A few months ago, photographer Michelle and I were planning an upcoming shoot and talking about how much we wanted a light-filled space to shoot recipes. I love the kitchen, but it's actually the place in our house with the least amount of light. There's a lot of natural light, which makes it difficult to take photos and videos. Plus, the fact that it's also where our family hangs out every day makes it less than ideal for our team to do creative work.
“We regret that we were unable to convert your client's bedroom into a studio,” Michelle said. “It has the brightest light in the house.”
“Oh, I hope so!” I answered. But I thought…wait. Can you do it?
I couldn't let go of the idea, and within a week I convinced Adam that we were indeed okay without a guest bedroom. We both are big believers in making the most of every inch of your home, but I wasn't always one for it. Love The idea of giving up our only guest room, knowing that this new space would support our daily creativity and collaboration, far outweighed our booking.
The goal of this design project
When I started planning how to turn this bedroom into an actual studio that supports all kinds of creative work, I had a few main goals in mind.
Kitchen preparation space. This will be your space to take photos and videos of your recipes. Although we couldn't install real kitchen appliances, we wanted to have countertops and prep areas that functioned (and read) like a real kitchen.
Maximize light. I chose this room because it had great light. So I wanted to position the layout to maximize the angle of sunlight throughout the day.
Create a backdrop for photographing Casa Zuma. In addition to recipe content, we needed space to quickly photograph new products for the Casa Zuma website. Having lots of fairly neutral backgrounds and open display shelving was a must.
A central work table for projects and collaboration. I wanted a central work table and island that would be an open space for collaboration, whether it be crafting, cooking, or setting up my laptop for meetings.
budgetIt all had to be done on the cheap! I knew I had to get creative to make this space as beautiful as I envisioned it without dropping a ton of money. I'm proud to say that the entire project cost just over $2,800.
Before and after
on the left: The “front” space when set up as a guest bedroom. I loved this space, but ended up not using it much since almost all of my family lived in Austin. I also don't like having empty rooms left in the house when they can serve many roles. More useful purposes! Plus, it was time to buy Henry a bigger bed, so this woven neutral headboard was perfect to repurpose for the upstairs bedroom.
on the right: rear! The new studio has become a great place for our team, with lots of light and great energy. The only budget item I didn't include in the total calculation was plastering the walls. You'll notice that this adds depth to later photos. In fact, I did this a few years ago in the mini-mod that I featured here.
Scroll through to see the main elements that brought this room together…
Island/Workbench
We searched everywhere for the perfect counter-height island for this room. It should be large enough to provide enough work space, but not so large that it becomes difficult to move freely around the room. And I wanted something with a timeless rustic design and vintage feel. That meant using reclaimed wood.
My initial search was fruitless, but then I found an Etsy shop called Whatman Barn Furniture that makes custom islands out of reclaimed wood. I contacted him, told him what I was looking for, and six weeks later, a giant box appeared in my driveway containing a beautiful new island.
I surrounded it with three Saffron + Poe woven leather counter stools and they just feel perfect.
lower cabinets and countertops
IKEA scores all the way, baby! I was super excited when I found a set of drawers with a texture similar to shiplap that perfectly matched the classic European farmhouse style vibe I was going for (I think they've already gotten around to finishing it, but there are plenty of other good ones out there. I love the light Tonel.) I put a big slab of bleached wood-look laminate countertop on top of it and I was ready to go. There's one caveat that I learned the hard way: if you want it to be counter height, be sure to order the little legs at the bottom to raise the counter off the floor.
open shelves
This was a tricky problem for a few reasons. I wanted a single marble shelf that ran the length of the countertop as a tall, elegant place to display my dishes, cutting board, and Casa Zuma pieces. However, marble shelves are (a) very expensive and (b) tend to be difficult to install because they are very heavy. This was my solution, and while I'll admit it's not perfect, it really was the best value for the money. I'm mostly happy with the result.
First, I found these marble shelves as a clearance item at Ballard Designs (yes, I had to do a thorough internet search. And sometimes the most unlikely source is a goldmine. may be found). To attach the internal brackets to the drywall, I decided to use visible steel brackets for a slightly more industrial look. I ordered these on Etsy.
Next, I decided to mount it on the wall, but it didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped. I wanted the four brackets to be exactly evenly spaced across the wall. However, once I started drilling, I encountered an inconvenient wall stud that prevented me from placing the bracket exactly where I wanted it. However, I was able to make it work with a little tweaking to the spacing. Guys, the goal is progress, not perfection (I keep reminding myself, and yes, this is something you'll probably want to do again later).
Woven Light Fixture (It was $39!)
This woven pendant in the center of the room is definitely my favorite steal. I found it on Etsy from the Beldi Boheme shop and it had exactly the California meets Mallorca feel I was looking for. We removed the ceiling fan that was previously in the room and replaced it with a simple light bulb pendant that runs through the middle of the straw basket. It's just the finishing touch this room needed.
