The following is a duplicate post from the Where Bloggers Create party...

Welcome to the 3rd floor studio that we loving call The Servant's Quarters, named for the area where the servants slept in this old farmhouse nearly a century ago. Yes, I'm terribly spoiled to have such a dreamy space. Mr. Blessing is my hero for helping me cart my wares (and furniture) up three flights of stairs!

The floors are rough but who are we to complain? Someday we may refinish them but for now, they are a great source of story-telling. We wonder sometimes, the kids and I, what the living was like 100 years ago on these very floors.

Those of you who follow the Counting Your Blessings blog know that I'm crazy about vintage mannequins and dressforms.

I have them all over the house but the studio usually has 2 or 3 - just for inspiration.

The room is always changing. My work area covers a lot of square feet and lighting is always an issue so I work where the light is best for that particular project. This dresser top is almost always covered with doo-dads and various bits of lace waiting for the next project.


During the Winter months I do most of my sewing in the studio so that I can keep an eye on the kids (We have designated an area as a classroom for the two youngest that are homeschooled). Even though we have air conditioning in the studio, during the Summer I work from the dining room because the kids are usually outdoors and I can see them better.

With the severe sloping ceilings on the third floor, furniture for storage can be difficult. Steamer trunks are wonderful!

When the work is done, sometimes we light candles in the fireplace and talk about where we would place the beds if we were the servants.


If you haven't tired of my all-things-lace stuido, you can see my main office area HERE and the Shipping Station HERE (because you know what they say, "Everything in it's place..."

When I was at Marburger last Fall, I absolutely fell in love with a hanging lace lamp that Robin (Magnolia Pearl) had made. It wasn't for sale, despite my pathetic begging =) You can sorta see it hanging in the background in the photo above.

She had several different styles. This is another one that she had but the one I really liked was covered in very delicate old lace. I wish I would've taken some photos but I didn't even bring my camera into that booth because I didnt' want to make anyone uncomfortable. I borrowed these pics from Deb (Curious Sofa). Well anyhow...


I have a couple of old frames so I decided to cover one during Christmas break. I haven't stitched it all on yet b/c I wanted to make sure that I liked how it hung before commiting my favorite old laces to it permanently. I'm so silly ~ It's hanging on the right side of my precious attic studio and I must love it because I catch my breath everytime I walk up the stairs and see it. I wonder if I'll ever get any WORK done in this studio... or will it contiue to be my decor playroom?!

On Christmas Eve we talked about what The Servant's Quarters might have been like 100 years ago when there were servants living up here. We put candles in the fireplace and prayed for our new year... for our family.

And in the morning the sunlight coming through the lace was dreamy. Even the littlest boy in the house says it's "pretty".

The oldest boy is ever so gracious about lugging stuff up three flights of stairs =)

This old mirror is wicked heavy but hubby & I made a deal. He'd carry it up if I didn't hang that "heavy thing" on the wall and "ruin the wall". So, we get a floor-level reflection. And I just can't bring myself to refinish the floors those servants walked on.
Yesterday we added a little desk for me. I found that when the kids are doing school work, I need a spot to sit to check their work. We hung the ribbon rack first (Why do husbands have such fits about putting holes in the wall?), which made placing the table under it a comical task.

Check out those tennis balls on the feet of the chairs! I learned that one from a teacher-friend. How did I find them in brown, you might ask. They're from the pet store. Of course, they arrived with the scent of chicken but a few days outdoors and they're perfect!

This is a terrible picture but I thought I'd show you how I'm disguising the hideous trap door thingy. Yes, that's a skirt. Just cut it down the middle and drapped it over top of an old lace tablecloth.

I'm loving the chippy aqua corbels from Maison St. Germain! But now I think I need to paint the banister and age it to match.
The best view in the house is completely blocked by an air conditioner! In the Summer months, it's a life saver but now that it's cold out, I'd like to have the window back. But my honey says it's permanently installed so I can't remove it. Well then I'll cover it up!
You wouldn't believe how long it took to make this little birdcage light look like it was just thrown together. It's silliness, I tell ya! I finally got out the glue stick and, dadgumit, that lace might look like it's gently drapped over the birdcage but it's as permanent as the air conditioner now!
Probably not a terribly realistic way to decorate a chimney but yesterday I found myself just walking through adding a little thing here or there. I'm determind that this is the one space where sensibility will not prevail. The kitchen has to function. The living room has to accomodate. The classroom has be workable. But this studio can be as ridiculously overdone as I want.