Art Studio At Home: 5 Tips To Make The Best Creative Space
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Budget friendly advice on how to make an art studio at home
From the messy parts to the finishing and shipping parts, if you’re an artist like us, you may be familiar with the constant struggle to find a suitable space for your creative process and storage. We all know the difficulties of getting paint out of the carpet, but what about the difficulties that come when trying to find the perfect studio? The fantasies of a well lit spacious room; with a kitchen and big windows are well, dreams. Not to mention the price of a studio, which is proving to be a massive obstacle that many artists face when trying to secure any sort of space near to where you live.
Why artists are choosing to have an art studio at home
Home art studios are becoming ever more popular, and it’s not a new development. It’s something we’ve been seeing even before the pandemic hit, but why? Well, the same way that office life is slowly being replaced for more ‘work from home’ roles; artists are also finding that creating from home boasts a plethra of benefits. There is convenience and flexibility (being able to wake up and get to it), increased productivity, and most importantly, the money saved on studio rent, travel and set up costs can go back into your practice.
How To Create Your Own Dream Art Studio At Home
Before you get started
Before anything, it’s best to make sure you have a practical space. Start by assessing what space your art practice requires; how messy your art medium is, what materials you need, how loud it can get and the types of equipment necessary.
Ask yourself the right questions
Think about how permanent your new space will be, as there are factors that will impact the layout and design of your art studio at home, and potentially the type of art you can make from it.
– Are you in rented accommodation?
– Will this be a long term solution, or just to tide you over until you find another studio?
– How much physical stuff can you do in the space?
– Does your work need to be tidied away between each session?
– Is it a shared space?
– Will your landlord/family/roommates/partner/pet be okay with this?
Consider your budget and what things you already have that you can save money on. What can you repurpose? What can you DIY? Try to find some inspiration on Pinterest for home studios, seeing how other artists have set up their own art studio and incorporate their ideas into your plans.
Finding a suitable area
At first glance, it may seem impossible to fit a dedicated art space anywhere in your home, especially if your space is on the smaller side. This is where you need to think outside of the box and be creative like you know how. Essentially, you’re looking for somewhere that isn’t already occupied by something crucial to your everyday living; like preparing food, showering and sleeping. It has to be an area you’re willing to give up, and compromise on what was in its place.
Where to set up a home art studio
– Spare Room
If you’re lucky enough to have a spare room, you pretty much have the perfect opportunity to build your very own home art studio. To maximise the space, take out any furniture that you won’t be needing, or neatly store it to one side. If this room holds a spare bed, you may want to sell it and opt for a sofa bed in your living room to solely dedicate the room to your practice. Consider how messy you’ll be getting and protect any carpets with a dust or plastic sheet; this will make your life a lot easier if you ever want to revert the space back to being a spare room.
– Dining Room
Many artists sit at their dining room tables to make art and build their creative businesses; here is how you can do it efficiently. Organisation will be key if you’re still wanting to use the space as a dining room when needed, so think storage units and boxes. Having a shelving unit can help with this, storing your tools when they’re not in use to prevent mess and clutter. It’s important to free up the table for eating meals, so make sure the equipment has a home to be put away in.
It may also be a good idea to invest in a dining table with wheels so that when you need the extra art space, it can be simply moved to one side. Think about mounting canvases to the wall instead of taking up floor space with an easel, which can double up as dining room decor when you’re not working on it.
– Basement (or cellar)
Another space you might have access to is a basement. The potential lack of natural light may be off putting, but let’s explore your options before you rule it out. Although sunlight is considered the best light source to work under, there are plenty of bulbs out there that are designed to replicate the same effects, ensuring the brightness and colour temperature is correct. So when it comes to basements, choosing the right lighting for your art studio is a main priority.
Basements are not notoriously known for their excellent ventilation, so keep this in mind if your practice requires toxic and potentially harmful chemicals. You will also need to consider your access to the basement, like how easy it will be to get larger works and equipment in and out.
– A Built in Closet / Wardrobe
Do you need art studio ideas for a very small space? Perhaps you could consider a compact closet or wardrobe art studio. Move your clothes and belongings to free-standing rail or under bed storage to free up the cupboard before moving your art tools in.
These little creative spaces act as miniature rooms, with the option of using doors, blinds, or curtains to shield the space when not in use. To maximise the space, use a fold-out desk and chair, multiple shelves all the way up to the ceiling, pinboard, hooks, and anything else to store your tools up and out the way. A little desk lamp would be essential here too. Although the space isn’t necessarily ideal for larger scale work; it acts as a great office nook for all smaller desk oriented work like digital art and illustration. Try to also see it as an incentive to re-organise your wardrobe too.
