Make An Art Studio In Your House
Dear Wonderful, Creative You:
One of the most important ways to make sure you make more art is to create an art studio space at home. I’ve got my 5 top tips for you today in this video:
Creating an art studio at home really is one of the biggest keys to making sure that you weave art making into your day. There is no right art studio space. A home art studio might be in a closet, a small bin under your bed, a corner of a room, or in a converted garage or on your dining room table. My home art studios were in my bedroom for years, then I graduated to a tiny room, and now I’m lucky enough to have converted our formal living room into my studio.
I would love to hear what works for you for making an art studio in your house. Tell us about it. Do you have an art bin you slide out from under your bed, a corner of the dining room, or have you converted the garage into an art studio? We would love to hear your creative ideas for spaces, storage, inspiration boards – you name it! Tell us about it in the comments.
Creatively Yours,
Amy
P.S. Looking for Products I Mention?
These are affiliate links for some of the key things in my studio.
Lighting: Canvas Lamp – Use code: AMY10 to save 10%
Shelves: Kallax Ikea Shelves
Map Drawer: Safco Flat File
Make Journals Like Mine: Coptic Bound Journal Class: https://mindfulartstudio.com/shop/coptic-bound-journal/
Decoupaged Dresser 👉On the side of the road, then you DIY!
Repurposed Tables, bookshelves, and chairs 👉Your basement, attic, or local thrift shop
34 Comments
Submit a Comment
Social
Connect
Join my newsletter for weekly inspiration, workshops, and ways to connect to nature through art.
Quick Links
I’m very lucky. I have a spare bedroom that my husband helped me set up for a studio. The closet has the wire shelving in it for all of my plastic storage containers and a shelf for drying paintings. There are two desks, one with a flat top and another that has a slanted top (great for small drawings). I also have a flat table with a large cutting mat and paper cutter. There is a small bookshelf, small dresser, and my easel. I’m so blessed!
HI Donna: That sounds like a totally ideal set up! Happy creating! xo
I have a table in my sunroom that I have created an art area on. I’m using a small wheeled cart I already had to store supplies on. I love being able to use sit down and create!
Hi Catherine! That sounds lovely! And so creative of you to use the small wheeled cart to store your supplies!
Hi Amy – this is a subject that is dear to my heart, having moved to a small condo from a larger home six years ago. My art had taken a back seat all that time as I was caring for my hubby who was ill. Sadly he recently passed away.
My studio art supplies are stacked in boxes in a closet. I dearly want to minimize them and create a small but inspiring space for art. I think the less I have on display will give me the push I need to begin journaling again.
Thanks for inspiring me to do this.
I’m so sorry about the loss of your husband, Donna. And I’m so so glad that this post gave you some inspiration to get started. And yes I agree, space in which to create is vital. I can’t wait to hear how it goes, and I’m sure the Clear Out class will be a big help too. Cheers.
What a wonderful tour! Thank you! I’m curious about the small bulletin board I saw. How do you affix bits to it without creating holes in them? I’d like to display some of my “inches,” and am trying to figure out the best way to do that.
Thanks again!
HI Zane – Yay I’m so glad this studio tour was helpful. On my pinboard, I use the side of the pushpin to hold down the piece. I surround it on 2 – 4 sides so that it’s secure. Great question. Happy displaying!
I have too much stuff!!! I love to paint big, I love to paint small, I love collage, I love collagraph printmaking, I love to make monochromatic small pieces. I am all over the place which is sometimes exhilarating and at other times puts me in a funk. I feel like Dory in Finding Nemo..
Hi “Dory”!
I totally get what you mean – shiny object syndrome is real! And I also know from experience that it’s overwhelming to make a choice and get started. I think the Clear Out class may indeed help. I also love sitting down with my journal and calmly writing out all the projects I want to do and then writing about it for a bit, or ranking them. This helps me to decide which to start with, put the rest away, and commit. I hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing. I let my intuition lead me and have changed a spare room into my creative space!
It mirrors alot of what you shared in your video about your own space. I have decluttered and brought in cubbies, wall boards for tacking and writing. As well as two tables, sewing lights and all kinds of bins and boxes. Thank you so much for your free art class. It has helped me refind my artsy self. I even made a few watercolor journals! Yay! I even keep journal and pens next to my chair in the living room so I can draw anytime.
Oh this is super exciting to see how far indeed you have come, Theresa! Happy happy creating!
I have taken over our dinning room table! I find if I leave everything out, I can do Fifteen minutes here and there throughout the day. If I clean and put it away, it never happens. I too have too many interests. Quilting, crochet, drawing, painting. Still can’t seem to limit myself. All is good until I need the table for family gathers!
This is so true, Karen – when it’s out and ready – it’s just too easy to do a bit! Thanks for sharing your approach! xo
I am downsizing into a smaller home and losing my dedicated art space. In addition, the downsizing involves a cross-country move with a couple of months transition time de-cluttering my existing home for sale and getting my new home organized. So, I came up with a portable art studio to use until I find a place in my new home for a mini-studio. A picture would be better, but alas, there is no way to post a picture here. So: I used a carrier designed for a portable sewing machine. It has detachable swivel wheels (which I won’t detach). The interior is quite roomy (big enough for a sewing machine!) and holds my sketchbook(s), pens, pencils and smaller paint brushes in rolls, my watercolors and watercolor tins, small brushes and various other things. These are all set in the case vertically so I don’t have to dig around to find things stacked on top of one another. The sides and top of the bag have zippered compartments with smaller divisions for my Posca pens, small bottle of acrylic paint, long-handled brushes, and bits and pieces of small sized paper. It works well, although, predictably, having to take things out creates a hurdle to creating. But, for now, it seems like a reasonable solution.
