This fun design project is well underway and we are knee deep in DIY's and furniture boxes. I am happy to report that the walls are now as white as can be and absolutely gorgeous against the black trim and exposed brick. It only took several coats of primer and paint to rid the space of it's colorful past, but with help from her boys, Amber is now the proud resident of a bonafide and beautiful photography studio. We still have a bit to do before we can officially put a fork in it and call it done, but with white walls and the conveniently chic brick wall that was already there, she can essentially begin work in here immediately. It is always a good thing when there is little to no downtime during renovation or decoration, it rarely happens, but when it does it's sublime.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS // Letting the Space Speak
Once I have a chance to see and feel and really absorb all that a space is, I can fairly quickly see what I would love to see the space become… in an ideal world where everything goes my way and becomes my vision – me, me, me. Right? But that is not a realistic outcome much of the time, especially when you are working with a client and not on a space for yourself. Duh. Sometimes you actually have to stop and consider their needs and wants (shocking I know!) and consequently this can, on occasion, impede the view or the vision, if you will.
That is not the case with this project, which is so very exciting and makes all of my crazy hair brained 'artsy' ideas that much more fun to attempt and hopefully make a reality. I can't tell you how fabulous it is to work on a project of this nature! The other great thing is that the particular use for this space is something I just happen to know a thing or two about. As someone who shoots in a studio space of my own and has to shoot projects of all varieties all the time, I guess I have picked up a thing or two about what a photographer might need for a space that really works for them. As a crazy dreamer type, I also happen to have just a bit of an understanding of all of those things a photographer might donate a kidney to have at their disposal, you know, if this were a perfect dreamy world where they had a perfect dreamy studio… needless to say I have big plans for this space, that is already ready to go, but is definitely ready for all of the fun and fantastic to be added to the mix.
THE CREATIVE PROCESS // A Color Board
To make sure Amber and I were speaking the same crazy gal language that I speak when I begin to form my vision for a space (I know you creatives out there know what I mean by this), I created a color board that defined some of the ideas and textures I was feeling like this space was telling me it needed and wanted. It was all the studio's idea really, and I was just the messenger of this gorgeousness. With the exposed brick and the white walls with black trim I was feeling deep blues and minty sea greens and grays with a touch of the lighter colors from the brick. Raw wood tones and natural materials in here are a perfect fit for the existing make up of the space as it is, so giving that a bit of color and contrast seemed like a great direction to take this. It doesn't hurt that blues and greens are universally liked colors for the most part and create a sense of calm which I can imagine would be helpful if you are trying to photograph kids and gals in their unmentionables… (that I just mentioned so not unmentionable after all?) I couldn't be happier that Amber was feeling my vibe here and thought this would be a fab style for her space.
This also helps me maintain my vision and stay on track as I begin to source items for the space. You know, because I need a short leash basically.
Once I get the green light on this portion of the project, I move right along to the hours upon end of scouring the interwebs. Naturally my goal beyond the color board is to put together something more tangible with real life pieces and projects that will ultimately be more than just inspiration and ideation, and will make this space come to life. You can see a bit of that in the first image in this article and I can't wait to show you the rest! Yahoo.
