Art Studio Renovation

Hey friends,

For the beginning of 2026, Greg and I have been BUSY, in a good way. We’ve been really quiet these past few months but, we’ve been deep into studio renos and honestly, it took over everything in our lives.

Last year, after literal years of hunting, we finally bought a house. Our old studio was crammed into the spare bedroom of our apartment. Two artists, plus printers, art supplies, packaging, and all the other business stuff…it was a tight fit. We felt lucky to have even that, but it was shrinking fast. We’d been praying for a real home with real space we could dedicate to creating, and we got it: a beautiful home with a basement perfect for our studio.

But, after spending our first year in the basement studio, we realized the space wasn’t inviting us to create. The basement was a tundra—even in summer it felt cold and unappealing. Winters were all cozy layers, housecoats, blankets, hot water bottles, and trying to get the heat pump, heaters, and wood fireplace to play nice together (I’m sure our tea consumption skyrocketed last year—I’m SURE of it). The vinyl flooring the previous owners laid had no padding, so the floors were extra cold. And the crawlspace? AKA Wilber’s zone was basically the back door to Antarctica. As new, tired, stressed homeowners trying to run a business, these little popsicles were struggling to even concentrate on art.

Something needed to change!

January was supposed to be reno month. Spoiler Alert: it turned into January, February, and a bit of March. As a longtime HGTV fan, I’ve been waiting for my own reno my whole life, and here it was! Just like TV: delayed, full of little surprises, and actually really fun. Designing your own studio feels like building your own playroom!

So what did we do? We ripped up that cold, grey vinyl “wood” flooring. It robbed the room of warmth literally and figuratively, and it wasn’t level thanks to an uneven subfloor below.

We discovered many spiders and stains, and the true unevenness of the subfloor, which was easily an inch lower than the rest of the floor in one corner. Once the old floors were gone and the baseboards removed, we started painting. Working on the plywood subfloor let us be messy little piggies, which was freeing!!! We delighted in making messes, leaving them and wiping paint-covered hands on our clothes. It was pure JOY.

We went bold: peach walls, orange trim, yellow pops in the window wells and closet. My mum (expert house painter) helped us paint, and there was definitely a big “EEEK! We hope we like this!” moment once the walls were painted. We had to trust our instincts and the vision and believe that once everything was in place it would all come together.

Professionals handled the big stuff: self-levelling concrete to fix the floor (26 bags of concrete later!), new flooring installed, and our old wood stove replaced. Wilber did NOT enjoy the concrete curing phase — the whole basement was a forbidden zone while it set and he wanted to be down there.

Greg learned electrical on the fly and upgraded the lighting and WOW, what a huge difference, no more spotlights! Now we have consistent light across the space. He also installed a new thermostat, so our war on winter is officially ON! We learned how to install new doors, hinges and handles too.

Then the best part: moving furniture back in, setting up workstations. We each got pegboards—Greg for his new woodworking station (new projects incoming!), me for organizing my art supplies between pegboards and my art cupboard. We hung art everywhere: a Nick Brunt painting we’ve loved for years (finally ours, right next to Greg as he works), my grandfather’s colour wheel above my desk, his feather display for fly fishing, and more. We turned a broken vintage Victoriaville, QC hockey stick into a coat rack for our aprons (much needed for future messes). Blinds went up too for late-night creating.

We tackled the hurdles first and after that came the fun: colours, storage, work surfaces, and art on the walls. We turned the closet into our nerd nook, our “closet of curiosity”—a modern cabinet of curiosities with Greg’s comic/geek treasures and my antique/nature/whimsical ones. It’s sooooo playful, filled with nostalgia and joy!

And yes, there’s a special cat corner too! Greg enlarged Wilber’s cat door into a house shape, added trim, a feather handle, and surrounded it with cat art—including my drawings of Wilber and my childhood cat Gulliver. Seeing Wilber use his fancy door is just so cute!

This whole basement is now a playroom—a place to explore, discover, make messes and memories, laugh, cry, build, destroy, and grow. Grow, grow, and grow more!

It’s surreal: holy crap, this is our studio! Holy crap, we get to make art here every day!

You know, Joy and Fury Art might look like we have it all figured out, but in 2026 we want to actually figure it out. We love what we make now—ocean, nature and Nova Scotia inspired pieces with whimsical magic and energy…but, we want to follow our creative hearts even if it pulls us in unexpected directions. This studio gives us space for that. We hope to surprise you with creations you didn’t expect: new mediums, different vibes and a lot of play. We don’t know exactly what’s next, but that uncertainty is part of the fun.

Thanks for sticking with us. We’re so excited to be back and we will be sharing more soon, now that Joy and Fury Art Headquarters is finally completed!

— Maureen & Greg