After a significant renovation of the house, including a large addition, that has eaten up most of the last 2 years, I’ve been itching to get my new creative studio set up. Moving from my previous 80 sq ft office into the new 300 sq ft space allows me to expand, but I have an unusual goal…
In this space, I need to be able to support projects in: electronics, programming, video editing, photography, painting, novel writing, music production, green screen filming, 3D printing, graphic design, and a woodworking shop. Each of those could easily fill the space, but I’m going to try to make it all work with what I’ve got.
The secret, obviously, will be adaptability and efficiency. That means: no fixed furniture, everything mobile, plenty of storage, everything storable, and with a minimum of tools and equipment for each function. And with several clean functions living in the same space as dirty functions, dust and debris management will be critical.
It sounds insane; I’m keenly aware of that. But I have a plan. Sort of. Follow along if you want to see how things shape up.
Since the studio needs to be both flexible (in terms of the project types it supports) and easily reconfigurable (in terms of its layout) there’s no way a single workbench is going to cut it. Instead, I need a collection of mobile stations that can be combined into different physical configurations as needed, plus be modified easily to support different kinds of tools and media. Oh, and I also want high-density yet easily moveable storage. And I think I’ve got a solution…
After a couple of unsatisfactory attempts, I’ve landed on this design. (Shown in place on one of the carts, which are already built.) The idea is that there will be slots in the workstation top to receive the shelf legs, giving a secure fit, but also allowing the shelf to be easily removed when the workstation is needed for other duty.