studio space before + makeover plan

inspiration image sources: Justine Hugh-Jones, Sara Medina Lind, Sarah Sherman Samuel, and Studio Slow.

Because my house is so tiny, I decided last year to rent out a separate studio space in the same neighborhood. It’s been really awesome for a few reasons: I’m forced to leave the house and interact with humans most days, the prop library has a home, and I can share it with my good friend Kasey from Turntable Kitchen. I’m so lucky to have a space like this, but I’ve noticed over the past year that instead of it being a really functional, inspiring space, it’s sort of become the dumping ground for anything that doesn’t quite have a place in my bungalow. Stuff has really piled up and the studio space doesn’t feel quite settled. The chaos in here has really started to affect my productivity. It’s time to change that and kick off another makeover project!

So here are the before photos… I cannot believe I’m showing you guys this mess, but, hey #liveauthentic.

Thankfully, the space is really straightforward and has nice clean bones. It’s not like I’ll have to do much construction! I’m considering re-painting the space to an actual white shade, mostly to provide a better shooting environment. It’s a bit of a pain to set up the white seamless every time I want to shoot something against a white wall, so paint could help a lot. The issue is that my lease is sort of annoying when it comes to painting and then repainting… so I might forego this step. I’m not totally sure yet.

In terms of furniture and storage… we really need help. I’d really love for everything to match, first of all. I’m a big fan of all white work spaces, so I’ve got my heart set on white desks . I’ll probably keep my white IKEA shelving for the props because they are working so well, but I think the props could be organized better. And don’t even get me started on the terrible organization situation happening near the mini fridge. Also, I’m still not totally sure that this configuration of desks works for us. Having 3 desks is great because that way Kasey and I each have a desk, then there’s one that’s open for when I photograph things. It just sort of feels… cramped, but also like that weird prom configuration where all the chairs are awkwardly pushed to the outer edge of the room.

I’m not allowed to paint the door so I think I want to do removable wallpaper there. And I can’t change the light fixture, so I’m going to have to get creative around that… it gets dark very early here in the winter, so we each need a source of lighting at our desks, which is why I really want us to have individual sconces.

I’ve already started playing around in Illustrator with the floor plan (because I’m a nerd) and here’s what I’ve come up with so far. I really like the idea of Kasey and I each having a corner where we have a cozy rug, matching desks, and wall space to hang up art and inspiration tears. And, yes, I am really struggling to find a spot for the fridge.

So, here’s the short list of what needs to be done:

• (maybe) paint walls and ceiling white
• decide on layout of desks/floorplan
• get matching desks and chairs
• figure out a cohesive art situation, maybe a gallery wall
• get rugs
• wallpaper door?
• wallpaper fridge?
• set up storage for fridge area

And here’s an idea of what I’ve started to work out for the design plan and items to include in the space.

sources, top to bottom from left to right:

• Princeton Long Plug-In Sconces from Schoolhouse Electric
• Dang File Pedestal from Blu Dot
• Catifa desk chair from AllModern
• White industrial desk from AllModern
• Platinum/Ivory Catamaran Stripe Rug from Annie Selke
• White shelving from IKEA
• Massena Indigo Hand Knotted Rug from Annie Selke
• Common Leather Stool from Blu Dot

It doesn’t feel like tackling this studio makeover will be too much, which is good! I’ll be sharing sneak peeks on Instagram Stories, so be sure to stay tuned. What do you think of this makeover?

PS — if you’re in Seattle and looking for a really affordable studio space with a great community, shoot me an email. There are still lots of spaces open!