makeshift studio design

Hi buds!!

So, as you probably know, I’ve been painting more and more everyday as I work to turn my art into a business. This has been super hard over the past weeks as my kitchen table was the only place I could really do my art. Before I rearranged my room, all of my supplies were permanently strewn across my kitchen table and every single chair… which, as you can imagine, was the most annoying and made me feel like my whole home was a continual mess. I also never really used my bedroom because my bed was in the middle of the room taking up most of the space, and my used-to-be-tiny (now actually giant) plants crowded every single inch that was leftover from my bed.

But when my mom came to visit, we thought we’d play with the idea of moving things around in my room. We rearranged my furniture, which happened to completely open up the room, giving me so much space to make a mini studio and it is also THE CUTEST!! So, I wanted to show you my makeshift studio design so that you can use any of my ideas and tricks if you need design inspiration to help you best utilize your (maybe also small) place!!!

So, the first thing we did is move my bed into the corner, opening up space in the rest of my room to have a studio. We added a little shelf and drilled a fishbowl light into the wall just high enough so my head wouldn’t hit it while I slept. This is where I keep my bedtime book and where my phone sits as I sleep, and it’s a great way to have a bedside table without having to have an actual bulky bedside table.

Then, we used this corner to store all of my shipping and business supplies. On the top shelf is my paper cutter and all of my finished art with prices, and on the bottom are my shipping sleeves, package stickers, money holder for cash payments, and cardboard to pack with my paintings so they don’t bend. Plus my monstera apparently thrives right there so that’s a plus!

Then we set up my desk and all of my supplies. We didn’t put the desk straight onto the wall so that it can face the television (I love to have Disney movies or true crime shows playing in the background as I paint) and then we drilled another fishbowl light into the wall beside my desk so I have great lighting for night painting. I cleaned out the desk of anything that isn’t frequently used for painting, writing, or creating and filled my desk with all of my current paints, papers, and supplies. I put all of my plein air painting supplies, acrylic painting supplies, extra journals and extra palettes in different cubbies, making them easily accessible to get out and put up so everything always has a convenient spot and looks clean. I put most of my desk decor in the little bin by the wall that I can move off my desk easily so it won’t crowd my space as I paint and then put some of my plants in various places because they loveeee the natural light in my room!

This was the most fun project ever!!! I hope you enjoyed your lil tour of my room and mini studio. It was such a treat to make something super practical and also beautiful with the space in my room, and my hope is that you feel encouraged and inspired to make the most of where you live too. This is proof that you don’t have to live somewhere huge in order to make it a place where you love to spend your time and enjoy your days (and your work). It’s totally worth the effort and also SO much fun. Let me know if you use any of these ideas, I’d love to see your creations and rearrangements too!

All my love,