We are so excited to have Pat Sloan guest posting on our blog today! Pat Sloan has been creating since she was a child.  From the first shoebox dioramas to sketches for a fabric line, there has always been creative energy flowing.  When she tried her hand at quilting in 1985, she never looked back.  Now, owner and founder of the quilting design and publishing company Pat Sloan & Co., she has published over 20 books, more than 100 patterns, nearly 10 fabric lines, and has had her work featured in major quilt magazines.

Pat first began sharing her knowledge through her publications, workshops, and lectures, but as expanded her reach through social media.  She has built quilting yahoo groups, forums, facebook communities, and even the group “Quilters in Second Life” for quilting enthusiasts using the popular virtual world, Second Life.  Also interested in beading, painting, and paper crafting, Pat’s overall passion has always been to help others harness their creative energy.

Today, we posted tips for creating a sewing and crafting studio on her blog.  So, she perused out site for what she would use to decorate it!

I’m so excited to be asked to guest blog today on CedarStore.com!  This summer I was part of the Kathy Peterson “Create your own Adirondack Chair” Designer challenge. The challenge was not only fun to do but really showed how easy it is to create your very own CedarStore.com Adirondack chair to fit your decorating style. We had some really amazing chairs come out of the challenge. Mine sits on my front porch and is the official porch visitor chair!

I thought it would be super fun to tell I would ‘Decorate’ that new ‘pool house studio‘ that is over on my blog today.. you know. The BIG ONE! I need lots of great stuff in my studio so I can design and sew and store a few things.

First I’d have to have a nice sitting area. I’ll use it to entertain guests. I’ll sit there to design quilts, and it will be a great place to take a coffee break and read my favorite blogs.  I’ll choose this wicker seating for my studio. I love that the set has a matching love seat, table and extra chair. I think I can do amazing designing in this! Plus I can have friends over to stitch … sweet!

This stack of quilts is currently in my dining room and they really need to be ’shown off’ properly.

I’ll add a Quilt Rack in the corner with my newest quilts displayed.  I’d pick a dark stain to go with the seating area, don’t you think that will look nice?

But you know there are more quilts than on the chair. And of course I have quilts in progress too.

So I think I’ll add a cedar chest to the studio. My living room and dining room are mission style, so I’d like this mission style chest in case I want to move it into the house someday.

Now I need to fix up the functioning part of the studio. A desk for the Sewing machine and maybe another for cutting fabric. CedarStore.com has a ton of table ideas but this one is nice and compact. It is their potting table. I think sewing machine on one table and another for cutting will work out great!

We always need more storage right? I think this classy Cedar Buffet will work for an ironing station and storage, plus I could put an inspiration board on it.. what do you think?

They also have some great Red cedar drawers. You can build your own unit to fit what works for you.  I have a lot of wool and this arrangement would be fabulous for storing it.

The drawers will be perfect for the fabric I now have in baskets. The best part is that you can build it to suit your exact needs, love that!

And of course I’d need a beautiful fan for my studio! I’ve been in love with ceiling fans and have never owned one, so I do think my ‘fantasy studio’ will have a fan like this.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how a Quilter would use CedarStore.com items to build a fantasy studio! Please come over to my blog and see how easy it is to create that studio. Then sign up for my newsletter at my website and join me at Facebook!

Sure, we’re all about outdoor furniture and outdoor living.  However, millions of people have enclosed their porches, patios, gazebos, and decks, in order to bring the outdoors inside.  At the same time, millions more have brought the indoors outside, by turning their yards into virtual outdoor living rooms; and many people have done both.

 More than simply blurring the line between the indoors and the outdoors, this trend has, in many cases, made it all but indistinguishable.  Even so, we haven’t lost sight of it; and that’s why we make furniture that can easily walk that line (hey, it’s got legs, right?).  In fact, it’s so cooperative and agreeable that it can even make your life simpler.  It fits into all of your plans and schemes (uh, design plans and color schemes, that is), and a lot of it is elegant enough to be used in any room in the house.     

 Also willing to work year-round, our patio furniture will come inside and lend a hand – or, in this case, an arm, a leg, or a seat – during this hectic holiday season.  Even when your house is overflowing with guests, they won’t feel slighted – in the slightest – if you seat them at our cherry patio dining set, teak party collection, oak bar set, or any of our polywood, red cedar, or aluminum outdoor dining tables.  They’ll also enjoy relaxing on our gorgeous synthetic wicker chairs, sofas, or loveseats, which feature thick, comfortable furniture cushions.  We also have many pieces, such as our Red Cedar Teagan Table, and our Shea Buffet, that are perfect for holding food, beverages, and hors d’oeuvres. 

 Our products also ease holiday stress by making great gifts.  Besides our wood, metal, and synthetic porch furniture, we have a fantastic selection of accessories, outdoor décor, and home accents, including cedar chests, silverware boxes, jewelry chests, quilt racks, and much more.

Furthermore, if you don’t find what you’re looking for on our site, just call one of our design consultants and ask about having something customized.  You’ll find that they’re every bit as cooperative, agreeable, and obliging as our furniture; but with much better personalities, of course.

 Yours Outdoors,

 Kathy