French Country Industrial Art Studio

Recently we updated our loft to a French Country Industrial Art Studio. We’ve been in our new house for about nine months, so I’ve decided to tweak things a little bit. I’ve had enough time to see what works and what doesn’t. From the beginning, we knew that our upstairs loft would be a Multipurpose Studio, because I share it with our college-aged daughter during the holidays and the summer. We also use it and the downstairs living room for homeschooling. At this time in our lives, the loft has to function as a bedroom, studio, and mini living room.

As a mother and artist, my task was to provide a welcoming place for visitors and our daughters while also creating an inspirational area for creating and painting. I didn’t dislike the way I originally decorated the loft, but I didn’t love it either.

**Industrial shelves and curtain rods gave the loft the working/business atmosphere I was looking for.**

When I told my husband that I needed to find some things to decorate the studio, he said, “I thought you already did that.” Cha chings went off in his head.

Then I said, “Yes, but I’m adding French Country to the Industrial Style that I started with.” That meant more bedding, curtains, and a few other odds and ends, but I didn’t tell him that.

I don’t think he understood exactly what I meant, but he said, “Okay, so you’re just adding a few things?”

“Yes,” I said.

The first thing that needed to go was the card table I was using before. I found the cutest desk at Goodwill. The drawer in front is my favorite part. We bought the utensil jar and wired basket at Big Lots. Both items had the French Country vibe I was seeking.

**The Paris bedding was a great match for the French script room divider that I bought when we decorated the loft earlier this year.**

The loft was originally styled with Industrial furnishings and a geometric rug and curtains. I ordered a French script room divider (pictured above) to provide guests with privacy since the room doesn’t have a door. It didn’t really go with everything else, but it coordinates nicely now. Parisian bedding was available on every website this summer. Fun quilts and comforter sets are usually the most affordable and abundant from July to September because everyone is outfitting their child’s college dorm room.

We use the sitting area on homeschooling mornings. The gray woven basket holds last year’s school books and has to be cleaned out and reloaded for the 2022-2023 school year. If I’m painting, we do school in this room. Otherwise, we do school in the downstairs living room. The DIY Industrial Coffee Table has castors and can be moved around the room.

I found the French Country rose painting at a second hand store before we moved into the house. All along I was gathering French Country elements with no plan to decorate in that style.

**The burlap flower pot was the inspiration for the Faux Grain Sack Valance below.**

**I found one bird at Belk and one at Big Lots.**

Have you seen the grain sack flower pots, dish towels, and etc. online or in stores? They were the inspiration for the valances I made. All it took was a few low-cost burlap valances, a French stencil, and some stencil paint. The tutorial will be coming soon.

**My daughter’s homerun ball and a wire basket adorn her desk.** **My tree will get a seasonal fix-up after Labor Day.**

Drawing figures dance beside my shipping scale and painting light. The old sewing machine cabinet holds my first sewing machine- a straight-sewer with no zig zag. It is one of my most prized possessions and still works fabulously.

It is important for everything to be pretty, but it also has to be functional. The postal scale is something I use everytime I mail a painted watering can or piece of art from my Etsy Store. If I want to sew, I bring my Brother sewing machine upstairs and set it on top of my old sewing cabinet. The painting light helps me to see everything well and brightens photos and videos for tutorials.

**The burlap lampshade fits in perfectly with everything else.**

The burlap lampshade and mercury lamp found their way upstairs by accident. The Macy’s delivery man broke the coordinating lamp when he delivered our sofa and loveseat in December. We didn’t complain though, because furniture was so hard to get at that time. Although they reimbursed us for the loss, the lamps were thrifted and impossible to replace. We bought a pair of midcentury lamps for the living room and brought this lone lamp upstairs. The burlap shade is perfect.

**The Windsor and Newton paintbrush holder was given to me by a local art supply store.**

I follow my local art supply store on Instagram. One morning Coastal Art Supply advertised two free paintbrush holders (the Windsor Newton and the plain one on the far right). I rushed down to claim both of them. It is difficult to store paint tubes and keep them accessible yet upright. They fall like dominoes when they are sitting on a shelf. Just as I was walking to the car another customer dropped by to see if they still had the holders. The early bird caught the worm in that case.