An Artist's Studio and Home

"If it's not nailed down, I'll paint it -- and even if it is, I'll still try to paint it," Deane Bowers jokes. For Deane her family gets top billing, but painting is a close second. The whimsical paintings, pottery, and furniture displayed throughout her home are like Deane herself: colorful and full of energy.

After art projects began commandeering kitchen countertops, Deane and her husband, Terrell, took advantage of a larger remodeling project to transform the family room into a studio. Soft yellow walls and easy-to-wipe tile floor give Deane the quiet, roomy space she craved. "My studio is my one liberating place in my house," she says. "Just being around all my paints and glazes gives me a lift."

Paintbrushes make fun handles on the built-in entertainment center and repurposed kitchen island in Deane's studio, formerly the family room. Brushes also serve as finials on the curtain rod. Empty paint cans on the shelves display Deane's artistry and serve as inexpensive decorations.

The bright new paint job revived the fading design on this sideboard. The lamp bases are plain vases that Deane adorned with clay daffodils, painted, glazed, and fired. A lighting shop did the wiring.

Deane purchased plates with interesting shapes and spruced them up with easy-to-mix designs. Nontoxic, food-safe paints make her hand-painted dishes functional.

A lively checkerboard pattern updates the top of a dining table that the family uses for everyday meals and homework. Deane topped it with a piece of glass to protect the painted design.

Deane paints duck cloth with big bold designs, then has a seamstress make pillows.

These wall pockets, as Deane calls them, are one of her favorite things to make. She molds the shapes from clay, which she then paints, fires in the kiln, and glazes twice.

"It's like a candy land," Deane says of her happy-go-lucky home that showcases her whimsical art. In her living room she displays her own painted pieces along with purchased art.

Muted wall colors, such as light greens, blues, and white, used throughout the house allow Deane's art to star.