Entrance Transformation

Colourful glass & paint have transformed my entrance into a magical delight — click photo to see more at Dawne Design. 😉

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional wood art on Vancouver Isle

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Moving Furniture Creates Zones

My desk & chair fit perfectly under the glass shutters.

I know I ask a lot of this skinny mobile home but by moving a couple of key pieces of furniture, I formed zones for:

1. a skinny area for both desks along wall with corner bookcases & glass shutters,
2. a larger tv/conversation area in the middle with the couch & entertainment centred & the two Ikea chairs forming a U,
3. my glass work area with tons of shelves stretching into the kitchen.

Quite a few problems were fixed.  Now, there’s a nice flow through the 26′ x 11′ space.  Now, there’s enough seating when a visitor comes over without having to move a chair into place.

And now, I have room for another shelving unit in my glass work area — of course, I have to buy the lumber & get it built first. 😉

My work table was piled high with junk but eventually I did find a place for [just about] everything.

It’s ready now for the start of my next commission — a 14″ x 18″ panel.

I’m excited to get going on this one because I’m going to experiment with depth of perception by grouping small glass pieces among the larger pieces in the design.

Hopefully, the idea in my head can be translated by my hands to the lead & glass design, … hmmm, we’ll see.

I was quite surprised my drafting table fit so well under the shutters but with its tiltable top & movable sides, it was no problem to lower it.

I especially love my ceramic crane with the stained glass panels of the shutters as a background.

Day or night, the sleekness of the bird’s neck & head is beautiful.  And I have a wonderful new writing spot.

Vanessa Dawne Studio of Design

Functional glass & wood art on Vancouver Isle

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CityScape Starts From Scraps [Project 28]

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Well, thanks to Miss Mollie, my room-mate’s dog, I had to put the Squared Rainbow window on hold & start a new one.  The great porch protector does not like all this glass replacing the plastic — she needs a … Continue reading →

Net Inspiration — Admin Desk

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Like so many DIYers, I get a lot of inspiration from gorgeous pictures available on the wonderful world wide net.  Here’s a few that I love: Holly at decor8 has again done a wonderful job inspiring me with a problem … Continue reading →

One Simple Goal

I learned years ago [hmm, yeah, like 20] that no matter how strong I started out on New Year’s Day, I did not keep my resolutions.  And the same ones were on the list — year after year [like another 20!]. 😦

So I started making goals — of course I was still a bit unrealistic — I made too many to be done in too short a time.

But, very, very slowly, I started achieving changes in my life.  When it was right — when I was ready, I baby-stepped my way through my list of goals.

For years [like 30],

A Big Roundup

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Sneak peek of my first commission work-in-progress. It’s funny how life happens in waves, eh?  [Yup, obviously Canadian.]  And as an Island Girl, I know it takes energy & mental stress to fight the powerful water, so, I simply go … Continue reading →

Guess What Suffers When I’m Busy?

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I must admit that I’ve been quite negligent to this poor website.  The “I’ll get to it” too easily comes to mind.  Yes, I’ve been busy — helping my sister move in Calgary & then glass projects here at home. … Continue reading →

Glass Project Table Up & Working [Project 8]

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😮 What a difference a little bit [well, quite a bit] of storage can do!  I finished painting the two base units, my room-mate took off the legs & apron off the kitchen table, . . . then poof, my … Continue reading →

Beautiful Start to Large Glass Wall [Project 6 / 9]

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The first much-needed bookcase is up!  Originally, I was thinking a regular [& I guess, boring] rectangle shape — but my carpenter wanted something ‘different’ & came up with this corner design. Each shelf is a triangle [cut at 45° … Continue reading →

Glass Cutting [Project 5]

With the frames ready, I could cut the soft blue glass for the entertainment centre doors.  They turned out so pretty. 😀

Now, I have a place to hide knick-knacks, records, & some of the electronics — the tv-remote-reader-thingy & the speakers have come out to the shelves.

The most important cut

Glass Move From Cold

:-)  In the midst of organizing my glass workshop, I gather the beautiful sheets closer to me.  It’s too cold in the garage for their delicate nature — they are hard & brittle so they don’t break nicely along my score line.

Thus a change in plans — I am moving the glass inside the house for cutting.  I really don’t mind because

Closet Glam [Project 3]

My CLOSET is FINISHED !!!

Isn’t it gorgeous?

Isn’t it unique?

Most definitely.

Best of all — all 3 shelving units are portable!  And no closet doors are needed — I’m certainly not covering up all that beauty!  I am mesmerized, . . . in awe — not quite believing how elegant this all looks.  Is this really my closet?

Continual Closet Change [Project 3]

What do you get when you take a measuring ‘mistake’ & apply some creativity to the original design?

A gorgeous framed glass door that’s so much better than a fabric cube!!

I really like the lion head ring in copper as the door handle — “borrowed” from my kitchen cabinets that were missing handles.

Speaking of those budget-friendly [$7] Martha Stewart fabric cubes from Home Depot — with the whole tower of turquoise ones not quite matching my blue walls, I decided to add another colour.

Tools of the Trade

I’ve been into Victoria to buy supplies to start my bed panel project.  It was another great learning experience at Glass-Smith — this time about iridescent glass & lead came widths.  I got lots of glass & a couple new ‘tools of the trade’.  At $8 for the lead dykes & $24 for the large square, the tools were cheaper than I thought they’d be.

Window Installed [Project 3]

It was quite exciting to have my window installed in the new closet shelving unit.  I really like how the closet looks now — no longer think it needs ‘proper’ doors.

The cupboard door covers the closet rod as intended & connects the turquoise [not quite my blue but didn’t want the ugly green, nor the prissy pink or purple, nor the dull black or brown] fabric cubes [by Martha Stewart Living™ from Home Depot for $6.99@] with the colour scheme.

The sides of the unit are shorter than the door — a little weird I know but it’s whole raison d’être is to prop up the sagging closet rod.  Rather than make a complicated section over the rod, it’s been left open.

My novice ‘carpenter’ had problems cutting the $2+ per foot grooved molding — ah ha, that’s why the pros use a ‘mitre saw’!! 

Leaded Window [Project 3]

Surrounded by translucent yellow glass, a red-centred 4-petal flower, in an opalescent orange & white glass, is then bordered by a textured, goldish-orange glass with square red corners in the same glass as the flower centre.

My raison-d’être is lead came.  I love

Glass Fun, Fun, Fun [Project 3]

Yup, girls just wanna have fun!  So, so much fun cutting stained glass tonight.  And yup, I’m working on a flower [with leaves made from a gorgeous light-orange/white opaque, pearlized glass].

Here it is, almost midnight, & I’m still revved up. 

Glass Cutting [Project 2]

:-)  Beautiful stained glass tops raise these simple tables to super-special. 🙂

Lots of fun cutting glass for my bedside tables!  The blue one was first & it was zip, zip, & both cuts were done & it fit pretty good [about 1/16″ from the wood] — ooh, it is absolutely gorgeous!