Much more than home offices, studio spaces are places for inspiration. They are the rooms where birdhouses are built, paintings are created, clothes are designed and sometimes, even livelihoods are pursued.
Studios in Atlanta come in all shapes and sizes, from converted screen porches turned into crafting hubs to a functional, stylish design studio for husband-and-wife architects.
Lisa Franzman, a stay-at-home mother in College Park, converted an unused 8-by-10-foot screened-in porch in the 1937 home she shares with her lawyer-husband, Carl, and daughter Carlie into what the family refers to as “Mom’s studio.”
“It’s truly meant to be my space,” said Franzman, who creates mixed-media art and jewelry that she sells at local festivals.
Franzman’s handyman walled in the space, adding windows on three sides and a sink for easier project cleanup.
The bountiful light and view of her woodland garden afforded by those abundant windows is one of Franzman’s favorite features. “All of that sunlight ... just streams in. And it’s quiet. And usually I have an animal or two out there snoozing next to me. It’s a very relaxing space,” she said. The only downside is the lack of heating. “That’s probably the only thing I’d change, because I don’t use it in the dead of winter.”
But it beats Franzman’s previous “studio”: the dining room table.
Downtown Atlanta resident Tobey Renee Sanders works from a comparably light-flooded space in her two-bedroom home at the Mattress Factory Lofts. As a faux finisher, Sanders adds the old-world look of Venetian plaster and other custom finishes to walls, furniture and floors for a variety of commercial and residential clients.
Beyond adding shelving so that a large closet could hold her plaster, paints, glazes and other supplies, Sanders did minimal adaptations to make the 700-square-foot second bedroom in the loft work as a studio. The space already had the essentials of plenty of light and 18-foot ceilings to accommodate the variously sized ladders she uses in her work.
“Creatively, this space makes sense for me,” said Sanders, who is now able to keep the creative chaos of her work life separate from her private life.
That ability to create a division between work and play is critical to making a space functional, said studio owners.
In September, Jose E. Tavel and Cara B. Cummins -- husband-and-wife architects at TaC Studios -- moved into the Old Fourth Ward home and studio they designed. Their LEED Silver-certified modern home features a light-flooded 500-square-foot studio with a work area and conference room devoted to the couple’s architecture practice.
Because they often meet with clients in their studio, the couple intentionally created a division between the home’s studio and private spaces. “When people come in, we have it designed such that we can close the living room off, the bedrooms off, so you just come up a nice stairwell straight to the office," Tavel said.
Making that kind of design division between work and home has other, psychological advantages, too.
“The big benefit is that we can leave our office at the end of the day. It’s not an office in the middle of the dining room that you’re constantly walking by,” noted Tavel, who said the only feature he wished they had added to the studio is soundproofing to minimize the aural intrusion of their two dogs.
The couple also was attuned to making sure the studio could do double duty when it comes time to put their home on the market.
“Once we go to sell, we can divide the studio space into two bedrooms. It’s all been designed ahead so we know how that would work,” Tavel affirmed.
Resale was also a consideration for artist Jeff Demetriou when he added a 15-by-20-foot studio to the rear of his vintage 1958 California split-level ranch in the Northcrest neighborhood of Atlanta.
“It’s set up to be a bedroom, too,” said Demetriou, who left a 5-foot opening that can become a closet.
“I could have built it much more raw ... but I knew that would kill the resale value. If you’re going to add square footage, make it versatile square footage,” said Demetriou, who works in various media including painting, video and installation art.
“Having a studio attached to your house has its pros and cons,” admitted Demetriou, who said that distractions can be the biggest downside of an in-home studio. “But for me, having the convenience of just being able to walk downstairs and flesh out an idea far outweighs the negatives.”
Planning for a studio
Tips for making your studio space meet your present-day and long-term needs.
- Let the light in.
To make your studio a positive and productive place to work, make sure to include ample light. Plenty of windows and natural day light are key, especially for those in the design, craft or art fields working with subtleties of pattern, hue and texture. Since work often extends into the evening hours, good overhead lighting is also essential.
- Have an exit strategy.
If the work you are creating is very large, plan for an exterior door -- either conventional, or a drop-down rolling garage-style door -- to get it out of the studio.
- Preserve and protect.
Artist Jeff Demetriou hung ceiling-to-floor curtains on areas of his studio where the paint tends to fly. This will keep the studio neat and also prevent the need for sanding and repainting walls in the future.
- Plan long term.
If you don’t think you will be in your house forever, think about plotting out space for closets and a small bathroom in the eventuality a future home owner wants to convert your studio into a bedroom. A powder room attached to the studio also can be a nice feature if you have assistants or clients who will frequently be in the space.
