Studio Progress — The Mural Wall Is Finished!!
This morning (yes, this morning!) I finished up the final thing on my punch list for the mural wall. It is FINISHED!! This has been a long process, and I’m hoping that the other zones in the room don’t take this long. So let me show you how it turned out…
This wall turned out quite different from what I had originally imagined. My original plan included upper cabinets on each end and desk areas under the windows, which would have given me fewer lower cabinets.
But when the mural went up, I decided that I wanted as much of it to show as possible. So the idea of covering up so much of each end with upper cabinets no longer appealed to me.
And then I decided that having two desk areas on this wall didn’t make sense, either. I have another area in the room that is specifically for a desk, and when working on projects, I generally like to stand. Plus, having more storage space is a much higher priority for me than having several desk areas in the room. So I decided to eliminate the desk areas and put cabinets along the entire wall.
The end result has far exceeded my expectations, but it took some trial and error to get here. I had originally designed this floral wallpaper in a much smaller print, and it looked really dark and busy to me. Here’s a good view of it in this photo I took way back when I was getting ready to paint the floor.
So I decided to try again on the wallpaper. The second time around, I made the flowers four times the original size, and my mom helped me to lighten up some of the flowers that were appearing like dark blobs in the original wallpaper. The final result is so perfect for me, and I couldn’t imagine anything more “me“!
The cabinets are IKEA Sektion cabinets, and I ordered them with the Veddinge doors and drawer fronts. And then I sanded them, added trim to them, painted them, and then added gold leaf accents. I finally got my pink cabinets! The color is Tuberose from Sherwin Williams, but I had it color matched in Behr Premium Plus paint.
Still missing from this wall are the window shades, but they won’t be here for another ten days. I ordered my favorite cordless bamboo shades in a Rustic Walnut color (affiliate link), which are the same shades I used in our master bathroom and home gym. They’ll custom cut them to the exact size you need for your windows, and the quality is great.
The lights are some that I ordered from Ebay several years ago, and they’re no longer available. They were solid black, and I brightened them up with some white spray paint and gold leaf. (You can find that project here.) I added these door pulls and these drawer pulls (affiliate links).
I wasn’t so sure about that center wall sconce, and I’m still not 100% sure that it will make the final cut when I finish the whole room. But I decided to keep it for now. I keep forgetting to get light bulbs, so once I get bulbs in these lights and see how well they light up this work space, I’ll make my final decision on the sconce.
I decided to wire all three lights on the same switch with a dimmer. The switch is just above the desktop in the wall area just below the wall sconce. Do you see it? I think I did a pretty good job at disguising it! 😀
Here’s a closer view. Can you see the switch now?
I built the countertop out of laminate flooring. It was the cheapest way I could come up with to get a 20-foot countertop. It ended up costing around $300, which I thought was an amazing price for a countertop that length. You can see how I made it here.
But be forewarned that the countertop project destroyed my skin for about six weeks. So if you’re going to make your own laminate flooring countertop, please read this first. I don’t know that anyone else would react the same way I did, but if I can help anyone else avoid the weeks of misery that I experienced, I hope to do so.
I do love how the countertop turned out, though! And now that all of the holes have been cut in it, and all of the dust has been cleaned up, it doesn’t affect me anymore. I’m thinking the flooring has something like fiberglass in it, and that’s what my skin reacted to. But all is well now, and I can enjoy my finished countertop.
I absolutely love having all of this storage, and I can’t believe this was my first time using IKEA Sektion cabinets. I’m a true IKEA cabinet convert now!
This middle cabinet with the six shallow drawers is my absolute favorite. I think this will really come in handy in a studio.
And I love this one with the hidden drawer inside a drawer as well.
When it’s closed, it looks like a big drawer just like the other two.
And finally, I added four countertop grommet outlets for convenience. Each of them is plugged into an in-cabinet outlet.
So I have convenient access to outlets and USB ports right on the countertop.
I’m so excited to have this wall done! I’ve gone in the studio countless times to just stare at it. 😀
And now I can finally move on to the office section of the room, where there will be more pink cabinets and more gold leaf goodness.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
Stunning!!!
Hi Kristi,
You have amazing talents. This room is absolutely gorgeous.
I am anxious for the whole room to finished before you lose yourself into a new “project.”
Love it! Everything! Leave the sconce.
You are amazing!!! Wow,,Just Wow!!!!!
You did it again! Stunning! Absolutely stunning!
A spectacular redo by you again! Enjoy this lovely space.
Just fantastic. The storage you have is wonderful, and the look is fabulous. I can’t believe how much better the wall mural looks…I thought your idea to change the size and adjust to colors was perfect. Love it even more now too. I had no chance of seeing that switch in the first picture…but just found it in the second. And I see you did the fourth grommet…I’m sure you are much happier with that. I was one of those who encouraged you to go with the IKEA cabinets, and I’m so pleased that you found them to be a help, and well thought out. You did A LOT more work on them than anyone, but I am so happy to know it can be done, as I know I will be adding more down the road for storage as well. I too love all the configurations you can get. Your studio is about as wonderful as it can get, and looking forward to the next area. You are on a roll, and now know what you want to do with the next area. Congratulations! Have fun moving into those cabinets…I know that is a project all on it’s own!
Glorious! Changing the wallpaper made such a difference.
It’s breathtaking!
I continue to be amazed by you. This is superb!
Wow! This is absolutely beautiful!
What you did with the wallpaper was definitely the thing to do! The whole wall is so so so nice! I so admire your persistence in tweaking things until they express your vision perfectly and not “settling” for something that is close but not quite right. It is wow, just wow.
