1Unik Showroom -Renovation Part II

It all started with a new rearrangement of the inside storage and working areas, plus building up a counter

Now I have fixed the walls and painted the floor white... next it will be the shop front. I can't wait, I already have an idea on how it will look and what to do, but I have to wait for that and carry on with the everyday work. Little by little, step by step, anything can be accomplished!

Here are a few shots of the workshop after the last renovation- it has already changed, of course. Some things go, and new ones are added almost constantly... I like that.

The small window display area, with the new platform -and the custom wooden sign placed on top of the counter. The few Trash Family members left after the Christmas 'ravage' are all shown in the newly renovated shelving unit (more on this one later) 

I have also set up more ceiling racks to hang the increasing number of pendant lights

I took away the Frankie Cabinet, in favour of more display room -now I need to finish a few big pieces to fill that space up!

The previous earrings display was taking too much room, so this time I used old frames with wire mesh, with no background for the big ones, so the colours are seen better against the white brickwall.

The back wall with the tree hasn't changed, its condition wasn't as bad as the rest and there is no way I'll dismantle the tree to install some silly panelling!

THE NEW BUSSINESS CARDS...

Finally, I made 'proper' cards! I wanted to stick to the idea of handmade ones, stamping pre-cut pieces of rough, recycled cardboard, preferably orange-y toned. Ha! don't ask me why, but Spain has a HUGE lack of stationery supplies, the choice of paper is extremely limited and pre-cut blank bussiness cards are simply NOT available: I hate it when shop keepers say "that doesn't exist" grunt.

So, when by pure chance I came across a stack of leftovers at a tiny local print shop, even if the texture was too 'nice' and the colour too neutral I took them all, made the design according to their slightly wider shape, and ordered the stamp at once! They're ok, considering, me thinks.

... & THE BUSSINESS CARD HOLDER

This handy bellboy chap has been around my place for quite a while, got it a long time ago in a poorly condition and restored it, kind of already thinking that he would become useful at some point.

Before I made the new cards he was just holding a black square tray, with the tiny pieces of cardboard scattered on top. I could see people struggling to get hold of one -so made up my mind to came up with a more practical solution, and here it is!

Making the new bussiness card holder: it's a shallow wooden tray with several rows of pinewood strips (the kind used to hold a glass pane), cut to measure. Their rounded shape helps the cards stand slightly bent, so they look more 'professionally' displayed. The whole piece is painted black to go with the logo, the bellboy trousers and make the cards stand out. There.

THE MAIN WORKS
The ultimate reason to take on this renovation was the humidity in those brick walls: no matter how many times I'd apply a waterproof coat, the paint on top would eventually crack and sprinkle the furniture with white dust...that's what comes from not wanting being able to do a pricey, 'proper' refurbishing. And renting an old place with no foundations that has never been kept! Ehrm.

I didn't want to loose the exposed brick, so I ended up panelling the lower part of those walls with pinewood slats, only higher in the worst side. 

To keep the neutral background for the displayed furniture, and at the same time show the wood grain, I stained the panelling white.

As I had already made the effort to take all the furniture out, I also decided to get rid of the horrid floor: paint is the best solution when you can't afford to change the door of the shop front (any other flooring would elevate the surface), and white is a pain to keep clean but gives an instant double-light, double-space impression.

The trim of the courtain wall -just installed it at the end because I started the renovation on a weekend and had to wait for monday to be able to get it. It is also stained white.

THE NEW PLATFORM FOR THE SMALL WINDOW DISPLAY AREA:

I got myself a few gorgeous old pinewood floorboards in MINT condition, salvaged from a flat renovation (who could want to replace these beauties? and what have they installed at their place? I don't want to know, really. Too bad for that people, I was so happy to spare these pieces of wood a criminal landfield ending and give them a new, glamorous second chance!)

The space to cover -like any other area in the workshop- is not even, so here I was calculating how to fit the boards. Once cut, I gave them a proper sanding

Some of them were numbered! So, when sanding and applying the finish I was careful not to lose the marks. First, a coat of almost dry off-white enamel paint, to highlight the rustic surface

Then, two layers of different washed dark stain, with some sanding in-between. Then, clear varnish to protect it all.

Not that it gets properly appreciated in the pictures, but the result is rather warm and 'interesting'! it is a shame that most of it will be covered with the displayed furniture, ha ha.