– Corner of a room
But what if you can’t forfeit any wardrobe space for your art studio at home? Instead, try doing the same thing by converting a corner of your room to a mini workspace using shelving, a corner desk, storage trolley and pinboard. Or, if wall space is a priority; skip on the desk and remove anything on the walls to allow for larger pieces of work to hang whilst you create. Where messy materials are involved, the use of a dust sheet might again be useful to protect any flooring. And if you’re working on the walls, you may want to extend that dust sheet up the perimeters of the room to protect your fancy wallpaper. This can then be taken down when the space is needed again and the art studio has to be put away.
– Garage / shed
This option is great for those artists whose practice makes a lot of mess, as you don’t need to be too conscious about spillages in a garage or shed. In this instance, you’re less likely to have to share the space with other activities, so your home studio doesn’t have to be restricted and held back in any way. This is also a chance to really customise your art studio at home with wall storage, art desks, countertops, fancy equipment and more.
Do be aware of any damp or humidity issues in your art studio at home; the last thing you want is your canvases to go mouldy. These issues can usually be solved with dehumidifiers, sealing the space, indoor heaters and ventilation. Lighting may also need to be considered more so in a garage or shed, a bit like basements, so make sure you’re taking a note of that too.
– Attic / Loft
A bit like a basement; not everyone will have an attic or loft that they can use for anything other than storage. But if your budget allows, you might want to consider using this ideal space as the perfect art studio at home. What’s even better is that attics and lofts have amazing natural light potential when you install velux skylight windows, also providing needed ventilation. With the slanted walls and roof, you may have to opt for working on an easel, something to note if you regularly work on walls. In lofts, the home studio design and layout will need to be meticulously considered given the shape which can be a costly route to take. However, if your budget allows, it may be worth investing in bespoke studio furniture or customising your own from shops like IKEA, so that your art studio at home is perfectly set up for years to come.
– Under a staircase
What is more unique than a cute home art studio under the stairs? If (a wizard isn’t sleeping under there and) you happen to have open under stairs space, this could be the perfect place to focus and let your creation develop. Like the wardrobe/closet option, the empty space under the stairs provides a cosy nook to work in, that may have otherwise been wasted. For this, think lots of shelving, appropriate lighting and perhaps a customised desk or countertop that can fit nicely into the unusual space. However, if your work process requires quiet concentration and solitude, you might want to steer away from here, especially if you live with people who go up and down the stairs like a herd of elephants.
Useful items for an art studio at home
Once your home art studio location has been decided; now you need the furniture and equipment to fill it. Obviously, your requirements and options will depend on what area of your home you have gone with, but below is a general mix of necessary and recommended things you may need for your home studio to operate efficiently.
– Desk with storage or/and space saving desks like ones on wheels or desks that fold out.
– Canvas rack (you can buy some ready made or DIY your own)
– Easel
– Shelving
– Drawers
– Curtains, shutters, or blinds to separate the space
Getting the most out of your art studio at home
Remember to switch off
Like with businesses switching to a remote format, people have found that there is a tendency to feel like you need to be working all the time. There is a potential that this could happen with your home art studio. As convenient as it is, the boundary that once stood between home life and working is slowly disappearing, making it harder for us to switch off and relax when we need to. This can unfortunately lead to burnout, and in our cases, an increase in creative blocks. At the end of the day, art should be enjoyable. So if you’re feeling the pressure mounting as a result of your home art studio, perhaps this work model doesn’t suit you.
Create some separation
To get the most out of your art studio, try setting dedicated times to work and relax, ensuring you’re taking care of yourself whilst still being productive at home. You can build this separation through the design and layout like we’ve discussed above, through room dividers and curtains. Try not to force the process just because the art studio is sitting right there; if you need to wait for the motivation and inspiration to come then you should try and retain this way of working.
Take breaks and get outside
It’s also important to get outside and seek inspiration. If we’re held up in our homes all day, we might find that the urge to make art drops. Replace the studio commute with a lunchtime walk, or try to do some more laptop based work in your local cafe. Just because your art studio is at home, doesn’t mean there isn’t value in exploring the world beyond your four walls. It’s all about balance, and with our easy art studio tips you should be able to find that whilst utilising the comfort of your home for all your creative needs.
Don’t forget you can always share your art with us. Become the next Artist of The Month, tag us on Instagram @darkyellowdot and submit your work to be in our next exhibition!
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