This is what I came home to on the first day of my studio renovation.  Eek!  A hole in the wall!  But that meant I was one step closer to a beautiful new waiting room, even though it’s not looking quite so beautiful in this picture.

By the end of the very next day, our contractors had installed the door leading to the garage, where students and their families will enter and exit through the “people door” you can see above.  They had also ripped up the old carpet to get ready for the new flooring, which left the room looking like this (click to enlarge pictures):

Here’s a view of the door from the garage.  You can see how close the new door is to the existing door through which everyone will enter from outside.  We’re planning to partition off the rest of the garage from this little alcove:

The trim and step still need to be painted, but the hard work is done.  What I like about this renovation is that we didn’t have to add another exterior door to the house, which might have affected the resale value if/when we decide to move.  And this new entryway can easily be reversed if a buyer does not want it.

The contractors have also begun framing in the door that will separate the studio “wing” from the rest of the house.  I thought it was hilarious when last Friday, after one of my students’ parents used the restroom, she came back and asked, “Did Sadie rip up the trim in the hallway?”  A valid question, since I hadn’t yet explained the renovation :)  Here’s how the doorway was looking a few days ago:

It’s further along now, since the guys have been back every day to mud the drywall.  (Don’t I sound like I know what I’m talking about?)  But it’s definitely still looking rough, and I’m very anxious for this part to be completed since it’s visible to everyone who comes in the house.

The room that will become my new studio is still fairly untouched, aside from housing the other room’s closet doors and a couple pieces of furniture.  But soon they’ll be repainting and recarpeting, at which point I can start decorating — the most fun part of any renovation.

So that’s where we’re at right now.  A lot of thumb-twiddling as we wait for the new flooring to come in, which won’t be for another couple of weeks.  This process is most definitely a lesson in patience!