When we relocated to Bonavista, we knew we weren’t just moving our home - we were moving our work studios too.
Both my husband Johnny and I work from home. He’s a photographer; I create surface patterns. We love working outdoors, near or far — capturing images and gathering inspiration. But we wanted a place to return to… to design, edit, write, sketch, produce, dream, plan, and create.
When we purchased Dunn House and began restoring it with Bonavista Living we had the opportunity to reimagine the space around how we truly live and work. We kept it as a four bedroom home - one for us, one for guests, and two that became something just as essential: Johnny's Studio and Kate's Studio.
This project has come such a long way, and this week we got our first look at the completed work spaces. Finishing details, like the heating registers, lighting and electrical plates, still need to be addressed, but the space is clean, fresh and ready for magic. I don’t quite have the words yet for what this process has meant. Maybe one day I will. But for now, I can say this: I feel incredibly lucky.
Building a life as an artist isn’t easy. It requires determination, resilience, passion, and persistence. But it’s also a huge privilege and an immeasurable joy. To have spaces where we can make, play, and bring ideas into the world… it feels like a dream realized.
Standing in these studios now - blank, quiet, full of possibility. It feels like the beginning of something new.
We came here to start a new chapter. And now, we have fresh, open pages to fill. I can’t wait to create here!
This is what the two studio spaces looked like before:
The anticipation of what lied ahead (stood inside what would become Johnny’s studio):
