Studio tour | How About Orange

May 12, 2009

Studio tour

Hi, everyone. Today I'd like to give you a tour of my state-of-the-art outdoor studio. Exit through our back door, step out onto the stair landing, and look down. There it is, with some work in progress.

The prime location of the studio between two urban residential buildings means it draws a lot foot traffic from pedestrians headed to the laundry room, basement storage areas, and dumpsters in the back. Dogs on leashes gallop over to sniff things, and children on tricycles stop and stare. Not ideal. But if I don't need the studio one day, I'm going to open a Dunkin Donuts in this location and get rich.

The latest studio project was spray painting these plastic planters. They used to be fake terra cotta color. No fun. Hey, manufacturers, news flash: if planters aren't made out of clay, you don't have to make them clay-colored. Lime green is much better, we thought. We applied white spray primer for plastic, then painted with Rustoleum Ultra-Cover Gloss in Key Lime. Now, to plant some flowers and herbs using my state-of-the-art greenhouse facility.

44 comments:

Cherish said...

I love it! I get so envious of all those studios that blogs showcase; they are all so bright, cheerful, and stylish! My "studio" is my dining room table right now, and I doubt anyone is going to feature it on their blog anytime soon :)

Love the lime green pots, too.

Prudy said...

My "studio" is my desk that gets everything dumped on it. :) I love the planters. Great idea. Green my favorite color too.

Anonymous said...

Jessica,

You're so lucky to have such a great building for your studio! I love the brick and the location sounds amazing. :)

City Chic Country Mouse said...

Love those planters. You just inspired me to take a look at some of mine sitting in the garage and see if I can give them a new life. Thanks for the inspiration!

Cristin said...

You tell 'em girl! Faux terra cotta pots are hideous - way to go with making them look cool again!

My studio is our spare bedroom... not bad really - but if our family of 2 turns into a family of 3, where do I go? ;-)

Jessica Jones said...

Uh, outside, I guess. Sucks for you if rains or snows, though.

Dani said...

My guy went to Home Depot to get some orange pots for me...but there were none left. ): So, now I have plastic ones that my little boy planted herbs in for Mother's Day. They are going to get a makeover! Thanks for the inspiration!

B.E.A.T.L.E. said...

Love the green! Prefect color for planters in my opinion.

Grandma G said...

So bright and pretty! Surely your flowers and herbs will love them!

Um, did you paint your thumb, too, by any chance?

;-)

Mum

P.S. My word verification is restsh. Kinda cute. :-)

Jessica Jones said...

No, I painted several other fingers and my wrist. (Wrist is still showing signs of green.) Dang, I forgot the thumb! Uh oh, good luck, little seedlings!

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Whatever works is my motto, and it looks like your studio works just fine! Great color on the planters, too!

Sheena Richmond said...

I can't believe you spray painted lime green over ORANGE!

Jessica Jones said...

But it wasn't ORANGE orange, so it didn't count. I only like true orange. Not anemic rust brown color. Although I think I did include anemic rust brown as one of the colors in my last batch of fabric. Hmm.

Laurie said...

Oh yeah, I love me anything lime green!

Ryan said...

Loving your updates! Can't WAIT to see the finished tour of the place! I'd love to show it on my blog too!

Calico Road said...

Love the color! We have some birdhouse gourds from last year I'd like to paint this color.

LauraK said...

Wow - they turned out great - very inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Would it be OK to eat things grown in a spray-painted container? Wouldn't that leach something toxic into the soil?

Jessica Jones said...

Hmm, good question. Never thought of that. I'll eat the stuff and find out, I guess.

Bromeliad said...

Just found your blog and love it. I MUST do that deer head project some day.

My "studio" is almost the same width and length as yours - a tiny balcony we use for sanding, painting and other dirty deeds.

AbbeyL said...

Hey Jess, these pots look so cheerful & such an improvement over the blah terra cotta. How much spray paint did you end up using? I have four big planters that I'm going to paint but I don't want to over-buy. Thanks!

Sue said...

That is a great idea. I have so many of those stupid pots from the nursery that come in black, which looks even cheaper than the fake terra cotta. Now they have a chance at being useful! Thanks!

BJ Lantz said...

I think Lime Green works on just about anything :-)

Waxy said...

Awesome - thanks for teaching me how to paint plastic - I think I am going to have to give that a whirl next week when I am off work!

flanthrower said...

Oh wow! These are waaaaaaaay cooler in lime green.

Andrea Q said...

Thank you so much for this idea. I wish my planters didn't already have dirt in them!

Martini Mom said...

Huh. That is so simple and brilliant. Why have I never done this?

Christine said...

I love it, so funny, and so true!

LiPeony said...

Ah cool studio lolol... I agree the lime green is way better... love the fun punch of color! =D

jdf said...

Finally a studio tour for the rest of us! Thanks for making me feel a little better about my dining room table/bookshelf/pile of projects. :-)

Jessica Jones said...

Amount of paint: 1 can of primer (I didn't cover them thoroughly, just a light blotchy coat, and there's still some left) and 1 and 1/2 cans of green.

Nicole said...

These look like your fabrics:

http://www.re-nest.com/re-nest/inspiration/inspiration-and-tips-from-mod-green-pod-austin-083564

June said...

The new sprays for plastic are great. Time to turn those white plastic chairs into something with pizazz.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the inspiration. I'm going to go spray mine right now. I have some key lime too and it's so bright and happy.

Claire said...

I love your green pots! They ROCK.

kajola said...

I'm totally going to paint some planters! What a great idea!

a girl said...

Really good idea!!!

alexandra s.m. said...

Thank you for the good laugh and the inspiration!!

Jennifer said...

Love the painted pots - what a great budget idea!!

Valentina Fussell said...

This is such a cool idea! I think I forget just how many products are available in the States. I think I'm going to flip out when we go back in a few months for a visit! I wonder if I'm allowed to put spray paint in a suitcase...?

Cramped Kitchen. said...

This is a great idea! And great color.

Rebekah said...

can you post a tutorial about spray painting? i tried it once and was a miserable failure.

Anonymous said...

Check out the fun resin planters by Southern Patio at Home Depot...I'm very excited to use for my first attempt at a container garden in Lincoln Park. -- Just Another Jessica

Jessica Jones said...

I think I saw those! They're cool colors like turquoise and hot pink, right? Big, round things. I commented to Alex, FINALLY someone is making cool, non-ceramic pots!