take the tour

My little heart is full of gratitude because my new art studio is finally ready! After a few months of construction works, we moved into our new house two weeks ago. We converted the loft over the garage into my new creative space and I'm completely overjoyed, head-over-heels in love with it!

I'd been dreaming it up for months, trying out furniture placement on my computer, and it's turned out exactly as I'd hoped, even better actually! It feels so airy, full of light and good vibes. All my supplies have found their place and I still have quite a bit of empty storage waiting for new art in the future.

Apart from some lovely bookcases (the Skruvby line from Ikea), I was mostly able to reuse furniture from my previous (and much larger) space and from my kid’s bedrooms.

Here is the view when you come in. To the right is my office area, and to the left is my art space:

I love that as I'm working on the computer (like I am right now), I can see my creative space in front of me. It feels so inspiring and motivating! A LOT of my time is spent writing emails, social posts, class content, website copy, editing photos, videos etc. and it has often led me to feel disconnected from my art. But this feels so much better!

As usual I'm going to keep my art journal on the table and I know it's going to tempt me to take some creative breaks. For now, I've organized my favorite supplies and they're ready for a first, happy and messy session!

Let me tell you about my favorite features in this new space:

Natural light

Even though my previous space was nice and big, it was north-facing so it didn’t get much natural light. I needed to have daylight LED panels on all the time, but it really wasn’t the same. So when we decided to move house, natural light was at the top of my list. And now I feel completely spoiled! I have two big skylights that bring in a ton of light all day long and they're equipped with white roller blinds to soften the sunshine if needed. The one in my office space is really high so I don't get any glare on my screen, which is an awesome bonus. This also means that, apart from when I'm filming, I don't need to clutter my table with LED lamps any more!

 A happy plant-lady!

All this natural light means that I can finally have house-plants in my creative space! This makes me so happy because I'm a total plant-lady and I love to be surrounded by nature as much as I can.

Before we moved, I gave away quite a few plants I had propagated because we were downsizing and I didn't think I'd have enough room for all of them. Because I didn't have any in my previous studio (I tried, but they all died), I didn't realize that I could have moved them to my new space. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise though, because I LOVE to shop for plants and we have a wonderful garden center just a few minutes from our new house. I treated myself and adopted quite a few new plant friends!

 Video backdrop

Another pretty cool feature is this video backdrop I designed and got printed. I originally did this because I had some face-to-camera videos to film for a project while my previous studio was already packed, and it made the whole process so much easier. Plus I really had a lot of fun designing it from several images and little details from my paintings and art journal pages!

 A cosy little nest

I know some of you wondered why I'd give up a huge space (30 m2 / 320+ sqm) for half the surface with sloped ceilings. But honestly, downsizing has been the best decision (both the studio and the house). My two previous studios were small spaces under the eaves and I've got such great memories of those. This kind of space just feels like home to me, with tons of natural light, a view of tree-tops and birds... like being perched up in a cosy nest!

My creativity flourished there, while in my large space I was feeling less and less inspired to paint. It was time for a change! What I want you to take away from this is that there’s no one-size-fits-all ideal space.

I just love that my new space is much smaller and cosier, I know it’s going to work for me so much better. We’ve all had this fantasy of a big studio space, just like the ones we see in magazines or on Pinterest, right? But take it from someone who's had studios of all sizes: bigger isn't always better. Personally, I feel much more comfortable in a space that's intimate and cosy. Somehow it feels safer and more nurturing, which is good for my creativity!

And when you design it well, in a way that suits your needs and habits, you can still get plenty of storage (which is so important!). Ikea is an especially great resource: a lot of my studio furniture has come from there over the years and has moved with me from one creative space to the next. I even repurposed my sewing table as my new desk! I also love that I was able to fit my little toy-chest from when I was a kid. It's been repainted many times! And I also have a big floor-to-ceiling cupboard in the next room to store all the tech equipment, large canvases etc.

your turn! What’s YOUR ideal space?

I invite you to make a list of what truly matters to you in YOUR art space, so that invites you in, feel like home and inspires you to create. You might surprise yourself!

• Think about the "stuff" you could declutter that doesn't actually help you move towards your dreams.

• Take the time to pause and become aware of the beliefs you might be holding on to, about what your dream space "should" look like.

• For a moment, forget about these amazing spaces you've seen online or in magazines, and tune back in: what does YOUR happy place look and feel like?

Then go stand in your space, take a good, honest look and start reimagining! For instance:

• Would it feel good to move your table to another spot?

• Do you have enough light? What if you upgraded your light bulbs?

• Have you been hoarding supplies you never actually use? It's time to give them away!

• How long has it been since you put together an inspiration board?

• Do you have proper storage for everything so it's quick and easy to put your materials back into place instead of dreading the process?

• Are there pretty containers in your home that you could use?

• Have you been holding on to unfinished art that's weighing you down because deep down, you know you'll never find the motivation?

• What's a favorite mantra or inspirational quote that you could write or type and hang on your wall?

• How about making your space more nurturing with a scented candle, a pretty crystal, photos or objects that evoke happy memories, elements from nature like pebbles and feathers, a houseplant...

keep me posted in a comment below!

Get a good dose of inspiration with studio tours and practical organization ideas here:

Watch my new studio come to life from scratch in my Instagram Story Highlights here:

I hope today’s tips and pictures will inspire you to give your art space some love and make it work better for you, so you can spend many blissful hours creating there! And if you need a boost of inspiration for your next project, check out my online classes: your next adventure awaits!

Create gorgeous floral abstracts with this fun mixed media layering process: embrace color, welcome the unexpected and let your heart bloom with joy!

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