Sneak Peek of Studio 202 - "We've Come A Long Way Baby"

It's official!  Our name is on the door and we are open for business!  There is still quite a bit to do at Studio 202, but Traci Zeller , my studio partner and I  are are working in the studio! 

We have decided to wait til August for our grand opening celebration, but if you are in the need of original art, accessories, furniture, interior design help, we are here and ready to accommodate your requests! I would like to give a shout out to Talitha McGuinness of Carolina Consulting Company.  Talitha worked with Carolina Realty Company to get our door signage.  Trying to get two very different logos positioned and in sync was a balancing act, but Talitha did a great job!  Thank you!

{click here to continue reading and see more pics....}

Here is how our studio looked when we began the transformation.  We had ugly rubber baseboards, concrete floors and accents of red and green with off white walls.

Voila! Our studio looks like this now!  It might not seem like a big deal to some, but it is a  big deal to Traci and me.  We ditched the rubber baseboard in lieu of hardwood and covered the concrete with this fab sisal from Stark thanks to Steve Showalter!   A huge shout out to Bob Margies, of MHS Carpet Design for the expert installation of our carpet. 

The first order of business was to trade out the pitted acoustical ceiling with smooth tiles.  We wanted to raise the ceiling and have an exposed ceiling but the money wasn't in the budget.  Lucky for us that we chose to keep our grid ceiling, since we later realized our faux divisional walls in the studio were supported by the ceiling!  (#wallswouldfall) yikes!

See the red and green?  Yeah!  That's gone!  

This pretty little lady, "Heather" from Aerin Lauder's lighting collection from  Visual Comforts now graces our foyer!  We also have other Aerin lighting in the studio.  If you follow me or Traci on instagram you have seen some of it there I'm sure.

Then there was this... Our bathroom. Blah! Not exactly what designers 

envision an ideal bathroom. Not exactly what anyone would want for their 

bathroom.  N'est-ce pas? It didn't help our design aesthetic, that the sink had to be ADA approved for wheelchair access, but we figured out how to dress it up with a pretty fabric skirt.  We also managed to get Kohler  products and Brizo fixtures in our bathroom.  We also scored a marble floor from The Tile Collection who helped immensely with our bathroom upgrade!  

   I'm giving you a little peek of our fabulous Thibaut wallpaper and fabric too!  This pattern is South Seas in grey from Thibaut's Resort Collection, to see the other colors of this pattern   click here.  I loved this pattern and thought it was the perfect paper for the studio bathroom.  

Designers run into obstacles with our own projects too.  The sink in our bathroom, couldn't be moved closer to the toilet (see photo above), so we ended up with a huge space between the two fixtures.  Guess what?  Turns out, this Jonathan Adler "Jacques" lucite and brass etagere fills the space perfectly!  We are digging brass and have added a few more brass pieces to our collection.

We also have this beautiful vintage Henredon table with brass stag head base and glass top for our conference room table.  Traci and I both fell in love with this at first glance.  Thanks to Sarah from Matters of Style for finding such amazing pieces such as this table.  If you don't follow Sarah Fisher on Facebook or Instagram you should start immediately.  She has an amazing eye for finding unique pieces.  I also love her blog by the same name.

Our sample room is shaping up thanks to Impact Design Resources.  We will have lines of fabrics, wallpapers and furniture that aren't currently available in the Charlotte area, so we are excited about that.  We have tons for our beautiful fabrics and wallpapers!

I am in love with our kitchen area in the studio!  The "Flair" tile backsplash from Ann Sacks is a showstopper!  It is part of the Ann Sacks Scribe collection. Who doesn't love a marble chevron?    Chelsea Grey was the perfect color choice for the cabinets, which are from IMPACT Design Resources in Charlotte.  The snazzy brass and lucite hardware is from Nest Studios ( this hardware been on both of our Pinterest boards for two years +) and the under the counter beverage center is from U-Line!    Our studio situation is a good example of why U-Line is the leader in American under counter refrigerators and ice makers.   U-line doesn't have to be vented from the rear, so it works in areas like ours where it was necessary to use a unit that vents from the front.  Yay for U-Line!  We love our new, fully stocked beverage center!  The next housekeeping decision to make it is which coffee maker to purchase.  I really wanted the Thermador built-in coffee system ,but since we couldn't get it due to spacing issues, we are now thinking about the  Nespresso Vertuo-Line.  If you have any suggestions on coffee/espresso makers I'm all ears!

 Our office space is slowly, but surely getting organized and decorated, but here 

is a sneak peek from a couple of weeks ago of our desks and trolleys from Ikea.  So far, Traci and I have been  working on the main conference table, but that is mainly due to the fact our office chairs from Wesley Hall haven't arrived!  I got word on Friday,

from Zack Taylor, President of Wesley Hall, that our chairs are on the way!

Traci and I have done a lot towards getting the studio finished, but we still have so much more to do to get our studio ready for our grand opening.  The studio will be a work in progress much like a home, I'm sure.  As I mentioned before, we are going to wait til August for the official grand opening party.  We are, however, currently working in the studio and open for business.  If you need interior design help or original art, please give us a call.  We are not keeping set hours during the summer months. Traci and I will be in the studio when we aren't out working with clients or traveling.    Each week I will feature various works of art from the studio.  If you are interested in any of these paintings, please contact me

(704) 561-1466 for details!  

Listed here are a few original paintings currently in the studio, but we have much more available and also can custom commissioned whatever you need:

By Artist Lucy Williams

By Artist Lucy Williams

Artist Alexis Walters

 Artist Alexis Walters

 Artist Tricia Strickfaden

 Artist Tricia Strickfaden

We are so excited about Studio 202!  Can't wait to show you more!

 Don't forget to mark your calendar for Monday, June 2nd for my "Old World Charm" sales event with 55 Downing Street.  I have curated some awesome pieces for your shopping pleasure!! For more details refer back to my post about the event here!  It's the perfect time to buy items to spruce up your home and get fabulous furniture and accessories at a major savings during my event!!!  

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