Studio Makeover: The Beginning of the Workroom

This weekend we built our new work/paint/sanding room. When I say "we," I mean Sam and Jesus from Property Comfort Interiors built the room while Jerome and I painted. Sam is our landlord's nephew and has been a huge help as we've taken on various projects around the apartment. Thank God they had a free weekend to help us out and were able to get our room up in just seven hours!

BEFORE 

Jerome and I took care of painting while Sam and Jesus did the building.

All done!!! (try not to laugh at my drywall taping)

The green paint is going to extend over top of the workroom.

At 12' x 6', it's not the biggest room but it's just the size I need to work on furniture and store my tools. Unfortunately we couldn't add a ceiling due to fire codes; the room must have access to the sprinkler system in the rest of the studio and paying for sprinklers to be brought down and added was NOT in my budget. That means we'll have to come up with some clever ways to work around having an open ceiling, such as using more water-based products to deal with smell issues or using plastic tarps over the ceiling of the room when doing smelly/messy work.

My favorite part of the studio so far? Our new doors for the workroom! Instead of paying for boring standard doors, we decided to go vintage. I wanted something wood with glass panels so I can see outside of the room while I work. I searched craigslist but couldn't find what I wanted. Then as we were loading drywall into the freight elevator, we found FREE old doors on the loading dock. According to Sam, these doors would go for several hundred dollars if we tried to buy them. MAJOR SCORE!!!! They were just laying there waiting to go out to the trash. They even have the glass panes that I wanted. Talk about awesome! I'm currently in the process of stripping, sanding, and staining them dark walnut. I can't wait to see how gorgeous they look when they're hung on the workroom!

I'm also in the middle of taping the drywall. By myself. This could be bad! So far, most of my taping has gone well and there have only been two pieces that didn't turn out right but I'll get those fixed in no time. The final coat of joint compound goes on today and tomorrow I'll be able to start priming and painting. Sam will be back on Friday to install the doors and then the room will be finished. YEAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

Studio Makeover: Painted Floors Part 1

We started phase one of our studio remodel this weekend...painting the floors! The original floors were just bare plywood subfloor, not something I wanted to keep. We considered a lot of options like laminate or wood floors but in the end painting was cheaper. It was also easier than our original idea of pulling apart shipping pallets and using the planks to make wood floors. Be warned, that's NOT a project you want to take on until you've thought through how you're going to remove all those nails and plane and sand the boards. It's a LOT of work!

While part of me really wanted to stain the wood, using the building-required low VOC stain and sealer was too expensive for us. So we stuck with paint. After two days of PAINFUL floor painting that killed our back, shoulders, and arms, we're happy with the results! We used five gallons of Behr Porch and Patio paint in Gentle Rain to cover a 1200sf area and it turned out perfect. I'd highly recommend painted floors to anyone looking to do something a little different with their space. My suggestion though: use primer! We didn't because we were trying to save ourselves from having to paint any more coats than necessary. Instead we did one full coat and then thinned the paint with water to do a second coat. We also didn't seal it. Because this is a work space and there will constantly be furniture moved around, leaving the floor a little "imperfect" was fine for our needs. If you're painting floors in your apartment, I'd definitely use primer, do two full coats of paint, and use a floor sealer to keep your floors fresh.
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Ready to be stenciled!

Next on our list - stenciling. We're on the prowl for a retro-inspired design to stencil on the floor. I have no clue what I want but thanks to pinterest, I have tons of inspiration to pull from. What do you think?

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New Handmade by Miza

Look what we've got in the store...new laptop and tablet/iPad sleeves from Latvian designer Miza! The snugly, 100% wool sleeves will keep your electronics cozy and protected from scratches while looking awesome. Bonus: they're reversible! You're welcome.

>> SHOP Miza

>> SHOP MIZA

We Got A Studio!!

After two years of running the Apartment 528 store from our apartment, we finally got a studio!!! Right now the room is pretty raw and open but we're in the process of getting moved in and drawing out plans to get the place looking awesome. Over the next couple of months you'll see plenty of DIY posts and before and after pictures. I can't wait :)

The studio will be open daily by appointment only. If you want to stop by and shop us in person, email us at shop@apt528.com to schedule an appointment. We're located at Carroll and Damen right off the bus and train. There are tons of new items in the studio that aren't online yet so you'll have plenty of stuff to browse through! And of course, you can always shop Apartment 528 here online.

See you soon!

Christmas Steals & Deals All Week Long!

We're kicking off the end of the holiday shopping season with great deals on handmade and vintage for all the people in your life! Everyday we'll feature a new deal with both new and clearance products. See something you like? Grab it quick before someone else does!

(More products available in the store)

>>SHOP NOW