7 Home Studios to Bring Out Your Inner Artist
See how fine artists, writers and other creatives make room for their talents to roam free
Whether you are a professional, working artist or have art-related dreams, a dedicated studio space fuels your creativity. Here are seven home studios that may inspire you to dust off your paintbrush or potter’s wheel.
2. A Hardworking Shed for Art and More in California
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Chris Sewell and Kenny Osehan
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Size: 90 square feet (8.4 square meters), including the porch
What looks like an unassuming shed in Santa Barbara, California, stores and hides trash cans, provides a buffer from the street, and encloses a workspace for two. Chris Sewell and his wife, Kenny Osehan, who own three Southern California inns and a restaurant, use the space to do everything from painting to wrapping presents. The project cost $5,000, split between labor and materials, and took two weeks.
Inside, the pegboards and shelving provide storage for project materials, while the deep countertop gives plenty of room for spreading out.
Read more about this Santa Barbara art shed
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Chris Sewell and Kenny Osehan
Location: Santa Barbara, California
Size: 90 square feet (8.4 square meters), including the porch
What looks like an unassuming shed in Santa Barbara, California, stores and hides trash cans, provides a buffer from the street, and encloses a workspace for two. Chris Sewell and his wife, Kenny Osehan, who own three Southern California inns and a restaurant, use the space to do everything from painting to wrapping presents. The project cost $5,000, split between labor and materials, and took two weeks.
Inside, the pegboards and shelving provide storage for project materials, while the deep countertop gives plenty of room for spreading out.
Read more about this Santa Barbara art shed
3. Double Studios for an Artistic Oregon Pair
Studios at a Glance
Who works here: Victoria and David Crawford, with Brimley the cat
Location: Halfway, Oregon
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters), including two studios; three bedrooms, two bathrooms
This Oregon home is owned by an artistic couple — she works with textiles; he sculpts with metal — who learned that they each need their own room to create. Hers is upstairs in the main home, a dedicated place for her fabrics, dress forms, sewing machines and related supplies. His metalworking studio contains power tools, molds, Kevlar, scrap metal, leather aprons and more. The sculptures he makes here are installed all over the country.
Read more about this double studio for Oregon artists
Studios at a Glance
Who works here: Victoria and David Crawford, with Brimley the cat
Location: Halfway, Oregon
Size: 2,000 square feet (186 square meters), including two studios; three bedrooms, two bathrooms
This Oregon home is owned by an artistic couple — she works with textiles; he sculpts with metal — who learned that they each need their own room to create. Hers is upstairs in the main home, a dedicated place for her fabrics, dress forms, sewing machines and related supplies. His metalworking studio contains power tools, molds, Kevlar, scrap metal, leather aprons and more. The sculptures he makes here are installed all over the country.
Read more about this double studio for Oregon artists
4. Pottery-Making In Massachusetts
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Lucy Fagella
Location: Greenfield, Massachusetts
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters), including the studio; four bedrooms, 1½ bathrooms
Artist Lucy Fagella worked with a contractor to turn the barn on her 3-acre Massachusetts property into a functional space for making art and teaching classes. She uses the main floor for working and instructing, while the upper level is for storing packing materials and her supply of urns.
Read more about this Massachussetts ceramics studio
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Lucy Fagella
Location: Greenfield, Massachusetts
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters), including the studio; four bedrooms, 1½ bathrooms
Artist Lucy Fagella worked with a contractor to turn the barn on her 3-acre Massachusetts property into a functional space for making art and teaching classes. She uses the main floor for working and instructing, while the upper level is for storing packing materials and her supply of urns.
Read more about this Massachussetts ceramics studio
5. A New Orleans Shotgun Studio
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Wayne Amedee
Location: Uptown area of New Orleans
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters) for the house; two bedrooms, three bathrooms; 1,500 square feet (139 square meters) for the studio
Artist Wayne Amedee owns an 1886 shotgun-style home — a Southern style of house popular in New Orleans — as well as a second property next to it, which he has turned into his private studio space. He uses the lower level of his studio for creating large sculptures, paintings and collages. He uses the top level for storing and displaying his art.
