Fantastic and inspiring! My husband & I moved to a 12-acre wooded lot with a small home and 100+something-year-old barn on it. The original farmhouse had suffered a fire and the remnants had caved in on the basement/foundation....and were left there to the harsh Wisconsin elements for over 20 years! (there were literally small trees growing in the rubble!) That was in Feb 2022 and we have spent every weekend (and many evenings after our regular jobs) cleaning, burning rubble, straightening foundation walls, and building this garage/workshop.....just the two of us (at 50 & 52 yrs old) The lower level is the garage (which used to be a basement) and the upper level is the workshop....a creative studio for me and a "man-cave" for him. We still have interior work to do (insulation, drywall, windows, etc.) but having everything on the exterior buttoned up is SUCH a relief! Not gonna lie, it's been EXHAUSTING and super stressful as some of the work (installing a metal roof off of a platform mounted off an old tractor bucket...eeep!!) has been down-right nerve-wracking/dangerous! Point being, with time & hard work, executing consistently, dreams CAN come true. I am looking forward to seeing what your beautiful space inspires you to create! I am planning my creative business dreams and setting up action plans to see it to fruition. Thanks for sharing your studio journey! Looking forward to Part 2
This looks amazing! We converted the (crappy) utility shed in our backyard last summer to make it into a (fabulous) writing shed for me, and I was -- and continue to be -- shocked by the mindset shift that happened for me. Sure, I still goof off in here sometimes, but I'm much less likely to. I feel more like a professional writer, so I might as well write. Where in my last desk-space (in the corner of my bedroom) I felt decidedly unprofessional. Also we built in a storage bench/couch, and having an office couch really shifted a lot (to be able to work longhand without my computer monitor being right in front of my face is so, so great).
We just moved to a bigger apartment with a whole room for art! I’ve used it a bit and it’s nice not to have to clean up each time but haven’t quite found my groove yet.
Congratulations on the new space. I hope it works out as planned and is conducive to lots of creativity. I longed for a new space once. I have an old stone cottage and have spent most of my studio painting time in the attic. It has low ceilings, the skylights face south which makes the light difficult, and most of the space is kneewall and very low. I ran an art business and produced a lot of paintings over the years.
When my son moved out of the front room of the house, I couldn't believe that I would have such an amazing space. It had large wonderful ten foot ceilings, large north facing windows, a dream of a studio. But it was strange. I couldn't work there, and my creativity went down. I kept trying to keep it neat and tidy. People could stop in. So I am back up in my garret with my messes everywhere, paint tubes on every surface, unfinished paintings leaning everywhere, paint splatters on the floor and walls, sticky notes stuck everywhere. I love it. I feel so private and free. And best of all, the ceilings are too low for my husband to come up and ask if its coffee time yet. :)
I loved opening this inspiration>vision>reality post this morning - just the thing to get me going on my dream of finishing the last-before-agent search revision of my novel. Thank you for all your writing and doing!
That is amazing. I also sketched out my dream studio a while ago. It's red and in the Swedish forest. It has a tea station, a painting station, and a big table in the middle where I can invite people for creative workshops. One day.
I'm so curious how it's working out for you so far, because I have multiple times found that some rooms/spaces have the right "feel" for working and others just... don't, and I have *not* been good at accurately predicting this in advance!
Congratulations Austin. I'm not disciplined enough to be a follower of Marie Kondo, but I love her idea that the things in your life should "spark joy". Looks like this space qualifies. I'm happy for you, Dan
Fantastic and inspiring! My husband & I moved to a 12-acre wooded lot with a small home and 100+something-year-old barn on it. The original farmhouse had suffered a fire and the remnants had caved in on the basement/foundation....and were left there to the harsh Wisconsin elements for over 20 years! (there were literally small trees growing in the rubble!) That was in Feb 2022 and we have spent every weekend (and many evenings after our regular jobs) cleaning, burning rubble, straightening foundation walls, and building this garage/workshop.....just the two of us (at 50 & 52 yrs old) The lower level is the garage (which used to be a basement) and the upper level is the workshop....a creative studio for me and a "man-cave" for him. We still have interior work to do (insulation, drywall, windows, etc.) but having everything on the exterior buttoned up is SUCH a relief! Not gonna lie, it's been EXHAUSTING and super stressful as some of the work (installing a metal roof off of a platform mounted off an old tractor bucket...eeep!!) has been down-right nerve-wracking/dangerous! Point being, with time & hard work, executing consistently, dreams CAN come true. I am looking forward to seeing what your beautiful space inspires you to create! I am planning my creative business dreams and setting up action plans to see it to fruition. Thanks for sharing your studio journey! Looking forward to Part 2
This looks amazing! We converted the (crappy) utility shed in our backyard last summer to make it into a (fabulous) writing shed for me, and I was -- and continue to be -- shocked by the mindset shift that happened for me. Sure, I still goof off in here sometimes, but I'm much less likely to. I feel more like a professional writer, so I might as well write. Where in my last desk-space (in the corner of my bedroom) I felt decidedly unprofessional. Also we built in a storage bench/couch, and having an office couch really shifted a lot (to be able to work longhand without my computer monitor being right in front of my face is so, so great).
It’s so lovely! Reminds of that David Hockney painting of the pool
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/hockney-a-bigger-splash-t03254
We just moved to a bigger apartment with a whole room for art! I’ve used it a bit and it’s nice not to have to clean up each time but haven’t quite found my groove yet.
Congratulations on the new space. I hope it works out as planned and is conducive to lots of creativity. I longed for a new space once. I have an old stone cottage and have spent most of my studio painting time in the attic. It has low ceilings, the skylights face south which makes the light difficult, and most of the space is kneewall and very low. I ran an art business and produced a lot of paintings over the years.
When my son moved out of the front room of the house, I couldn't believe that I would have such an amazing space. It had large wonderful ten foot ceilings, large north facing windows, a dream of a studio. But it was strange. I couldn't work there, and my creativity went down. I kept trying to keep it neat and tidy. People could stop in. So I am back up in my garret with my messes everywhere, paint tubes on every surface, unfinished paintings leaning everywhere, paint splatters on the floor and walls, sticky notes stuck everywhere. I love it. I feel so private and free. And best of all, the ceilings are too low for my husband to come up and ask if its coffee time yet. :)
I loved opening this inspiration>vision>reality post this morning - just the thing to get me going on my dream of finishing the last-before-agent search revision of my novel. Thank you for all your writing and doing!
That is amazing. I also sketched out my dream studio a while ago. It's red and in the Swedish forest. It has a tea station, a painting station, and a big table in the middle where I can invite people for creative workshops. One day.
I'm so curious how it's working out for you so far, because I have multiple times found that some rooms/spaces have the right "feel" for working and others just... don't, and I have *not* been good at accurately predicting this in advance!
What a pleasure to see your space unfold!
Very inspiring and deserved. May you blossom fantastically there! Cheers.
Very nice! Love the view from outside to inside..... shelves of books!
Did you guys include plumbing in your studio?
Fabulous!!!
Congratulations Austin. I'm not disciplined enough to be a follower of Marie Kondo, but I love her idea that the things in your life should "spark joy". Looks like this space qualifies. I'm happy for you, Dan
I have enjoyed your sharing about your studio and work spaces. Your creativity is motivating and inspiring. Keep up the great work.
Looks dreamy 😍
Love it! Can’t wait for part 2. I hope you’ll show us your set up for listening to music in your studio.
Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to Part II.
BEAUTIFUL!!!!