When you decided to redo the wallpaper I remember thinking, what is she doing?! But as usual, you were totally right. It’s so much better!! The studio is looking incredible.
So beautiful and functional! Your attention to detail is astounding and inspiring. I love all your white & gold light changes.
WOW!!!! Kristi!!! Absolutely LOVELY!!!!!!
ALL of it, right down to the floor :))))
I love your studio!
The counter outlets with USB ports, as well as the light switch hidden in that beautiful mural, are such smart ideas. I hope you keep the middle sconce! I think it’s perfect for doing detailed work on the countertop that might benefit from additional lighting. I’m loving watching the process of creating the studio!
A perfect room and you put so much into making it YOU. Love it!
Beautiful! Regarding the center wall sconce…it’s barely visible right now. You could put a light bulb in it, but not screw it in tight, so the sconce would continue to ‘disappear’..Then you’d have it for the future if you want it then; and forego the work of taking it out.
Continuing to enjoy seeing how this room progresses….
Just…WOW!! It’s perfect and gorgeous and girly and sophisticated and so you Kristi and well, wow! 😊 Great job!! GOD has gifted you in such a tremendous way 💖
Also I vote to keep the sconce. It blends in so well that it isn’t distracting but adds some extra sparkle in that area like jewelry. I think it would really light up the middle area of that gorgeous paper and the cabinetry in such a beautiful way especially while dim…kind of like picture lighting. And on the practical side it will provide helpful task lighting. Just my two cents. Can’t wait to see the desk area!
Looks stunning. Just noticed the windows only have mullions on the top part of the windows. I hadn’t seen that before. Is that how they come?
Yep, all of my windows are like that. I ordered them like that so that the view through the bottom is unobstructed.
looks fantastic!!! Again, so impressed!
You have done a beautiful job! I love the wallpaper with your cabinets! Excellent choices!
I hope you keep the center light. Since the wallpaper is the “art” of the room, I imagine this light as a picture light, highlighting your beautiful art.
I’m sure your pops would be so proud of his girl! Your talents are amazing. Another “win” on a job well done!
Is your wall mural available to the public on Spoonflower? The entire wall looks awesome.
AWESOME!!! Well Done. It looks amazing and I really like how it turned out. As for the scone on the wall, give it something to illuminate and you will change your mind about having it there. I am sure you can make something very creative and colorful for it showcase.
Great work and again, awesome job.
Absolutely stunning!!
I love everything about it and think you will use that middle sconce way more than you think.
It turned out beautiful!!!!! Anxious to see the rest of the room completed!!
So beautiful! You really put your heart into this and it shows. WELL DONE!
Kristi, you have outdone yourself! What an amazing combination of construction & ARTISTRY. You should be so proud of yourself. The floor, the mural, the glorious pink cabinets—everything works together in beautiful harmony. Even just changing the pendant lights from black to white made a big impact. The room is alive & bursting with personality. What a wonderful creative space. I, too, would stand in the doorway several times a day & just SWOON. Maybe you should put a fainting couch there! You are a true visionary, & this studio is a masterpiece. It all just keeps getting better, Kristi. Wishing you all good things every step of the way. Peace.
Fantastic job! Stunning wall! Id leave the sconce for right now. IMHO. After you finish the rest, you may like it there.
It is beautiful. I love it so much!!
I love it!! Congrats!
Beautiful, I love it!
I love the wall mural.
This is all so feminine. I just love everything you have done to your studio. It is a complete work of art and design and I figure you will come up with more future good project ideas in there. I know when the office section is done you will be so pleased with all of your hard work and genius ideas that you will be in there most of the time. I’ve had my mind on IKEA cabinets for a while, but just can’t definitely make up my mind. I especially like the hidden drawer in a drawer.
Confession time: when you ripped off your beautiful wallpaper in favourite of a bigger print, I thought you were just being overly ‘tetchy’. It was truly perfect. Now, seeing the two patterns close together, there is no doubt in my mind you made the right decision. Your studio is coming along so well!!
You have done an incredible and absolutely amazing job Kristi. It is so you and it’s totally perfect for your studio! I’m in awe of yet another of your fantastic vision and creativity to bring that vision to reality. Well done!
So so lovely! Everything you did is perfect!
It is gorgeous!!!
AMAZING! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy watching this room come together!
Absolutely love it all!
Congratulations on another great project! I would just go in to look, too.
Congratulations on a project “pretty well done”! Your tenacity in sticking to what you want is epic!!
I would keep the little sconce, as I think it would make a lovely night light on that wall while I sat at my desk on the other side of the studio scrolling through YouTube.
This wall looks incredible! I love the outlets built into the desk I never knew these were available to buy. Surprised you didn’t get them in white though since you seem to be eliminating most black from the room. Can’t wait to see what you do with the desk area.
Beautiful! You did an amazing job. You are a master artist the way you matched the wall covering on the light switch and electrical covers. They just disappear. I would also be admiring that wall, and quite frankly your entire house, constantly. You have a wonderful eye for design and color. Your home exudes warmth and happiness. Looking forward to seeing the finished studio!
This looks fantastic. What will you use it for. You have given me some ideas for my office which is tiny and need a ton of storage.
Perfection!
It`s looking absolutely amazing just o a small point about the sconce light when you stand in front of it at evening time if you are working in there you will cast a shadow in front of you without a direct light above as the other 2 lights are further away and on either side of you, you will have no direct light above you in that middle section would this cause a problem for you
This is absolutely stunning!!! Have you gotten some of your things in the cabinets yet, is the rest of the room starting to show? Really stunning!
You inspire me to tackle projects like no other! I agree that you should leave the sconce- it looks beautiful with the other 2 light fixtures. Keep on doing what you do best. Cheers 🙂