Me in a Space

​I have the great good luck of being married to a very, very, handy man.  Not just handy, either.  He put himself through university with his own landscaping and construction businesses. We have (and mostly, this is the royal “we”) significantly renovated every home we’ve ever owned. And when we built our current home, they handed us the keys once the drywall was in place, and we finished everything else.

Yes, very handy. And he loves a good project.

​So, when I proposed turning half of the basement into a yoga studio, complete with 2 Great Yoga Walls, he was right on board. 

Barnboard shutters in progress

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​Well, he was on board once we got beyond the idea that I was taking over half of “his mancave”. A point with which I take exception by the way: that part of the basement was a family room.

Once you give this guy a project, he gets right into it.  And he loves to design with me…especially over a nice bottle of red. In truth, this is really when my involvement in many of these projects peaks. That and decorating. Of course (I like to say).
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Designing with my handy hubby is lots of fun. We have different ideas, see different opportunities, and almost invariably one’s ideas are made better by suggestions and ideas of the other.  We do good work together.

Wall stain in progress

The studio was a labour of love, and it shows.  The studio design takes the overall rustic look of the original mancave and family room and extends it.  The basement had a brick wall running the length of one side of the house, barnboard window wells and a reclaimed wood mantel over the fireplace.

​All the colours in the space were chosen based on the colours in the brick: dark grey paint and stain accents and a pale lavender primary wall shade (which oddly, isn’t at all weird in the mancave!).

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Building the yoga walls

This worked perfectly with the yoga props that I happened into, and a theme was born. The Yoga Walls complement the existing stain; shutters and shelving to house the props are made of more barnboard.  It is a warm, cozy, comfortable space in which to practice. And I love it.

We had our inaugural yoga class in the new space this week, and it was lovely.  Interestingly, though I’ve been teaching in my home for quite some time, I was a little nervous teaching in this new space. I was surprised by that!  I guess anytime you’re doing something, somehow new, that might be the case.  

I also think though, that it has something to do with the fact that my handy hubby really captured “me” in his completed project.  “Me on a plate” is what a chef will say about a signature dish.  I think this studio might be “Me in a space.”
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Teaching in that kind of a space may take a bit of getting used to.  

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