Thoughts on Designing A Studio

“You need a room with no view so imagination can meet memory in the dark.” - Annie Dillard

Cynthia Tinapple recently put up a page on her studio renovations. Her observations on her personal preferences in locating a creative space made me wonder about mine. I have a lovely large bright yet windowless studio in the basement of our current home. It’s not my forever studio though, because this is not our forever home. Eventually when my husband retires, we would like to move to a house with less upkeep. It’s not something that is destined to happen very soon, but it’s fun to think about what I would like in my ideal studio.

Studio design and location is a topic that really interests me. It’s one of the main reasons I started doing the Studio Snapshot series. I had written a post (lost in the great “poof” of server crashes at my old webhost) talking about the way your worktable faces. I prefer a table that faces out into the room with storage for supplies and tools next to and behind me. All three of the studios I have worked in have been in the basement. (You can see loads of photos of all three of the studios I’ve had so far on Flickr)

Reading Cynthia’s comments about feeling most at home in a studio right off the busy area of the house made me think instantly (and surprisingly) “I’d hate that!”. Whether it’s because it is what I have grown accustomed to, or because I like the solitude, I really need my studio to be a space apart. Sure, I love inviting friends in for some creative play, but I can’t really work in the company of others. I need the distractions to be of my own making, background music or audiobooks are fine, people popping in or breezing by all the time are too disruptive.

I have also begun to suspect that I don’t necessarily need a big picture window or tons of natural light. Thanks to the suggestion of a friend, I installed full spectrum lighting in my current studio. The difference it makes is palpable.