Read more about this New Orleans shotgun studio
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Wayne Amedee
Location: Uptown area of New Orleans
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters) for the house; two bedrooms, three bathrooms; 1,500 square feet (139 square meters) for the studio
Artist Wayne Amedee owns an 1886 shotgun-style home — a Southern style of house popular in New Orleans — as well as a second property next to it, which he has turned into his private studio space. He uses the lower level of his studio for creating large sculptures, paintings and collages. He uses the top level for storing and displaying his art.
Read more about this New Orleans shotgun studio
Photos by Brian Fish, Will Beemer and Valerie Allard
6. A Creative Studio in the Berkshires
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Artist Valerie Allard and author and business professor Mark Lipton
Location: Middlefield, Massachusetts
Size: 320 square feet (29.7 square meters); 16 by 20 feet
Valerie Allard and her husband, Mark Lipton, split their time between New York City and the Berkshires of Massachusetts, where they built a cabin with direct views of those mountains as a place to work on their creative projects.
Read more about this Massachusetts art studio
6. A Creative Studio in the Berkshires
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Artist Valerie Allard and author and business professor Mark Lipton
Location: Middlefield, Massachusetts
Size: 320 square feet (29.7 square meters); 16 by 20 feet
Valerie Allard and her husband, Mark Lipton, split their time between New York City and the Berkshires of Massachusetts, where they built a cabin with direct views of those mountains as a place to work on their creative projects.
Read more about this Massachusetts art studio
7. A Texas Garage-Turned-Studio
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Freelance artist and Houzz contributor Sarah Greenman
Location: Dallas
Size: 361 square feet (34 square meters); 19 by 19 feet
Sarah Greenman and her husband turned their converted two-car garage into an art-making haven — on a strict $300 budget. This meant repurposing furniture from other parts of their home; the total cost of the garage makeover, including 2 gallons of paint and four dining chairs, was $274.23. The studio is where Greenman does both writing and visual art projects. The lampshade pictured here, which displays the words of Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XVII, is one of Greenman’s creations.
Table: First Monday Trade Days at Canton
Read more about this Dallas garage-turned-studio
More
11 Tips to Get the Creative Space You Crave
14 Home Studios that Nurture Creativity and Art
World of Design: Artists and Artisans and Their Inspiring Studios
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Freelance artist and Houzz contributor Sarah Greenman
Location: Dallas
Size: 361 square feet (34 square meters); 19 by 19 feet
Sarah Greenman and her husband turned their converted two-car garage into an art-making haven — on a strict $300 budget. This meant repurposing furniture from other parts of their home; the total cost of the garage makeover, including 2 gallons of paint and four dining chairs, was $274.23. The studio is where Greenman does both writing and visual art projects. The lampshade pictured here, which displays the words of Pablo Neruda’s Sonnet XVII, is one of Greenman’s creations.
Table: First Monday Trade Days at Canton
Read more about this Dallas garage-turned-studio
More
11 Tips to Get the Creative Space You Crave
14 Home Studios that Nurture Creativity and Art
World of Design: Artists and Artisans and Their Inspiring Studios
Studio at a Glance
Who works here: Richard Murray, with dogs Tipper and Theo plus Bib the cat
Location: Richland, Oregon
Size: 5,300 square feet (492 square meters), including the studio
Richard Murray and his animals share this live-work space in eastern Oregon, where Murray creates his paintings, largely animal portraits. The artist transitioned from painting landscapes to animals in his 40s, following a lifelong affinity with the animal kingdom. Because he paints most of his work life-size, he needed a lot of workspace as well as display space. This studio fits the bill.
The right side of the live-work loft is dedicated to Murray’s artwork, while the left is where he makes his home.
Read more about this Oregon art studio