Home studios often double as places for entertainment, so it is important to ensure they look as nice as possible. A few ornaments and strategically-placed plants can transform even a seemingly innocuous music room into something inviting.
When your home studio space is limited, installing bass traps strategically can help prevent unwanted low end build up by providing much-needed acoustic diffusion in smaller rooms. They’re an effective solution for keeping the low frequencies under control while helping with acoustic diffusion – two benefits which cannot be underestimated when working within limited environments.
1. Create a Workstation
Your workspace is the core of your home studio. As this is where you will spend most of your time, it should be designed to help maximize efficiency and comfort during work sessions. Choose a desk that provides enough room for all of your equipment as well as options for storage to help organize it effectively; additionally, opt for ergonomic designs so your body is kept at ease throughout its use.
Home recording can be done on any budget, and modern technology enables us to achieve impressive-sounding results, like Billie Eilish’s award-winning debut album. To succeed with home recording, create a budget and select equipment wisely.
3. Create a Gallery Wall
An engaging gallery wall can easily add visual interest in any home studio corner. Simply select one focal point (perhaps an art print on canvas or larger wall art frame picture) and build outward from there using smaller frames.
Make the most of your gallery wall to express your personal design style and tell its story! Think family photos, art prints and paintings, textiles or even an unframed inspiration image such as a woven basket! Your gallery wall should reflect this with every object featured that makes up its story.
Before beginning to create your gallery wall, it is a good idea to conduct a trial run (on the floor or using painter’s tape) to plan out its layout and avoid making mistakes that leave visible nail holes (which could become expensive repairs if renting space). Also make sure that different art styles come together for an engaging gallery wall display.
4. Create a Comfortable Seating Area
An inviting seating area is essential to creating an engaging home studio. Incorporate sectionals, sofas, accent chairs and side tables into your seating arrangements (ideally no more than 8 feet apart) while throw pillows and blankets add comfort and promote conversation between individuals in your studio space.
Consider outfitting the corners with bass traps – stereo images in studio spaces tend to be problematic, so bass traps provide a solution. There are numerous DIY plans available online or top-of-the-line commercial traps can also provide affordable solutions.
If privacy isn’t an issue, sliding barn doors can serve as partial room dividers – as designer Shari Francis did here in her studio.
5. Add a Statement Lamp
Lamps provide essential lighting in their homes, while also serving as statement pieces that enliven each space they inhabit. From sculptural styles like this William Yeoward Babetta Crystal Lamp to bold hues such as this Jade Green Accent Lamp – there’s plenty of statement lighting options available!
One trend this season is using lamps to emphasize an accent color within a wallpaper print or provide contrast through other accessories in the space.
Utilize a statement lamp as part of your home decor, such as this walnut bookshelf in our Braeswood Place project, to highlight certain pieces without making the space feel overcrowded. This style also works well in open concept homes as a way of breaking up spaces.
6. Add a Record Player or Speakers
Are You A Music Loving Home Studio Owner? Adding a Record Player and Speakers Can Enhance the Listening Experience Whether Your Focus Is Films Or Records! Assuming You Do! To enjoy quality sound reproduction from speakers in a studio environment. Make sure you position and set up your speakers correctly so you receive optimal sound quality from every song played through your stereo system; as a general guideline speakers should be placed so that they are at different distances from their respective walls, and/or experiment with speaker placement until finding what suits you best; hopefully, end result is an immersive listening experience that delivers what the artist intended.
7. Create a Window Seat
Window seats provide the ideal spot for taking in light, admiring your surroundings, reading a good book or taking a quick power nap. Over the centuries people began placing small free-standing benches beneath sash windows as an easy and cozy spot. Nowadays built-in upholstered benches with under bench storage have become more commonly seen than small free-standing chairs that have since evolved into modern bench designs with under bench storage systems.
A simple upholstered bench serves as a comfortable window seat in this modern farmhouse-style home. Conveniently situated by the entrance, its positioning enables visitors to take off and put on shoes when heading out or entering.
If you don’t want to invest in custom window seats, repurposed bench or loveseat pieces can fit the space perfectly – as in this dining room from Margaret Donaldson Interiors. Just be sure to decorate or embellish them to match the style of the room for an eye-catching effect.
8. Create a Small Table and Chairs
An effective home studio corner organization strategy involves getting rid of items you no longer require. For instance, replacing outdated effects equipment such as an analogue vocoder and plate reverb with sleek digital equivalents that take up much less space is one such method.
Ursula Carmona used another trick for creating her home office workstation by hanging a large mirror that will visually expand the space available to her. Her cozy corner features classic blue paint with shelves brimming with trinkets and an upholstered salmon pink desk chair for optimal functionality.
An effective way to balance symmetry and treat your room is by placing monitors in an equilateral triangle with your listening position. If this is not feasible, place the desk straddling the corner, filling the triangular area with traps from floor to ceiling – this will help ensure you hear music clearly!
9. Create a Lounge Chair
A lounge chair can make the perfect addition to any home, providing an area for you to unwind after a long day and showcase your personal taste in furniture design.
Build this lounge chair from 1×4 lumber and 2×4 legs by first creating its frame using 1×4 lumber and using a jigsaw to cut a spot for the top handle on one leg, before using sandpaper to smooth over its rough spots.
Next, install the cleats for propping up. Attaching them with 2″ screws and wood glue, cut bottom support pieces to size before drilling 1 1/2″ pocket holes on both ends – make sure that these are facing upwards when attaching them to cleats at bottom – you are now finished and can start enjoying your lounge chair (Photo credit: Shanty2Chic). (This tutorial comes with free plans, video instructions and detailed steps.). Enjoy (Photo Credit: Shanty2Chic).