Having a home studio provides flexibility like no other place. But, to get the most out of it, you need to make wise decisions with the resources you have. And, no matter how much space you have, there are always small things that you can do to make your artist studio more productive. So, here are some valuable tips to help you make the most of your space and get more done.
Make your workspace the focus
One of the first things you must do is make your workspace as clear as possible. This is the focus of your studio: whether it’s an easel, pottery wheel, kiln or drawing board, keeping this area your focus will ensure you set to work quickly.
For best working conditions, keep this area clear. Each night, after you finish working for the day, clear up what you can. This way, you’ll enter into a clean studio each day, fresh for new ideas.
Stand up your desk
Many people who work in an office use a standing desk. Standing desks have been shown to have many physical benefits like decreased risk of obesity and diabetes and improved mental clarity and mood. But there’s another benefit to getting off your butt – standing up increases the blood flow to your legs, which will help you focus better when you sit back down.
Using a standing desk can make you feel more proactive and increase your ability to work.
Have spaces to think
Thinking over your work is an essential part of any art process. Building space into your studio specifically for thinking, brainstorming, and planning will help you to develop projects better. Get a comfy chair (some feel good massage chairs if you really want to relax your brain!) and leave some paper and pens around in case you need to write anything down.
Add lighting to highlight your workspace
Light is essential to all artwork. Getting bright lights to ensure you can see your work at all times is key. Think about where is best to place your lighting. Consider where shadows will fall: where would benefit from brightness, and where would benefit from darkness.
As with any space, it’s important to utilise storage and an organisational system. You have the opportunity to be creative and use the area in various ways. But if you don’t have a plan beforehand, you may end up with chaos.
One way to create storage is by installing shelves on the walls. This allows you to make use of the vertical space, which is often overlooked but can be utilised in many ways. This will help de-clutter your floor space and allow for more room to work. If you have lots of supplies, this is a cost-effective way to minimise clutter and maximise your workspace.
Another tip is having an organisational system that works for you, your specific needs and your level of efficiency. This can be anything from how you organise your desk or how you store materials for projects at hand.
Using bins can help keep things more organised and help you quickly find what you are looking for. You might want to use different methods depending on the type of project or client you are working with and what stage it is in (i.e., idea stage versus final product).
Does your home office feel outdated? Or maybe you’ve decided to convert the guest room now that you work from home. Either way, you need to know that your interior design choices will deliver a result that you’ll love for many years to come.
For the very best results, you must ensure that a comprehensive design strategy is in place. If you make use of the following ten tips as guidance on revamping your home office, you won’t go far wrong.
1. Comfort for long stints of work
When designing your home office space, your main focus should be on the intended function. You may use your office for several hours at a time, only leaving it to use the bathroom or grab a snack. So, you’ll need to make choices that promote long-term comfort.
First and foremost, you should find an ergonomic chair that’s suited to a person of your height and body shape. Meanwhile, having a luxury rug underfoot can work wonders too. Visit www.cowhiderugslondon.co.uk to find a solution that also matches the aesthetics of the room. This will make long shifts far more enjoyable.
If your home office doesn’t encourage you to stay productive, it simply isn’t the right environment to work from.
2. Suitable workspace surfaces
Whether you’re working from a desktop, laptop or tablet, it doesn’t matter. You need to know that the room is practically designed to encourage productivity. Selecting the right office desk will be one of the most important purchases you ever make. If working in a compact area, having retractable keyboard draws, for example, can work well.
There’s nothing worse than feeling unable to work properly because your workspace feels too cramped. So, you may wish to consider L-shaped desks too. Desk tidies and other organisational accessories will help. However, the impacts will be limited if the choice of table or desk isn’t right.
One option to consider for maximising productivity and minimising limitations is investing in a versatile folding training table that can easily adapt to different work setups.
If your type of work requires multiple screens and monitors, there must be enough depth to satisfy this need.
3. The mental divide
When using your home as a workspace, finding the right balance between work and leisure can be tough. Having a dedicated space instantly gives you an advantage over working from the bedroom or sofa. However, you can introduce several additional features to further support this aim.
You may find that adding a coffee machine works wonders. Check out www.tassimo.com/ to find cheap, compact solutions. Reducing the frequency of leaving the room can keep you engaged with your work. Another popular choice is to add a lock on the door. Locking the office at night helps you switch off mentally.