Deborah – It’s very generous of you to offer so much detail about how you are overcoming the roadblock of losing your current studio space. I love how you think through roadblocks, like digging for supplies, and clear them away. I know you said space is limited, but is there any space where you could leave out your journal and a pen? So that it would invite you to begin?
My laptop is always out – so most definitely I could make space for the journal and pen!!! (Insert eye roll directed at myself here) -I have been so focused on packing everything in, I missed thhe obvious!!! Thanks for the reminder, Amy!
We all get stuck in these patterns! xo
This was so much fun. We are building a new home with a dedicated studio for me….WITH A SINK……and tons of storage. I’m even more excited now after seeing your space. You have lots of floor space. Do you use that for anything? I’ll have the same thing and I think I want to put two tables together back to back and form a square with seating on both sides…if that makes sense.
OOH that’s such a good idea! So I have toyed with a tall table on the side opposite my working table, near the pinboards. But I have not yet come up with a conception that feels right. I think one of those tall tables with storage and space for a stool might be awesome, then I would get rid of the dresser, but I’m not convinced I need it and haven’t done it. But I like that you got me thinking about it. Thank you! Have SO MUCH fun with your amazing space. WOW – a sink and everything!
Hi Amy! Your converted LR to an art studio is fabulous. I like the organization and natural LIGHT you have. We converted one of our bedrooms into a music/art space but it’s SMALL and doesn’t have great natural light. I do have a great small bookcase with bins for storing art supplies in the closet, which helps keep the space organized but I don’t go in too often to make art since the room is on the dark side and “out of sight”. We also still have a twin bed and baby crib in there to host our grandchildren for naps/sleepovers! Any suggestions on how to improve this space would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hey Kathy! It sounds like you want to have an art space in some part of the house that gets lovely light – that’s what inspires you. I feel the same. What about thinking outside the box about some of the spaces in your house that do get good light. What about a small table and shelves in front of a window in the living room or dining room? You deserve that space – claim it! And for more ideas, sign up for the Clear Out class. XO Cheers!
Thanks for the encouragement! I’ll *noodle* on it and will come up with a solution. 😊
Good afternoon Amy,
This free class and studio tour couldn’t have come at a better time!! .. I’ll soon be moving into a new condo and setting up an office / music / art room for me and my Beau .. I watched your introduction video and I’m looking forward to all the wonderful advice and ideas you’ll be sharing along the way.
PS .. I may just steal that Ikea cubby organizer idea of yours .. I luv how you can easily see everything you have on hand to be better prepared to create.
Anne Marie – SO happy to see you here and know that the ideas come just at the right time. Those Ikea shelves are the absolute best. Keep us posted!
Good morning, Amy. Could you please share more about the light on your art table? Thank you.
Hi Susan:
Yes, sure, I’d be happy to! It’s the Canvas lamp: Here’s my affiliate link and Use code: AMY10 to save 10% https://canvasfam.co/3maJIsd
Happy, well-lit creating!
Amy
Thanks-sorry that I missed the link above.
I have a vast collection of full size handmade papers. I hang 10-15 pieces on skirt hangers in the closet in my studio. I sort them in categories by color, texture, etc. This makes them so easy to see and pull out the papers I want to use.
That sounds like such a smart and creative way to organize your handmade papers, Linda! I love how you’ve found a system that not only keeps them visible but also makes it so easy to access exactly what you need.
Hi Amy
Thanks for sharing your studio! it’s gorgeous and I can see why it would be an inspiring place to work. My home is not big – I have a tiny room (I call the office) and 1 extra bedroom (In a 2 bedroom home). The “office” has all my calligraphy pens and art pens, as well as my printer.
It is full of supplies and misc art books. Currently, the extra bedroom is filled to the brink with art supplies. My goal is to organize so as to use it as my art studio, but still have room for a blowup queen bed for the occasional guest. Right now, there is not room for the bed (and luckily I have no one planning to vissit any time soon). I have several small shelving units that I want to utilize like your Ikea ones. some of mine are the Ikea ones, some a different brand. Bottom line, reorganizing and downsizing is such a daunting task – I keep putting it off. Will watch your free video, and hopefully I’ll be able to get it taken care of! Thanks much!
Hi Marlene! Thank you so much for sharing about your space — it sounds like a wonderfully creative (and well-loved) corner of your home! I completely understand how overwhelming it can feel to reorganize and downsize, especially when your supplies hold so much creative potential. It’s such a balancing act to create a functional studio while keeping space for life’s other needs, like the occasional guest bed!
We’re so glad you’ll be watching the video — we hope it gives you some helpful ideas and, most importantly, a gentle nudge to take it one small step at a time.
Amy, Thank you for sharing your space and the decisions you went through to implement your studio layout. This winter my husband and I realized we don’t sleep in our large master bedroom. Instead we sleep near our wood stove in order to keep it going over night. This led us to reimagine the bedroom into my studio. Then we moved our bedroom furniture into the smaller downstairs bedroom. In addition to space that I need as a fiber artist I also have better light and space for my creative stations including my computer desk, my drawing station, and my fiber station. It’s the best thing I have done and it brings me much joy to work in my new space.
Hi Roberta! We are so happy that you enjoyed taking a look into Amy’s studio! Your studio space sounds wonderful and we are so glad that it brings you so much joy.