It’s been a little bit since my last post and that’s due to the two facts that SXSW consumed my life for two weeks, and that my husband and I were selling our house and purchasing a new one. My mind has been on how to make better design decisions that will cater to my work-from-home lifestyle as a full-time musician.

SXSW was great. It was the first time in a few years I was there officially during the Music portion (previous years had me attending the Interactive week, speaking about the best uses of music in branding and marketing). I was jolted back to musical life, watching musicians pour their hearts and souls into every performance, every conversation, looking for every bit of what’s possible for them in their career. It was inspiring. And I remember all of it like it was yesterday. I didn’t perform this year. I was observing. I was speaking (about branding for musicians). I was chatting, networking, meeting, reuniting.

And it was a glorious break from packing, reading over home-purchasing contracts and dealing with ornery real estate agents (not mine!).

Home Studio Decisions

When I returned from SXSW, I started to break down my studio. I decided how I was going to streamline my next setup to be more writer-friendly, less recording-centric. (I was fully capable of recording an 8-piece band, in a large space with XLR cables snaked through the sound-treated floor. I used this capability exactly 0.0 times in 3 years. So I’m selling some stuff.) I decided that my next home was going to have a sunny co-working space type of feel, instead of a darker, stereotypically mixer/engineer feel. I decided that I wanted to be closer to the rest of the house, not tucked away in a shady corner. I decided that I wanted to work in close proximity to my husband, when he wasn’t guiding a client up a mountain.

I decided to end my lease in Harlem. To put 100% of my time and energy in to managing my next home, rather than handle two spaces in the city and country. My rent-stabilized 3-bedroom apartment served me and my many friends who dwelled within its tall walls well for 12 years. I decided it truly is time to gather up my $200 upright piano, my favorite bed duvet, head back to the country… and focus.

Here’s a before of what I’m calling “headquarters” in my new house. Today, flooring people are coming to install hard wood floors, I’m buying paint, and working on finding a sliding barn door as an option to close it off, if need be. With sun on three sides and just off the kitchen, I will not be at a loss for inspiration, light, inclusiveness, and productivity in my new work-from-home space.

I will post the after picture as soon as we’re done.

Thank you for reading a bitty insight from this full-time, work-from-home musician. I’d love to hear any thoughts you have on your work space below!

UPDATE: Read how I worked with an energy worker to optimize the space and then read the article on the FINAL rendition of my home studio here, one year later!