On a side note, it prevents the threat of family members entering the office and misplacing items or causing damage to equipment.
4. Storage facilities
Whether you are an employee or entrepreneur, you’ll need to store equipment, documents and other work items in your home office space. Adopting paperless technology and data storage can make your life a lot easier. Nonetheless, you’ll still need to invest in some storage facilities for your home office space.
A slimline filing cabinet can work wonders, especially if you have an alcove or another difficult space. If you’ve transformed a guest room that features built-in wardrobes, you could alter the internal configuration. Aside from creating valuable storage space, it’ll preserve the look of the room. Getting the storage right will allow you to manage your personal paperwork, such as home-related financial documents too.
5. Lighting
While most of the above steps have been focused on creating a practical space, you also want to enjoy the room. The control you have is one of the main advantages held over the alternative of working from a commercial space. Utilising the power of light to its full potential is essential.
Electrical lighting can be used to create a range of atmospheres or illuminate a reading space. However, introducing more natural lighting is the key to making the space look and feel bigger than ever. Crucially, this single step can increase your energy levels and make you feel more ready to work.
If you’re concerned about privacy, window films can be used; this stops passers-by from peering in.
6. Personality
For the space to truly feel like a winning environment, interior design choices should leave you smiling. This guide to adding personality and character to the home offers great tips for improving an office space. Photos, plants and wall art are just some of the examples that will bring the charm you crave.
One of the most important issues to consider is the overall style. The choice of traditional or contemporary, for example, can impact colour schemes and material choices. Whichever route you take, establishing a sense of consistency in design will be necessary. Without it, the appearance will annoy you.
When the home office is designed with your personal tastes in mind, it’ll be far longer before you need to make changes again.
7. Utilise the walls
Hanging wall art to add a little personality has already been discussed. However, the walls can be used to add new functions while retaining valuable floor space. For starters, geometric shelving can be used to display key items or store items that are often needed. Showing off awards, for example, can make you far more confident.
Perhaps the most valuable addition, though, is a wall-mounted screen. You can visit https://www.vogels.com/ to find solid brackets. Online tutorials will teach you how to install it. Whether you use the screen for viewing documents or conducting team meetings and making video calls is up to you. Adding those possibilities without making the office feel cramped will serve you well.
8. Electrical outlets
If you’ve transformed the room from a guest room to an office, the number of plug sockets you require will probably increase. In fact, even those that are updating an outdated home office will likely find that adding a few new sockets will be adventageous. That’s because our reliance on tech features for daily work has grown at a rapid rate.
Creating a new plug socket outlet is a job usually best left to an electrician. Check out www.ratedpeople.com/ to find one in your area. As well as having ample plug sockets available throughout the home office, you must consider your broadband speeds. Moving the position of your router may be necessary. If this isn’t possible, signal boosters or range extenders can be added to your existing network.
9. Insulation for the winter
Going green at home and at work should be a priority for all. As such, the home office stands out as one of the best places in which to make an improvement. Air conditioning and insulation should be the top items on your agenda. Otherwise, your increased energy consumption will result in bigger bills and a greater carbon footprint.
Draught excluders, an efficient air conditioning unit, rugs or carpets and unobstructed radiators are all ideal. Of course, this is an opportunity to think about greener updates throughout the home, including a new boiler. Boosting the water pressure, adding roof insulation and thicker glazed windows help too.
Additionally, steps like LED lighting can be used to aid the situation further.
10. Make it easy to clean
Finally, you must remember that creating a better home office environment is only worthwhile if it can be maintained. Therefore, always try to invest in a layout that’s easy to clean and organise. Otherwise, you will soon find that your work flow is harmed as the clutter will cause distractions.
Keep this in mind when making your design choices while revamping your home office and you’ll be destined for greatness.
I’m still fully immersed in my long-standing mustard love affair, so it’s no surprise that this sitting and work room attracted me.
Birmingham-based Medina is the award-winning blogger at Grillo Designs. She’s a DIY/upcycling maven, specialising in how to make your home your own when you’re living in rented. Check out her Instagram hashtag, #howirent.
I really love how she’s made use of the triangular space under the stairs – installing an office desk & chair and handy overhead shelf. The simple, wooden horizontal battens are used as further hanging storage space.
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Garages are often messy, neglected spaces and they’re usually one of the last things on our lists of areas we want to improve. However, with a few handy projects and a little bit of organisation, we might be able to get a lot more use out of them and at the same time make them more modern. Below are some of our top upgrade ideas that will help improve and organise your garage space.
