In 2020, I got obsessed.

I dove into Xo Macenna, a YouTuber with probably one of the most beautiful souls I’ve ever witnessed (virtually). And I learned really quickly that while I had to be on this break from acting school at the Esper Studio, I could be creative in another way:

Through interior design.

Fast forward about 4 years, and I finally realized the phrase that I had be subtly hinting to as I fell in love with designing my home: a home studio.

The idea that as soon as you treat your home as your creative studio, the closer you will get to finding yourself and thriving in your dream creative life.

My creative home office became a kaleidoscope of purples, pinks, blues, and greens, with a mix of sleek modern furniture and charming vintage pieces. Warm metals, matte black, modern pieces.

It was my personality spilling into a space.

Defining a Home Studio

Your artist workspace should encompass the 3 Cs: Cozy, Curated, and Conducive.

A cozy home studio is comfortable and welcoming, a place where you feel like your soul is soothed and that you’re ready to unleash your creativity. It’s not a sterile, corporate environment, but a space that feels like an extension of your personality.

Your music studio, art studio, photography studio, etc. should be like your second skin – an extension of your personality. 🤸‍♀️

Because after all, the opposite of cozy is tense, and tense is the complete opposite way to get any sort of creativity or artistic expression out.

Curated means that every element in your studio is thoughtfully chosen to inspire and support your work. From the art on the walls to the tools on your desk, everything should serve a purpose and bring you joy. It’s your unapologetic personality, and thus your interior design style in interior design form.

A conducive home studio is organized and set up in a way that enhances your creative process. It should allow you to start working at a moment’s notice, with minimal setup required. If you’re a musician, it means your instruments and mics are out, ready to be played like in a professional recording studio.

Same for an artist, writer, you get the picture.

How to Make a Home Studio *You* AF

1. Pick-Your-Palette.

It’s like Build-a-Bear, but for colors! Woohoo!

Before you start designing anything, you need to know your color scheme.

It could not be simpler – go on Pinterest, and type in “XXX color palette.” It could be colors, like “pink and green color palette,” or it could be themes, like “sci-fi,” “feminine” or “forest.”

From here, you should have between 3 and 5 colors. When you design, it should be using the 60/30/20 rule, where 60% is one main color (ideally, your favorite OR the color of the wall, especially if you can’t change it). Then 30% of the secondary color, and 20% of the tertiary color.

This will give you a framework of how you can thrift and shop for products. And remember – color is usually pretty easy to change/paint if it’s the right material.

2. Choose-Your-Own-DIY.

Once I delved into the DIY space on YouTube, I learned something real quick.

Certain DIY projects were super easy and fun!

Others, I had no desire to do. And that’s okay.

The beauty of owning your home studio is owning what you love to DIY and what you love to have help with. After all, you’re the artist to this space. And when you start thrifting (which is a huge part of staying within a budget for your home studio), you’ll start learning how to look at items for their potential, and not for their current state.

I will bet, though, that even opening your eyes up to the idea that you don’t need to buy everything new might already be making a whirlwind of ideas in your head.

3. Span Her Out.

You do not need to spend $1,000 to create a DIY recording studio or home like in those design shows. I know it costs a lot to create an entire home music production studio, art studio, dance studio, you name it.

I know that you’re smart and like to stay within a budget, and I love that for you. We are here for budget-friendly studio equipment and home studio decor.

This is an ongoing project. And in fact, interior design is never really done, even if you take before-and-after photos (all those design Instagrammers will tell you the same thing).

4. Follow Feng Shui.

There might be times that your home art studio setup just… doesn’t feel right but you have no idea why.

Ever walk into your home art studio setup and feel like something’s off, but can’t put your finger on it? Yeah, we’ve all been there!

This is where Feng Shui usually swoops in to save the day.

There are certain design principles that are very much not obvious. They’re beyond the simple 60/30/20 rule or the rule of odd numbers, and sometimes we can totally overlook them.

A few Feng Shui principles that helped me re-align my space to make it work for me:

• There are 5 different elements that interact with your space. If you have too much of one and not an equal amount of all, it’s going to feel… off.
• Command positions are a thing, and it dictates the energy of your space.
• Sharp edges and corners are bad energy. Reference this fascinating article that shows how so many buildings in China even avoid sharp edges.

5. If You Haven’t MariKondo-d, Drop Everything and Do It.

If you feel like your space isn’t *giving,* stop everything and read or listen to both of Marie Kondo’s books. I’m referencing them below for easy access because you absolutely need to read them:

This will completely revolutionize the way you look at your space, your things, and your life. It helped me look at items with more intention. It helped me feel okay giving away a gift that didn’t align with me. It stopped me from holding onto things that were collecting dust and energetically taking up space.

It also helps you release old things so you have space to manifest new things.

FAQs About Your Home Studio

How much will a home studio cost?

A home studio can literally start from you shopping in you and your friends’ closets. Then, you can graduate to Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity Restore and Facebook Marketplace.

You can think about big investments that make you happy later. But for now, just getting started, remember than many DIY projects are actually much easier than you think.

And that since you’re already a creative, you have an eye for making something beautiful. 😉

What qualifies as a home studio?

If you can look around your space and see that it’s cozy, curated and conducive for yourself, congrats. You have a home studio. If your space is a little bit of this and a little bit of that, then you’re welcome here. A home studio is a state of mind.

How much space do you need for a home studio?

You want to make sure you’re always creating a cohesive flow in your home. Although we might want a million tools and things, remember that keeping things minimal and clean can be just as creative as adding more things.

This isn’t to say not to buy things, but that I think we have a tendency to clutter up our space with things that actually adds more anxiety to our lives than we need. Just because a wall has a space doesn’t mean we need to fill it. Equally, we are fully capable of creating the artistic reality of our dreams from our space using tools that help us.

It’s a balance.

For more creative tips and tricks, join the community on YouTube! Because being an artist doesn’t have to be lonely or starving.