Hey guys! Happy Monday. I’m excited to share another room of our home with you today, my home photo studio. This is a really important space for me as I spend up to 10 hours a day in this single room. My home studio is bedroom 2 of 3 in this house. I posted about our guest room here! This room is decent sized and seems to be working perfectly except for the plumbing repair if needed, but that’s already resolved. It’s primary use is to store all my photography equipment, props, office supplies, and my trusty desktop computer. I tend to photograph in all rooms of the house (as the light changes throughout the day), but this space is really nice for keeping “work” clutter out of our main living areas.
Many of you may see this room as a bleak canvas, but that’s exactly what I need to take great natural light photographs. Because almost all elements in the room are white, the light can easily bounce around and illuminate the shot. The space is decorated minimally because things are being moved around CONSTANTLY. If I were to have more knick knacks, that just means more to move.
My home office tips and suggestions for renters/home owners after the jump!
IF YOU’RE RENTING YOU CAN…
1. Always my first suggestion – Paint the walls a nice crisp white or neutral color.
2. De-Clutter: A office space needs to function first and foremost, style comes next.
3. Hide the ickies: Those printers/fax machines/ paper stacks can be put away in “pretty” storage solutions. I built a fauxdenza like this to hide all the gear. (still needs a wood top)
4. Invest in adequate lighting: If you’re working at night, your eyes will thank you.
5. Decorate minimally: I chose to install a floating shelf to display my favorite art prints. I also hung a few hats, a Coast Guard Flag, and added a few “prop” type items to the top of the fauxdenza.
6. Create a space for exploration: I personally love a real life moodboard to tack my ideas and inspiration to. In this room, I used an old door (stained dark). Don’t forget other aspects of your home such as insulation in order to increase its comfort level.
7. Invest in high quality furniture pieces: If you work from home, these are the pieces you are going to be interacting with all the time. I bought a vintage desk I’ve been drooling over forever, and recently added a butterfly chair from The Citizenry for some much needed oomph.
8. Get a phone and internet package. With this, you’re killing two birds with one stone. You can use the phone for your business or for the house, it’s up to you. Visit https://www.EATEL.com/residential/phone/ to see if they service your area.
IF WE OWNED THIS HOUSE…
1. I wouldn’t really change anything other than the location of the room. A detached space in the backyard would be a dream!
2. Install a slider door (instead of windows) so I could easily access the backyard/fresh air during a work day.
I’d love to see pictures of your home studios. Link to them in the comments if you’ve shared!