew this was coming, didn't you?)

THE CEILING

I was going to rip the dropped ceiling out of here. It hides two more feet of space, and the tops of the windows (which you can see in this photo - along with several spiderwebs, yech!). After thinking about it last night, I realized I didn't really want to mess around with the work of demolition right now (which is big because, if you know me, you know I loves me some demolition). I also can't afford to do any major repairs if, say, the ceiling above this stuff has water damage or some sort of funkiness created by the fact that this used to be two separate rooms.

My goal in this redo is to freshen up this space. I think removing the ceiling now would just delay moving my stuff back in here and getting to work on all the art projects I have hanging around in my head (and that business I keep mention but haven't unveiled yet).

Which brings me to ...

THE WOODWORK


I had planned to strip all the woodwork. I love the look of unpainted wood. Love it! Just look at that lovely golden tone! But, most of the wood in here already has a coat of white paint, and stripping it all would take days.

Looking at my goal of getting back in here as soon as possible, I think it makes sense to paint a fresh coat of white on all the trim.

Finally, we have the ...

$#%@^ LIGHT


This has always annoyed me. I'm short, and this thing hangs low enough that even I hit my head on it if I'm not careful (keep in mind there are 10' ceilings in here). It's also right in front of the door (this picture was taken by just holding my camera up in the door frame ... it's that close).

I'm not sure what to replace it with, though. I had planned to get some cheapo schoolhouse ceiling fixtures once the dropped ceiling went away, but now I've been looking into track lighting as a temporary solution. Home Depot sells some that have art glass shades that don't look too industrial/tin-canny. It's either that, or I'll just put in a standard ceiling fixture. I think the track lighting will distribute the light around the room a bit better. Any thoughts or suggestions?

So, those are the changes to my plan for now. I think they make sense considering that I want to get back in here and get to work. We can redo the ceiling and trim when we remodel the whole house, since I won't be able to use my studio then anyway.

Tomorrow I'll be pulling out wall anchors and prepping the walls for repairs. I'm hoping to paint this weekend and redo my cabinet next week. I'll tell you more about the dastardly wall anchors tomorrow.