Install a ceiling storage system
If space is an issue in your property, then this can be a brilliant way for you to store the items that you don’t need to hand on a day-to-day basis. It’s also relatively cheap and easy to complete independently. Ceiling storage systems are a great place to store those Christmas decorations that you’ll only get out once a year or tools that you only use when something in the house breaks. These storage solutions can enable you to become more organised.
Store tools away
Storing your garden or woodworking tools on your garage wall will not only save you some space, but it will also allow you to know where each of your tools is when you need access to it. You’ll no longer need to look through old boxes or behind cabinets to see if you can find the garden spade or saw. If you have other types of tools, then you could consider purchasing a hinged pegboard system or a rolling pegboard caddy to keep these items tidy too.
Build a collapsible workbench
Workbenches can take up a lot of space, which isn’t great if your garage is small. Maybe you like using your garage as a place where you can work, but it’s too small or maybe you want the room to be multi-purpose? If so, why not consider installing a collapsible workbench that you can unfold when you want to work, and put away again when you’re not using it? If you’re really good at DIY, you could even build a workbench that you could store your tools inside.
Upgrade your garage space
It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to make improvements in your garage. Drawer organisers, a sheet metal workbench cover and customised storage pieces can go a huge way towards achieving this. You could also consider installing storage shelves or have a go at converting an old cabinet into a storage unit. If your garage contains a lot of bulky items that you don’t need every day but don’t want to part with, consider transferring them elsewhere such as a unit from Gap Containers.
Create a storage wall system
If you’re worried that you have too many tools or items that need to be stored in a compact room, then perhaps you should consider turning an entire wall space into a storage area? The best thing about installing one of these is that you can customise it to fit your needs and the area available. You could have space for your tools to be hung, a place for your bikes to be suspended and even a place for your garden hose to be stored. Think about what you need to store and then design something to suit your requirements.
Check out this selection guide from the unclutterer to find the right garden hose that will become an indispensable assistant in your garden.
Build a garage that fits your needs
Lots of people dream of a property where they’re not struggling for storage options, they look for ideas of how to gain extra space in their property. One way of doing this is by getting some help from professionals who’ll be able to advise on how they can alter your garage or build you a garage that fits your specifications. You could hire a professional to fit storage options for you or you could even have another room added above your garage that will give you the extra space you need.
Having extra rooms added above your garage will not only give you the added space you require but will also add value to your property. You might dream of a games room, a snug, a spare guest bedroom or even an office away from the house where you can concentrate on your work. Whatever you dream of, it can be achieved with a little bit of help.
Why not take a look at this range of oak garages with room above accommodation. The garages from the Classic Barn Company are built with longevity in mind and offer superior quality, ventilation and insulation. It doesn’t matter what type of property you own, or what type of storage you’re after, they provide a design that suits your needs. You could even choose to store your classic car range in one of their garages.
Of course, before undertaking any major changes to your property, you first need to check to see if you need building regulations approval. Once you’ve found this out, then your project can begin. Adding an extra room is the best way to get the extra space you need whilst also adding value to your home.
Make parking in the garage easier
It’s a good idea to install motion sensor lights near your garage door. This will help you see better when you’re parking your car at night. You should also consider the type of garage door you want to fit. You could invest in some electric doors with garage door opener to make your life easier.
Introduce new technology
Lots of people use their garage as a storage space for valuable items, so it’s important to remember to keep it secure. Place cameras at the entrances so that if anyone tries to access your garage you’ll have recorded their image. These cameras will also help to deter potential thieves.
Technology is continually evolving, so keeping up to date can be difficult. Nowadays, technology is so advanced that we can open and close our garage doors at the touch of a button using our mobile phones. you can also get remotes for your garage doors from places like National Garage Remotes & Openers if you do not want to use your phone in case it has died, for example. This technology will stop you from having to get out of your car to manually open the garage door when you get home late at night. Your phone will also be able to tell you if your garage door is open or closed. You may think that technology can only look good if installed in modern buildings, but this isn’t always the case. Technology can be installed in character properties when done in a sympathetic manner. The Classic Barn Company knows how to do this in the right way.
There are numerous ways you can improve and organise your garage space. Whether you build a new garage completely or simply install some nifty storage solutions is up to you. It’s a good idea to do some research before you get started.
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