Is your wife digging being a part of the process or does she think you are bat-sh*t nuts (or both 
)?
)?
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My New Studio Build (perhaps overly detailed)
- Thread starter silky smoove
- Start date
Definitely both.Is your wife digging being a part of the process or does she think you are bat-sh*t nuts (or both
She digs helping out with the aesthetic choices (paint, ceiling covering, acoustic treatment wood/fabric selections, desk paneling, light fixtures, flooring, etc.).
Samples are up and we’re waiting for them to dry. Paint tends to get a little lighter once it’s dry. I suspect I know which one I’ll be going with, but I’m reserving that decision until everything is totally dry.
Brace yourselves: There is a startling image below that will cause many people to gasp. You will think I’ve gone crazy and am making a horrible decision based on what you’ve seen on all of those staged HGTV home improvement shows. Once you hear my full plan it will become more clear as to why this is the most awesome plan I’ve hatched for the studio yet, so reserve judgement until you hear the entire strategy.
Without further ado...
...and continued stalling...
...stalling such as this...
...I give you my aesthetic choices for the studio interior!
Here is the wall and flooring colors. Your first thought is likely that the wall color is too dark and that it will make my relatively small space look even smaller. While you are technically correct, the dark color is merely a backdrop for a couple things that will brighten everything up, maintain a cool moody vibe, have a ton of really cool energy to keep the room from feeling boring, and will ultimately just look fantastic. This deep navy color in a semi-gloss finish will be bordered by base and crown molding that will be very chunky and a bright solid white. The acoustic treatments will be largely from GIK’s Alpha series and will consist of gray elm veneer (sort of light to medium gray wood exterior) with white fabric backing. The flooring will be similar to this sample (the sample is called Coulburn Maple) which consists largely of tan and gray tones. I don’t like this particular product, but the color was perfect, so I’ll be finding a similar look in a better feeling product.
Here’s an example of the GIK Alpha in gray elm with white fabric. This one has the 2D-b scattering plate pattern (dashes-only). I’m undecided on whether I prefer this or the 2D-a scattering plate pattern (dots and dashes). I’ll sort that out before I place my order. You can see how this bright shade of gray and white fabric will immediately pop off the dark walls, but since the color and semi-gloss finish are exciting it will add a nice sense of depth to the whole thing. The flooring should keep it from feeling overly cold. I’ll also be using all oiled-bronze finishes on my fixtures and hardware which will add to the warmth. I’m very excited about this combination.
The ceiling of the main room was a bit of an adventure. I wanted a wood ceiling, but since I’m pushing up to the limit of what the structural engineer told me I could safely hang from my scissor trusses I knew that wasn’t an option. I found an awesome product called Stikwood, but it was priced around $14/sf and would have cost me in the ballpark of $4,200 for just the ceiling covering! The product looks incredibly real, has texture, is easy to install, weighs very little and had finishes that were just what I was looking for. It was perfect in every detail, except for the obscene price tag. That was immediately off the table. We switched gears and were going to go with a dark, chocolatey brown color to offset the navy wall backing, but then I stumbled across peel and stick wallpaper. Eureka! There were a number of choices, but this one was the winner. It’s cost effective, light, easy to install, is pretty subtle (the more obvious wood appearance rolls looked comically loud and were definitely trying too hard). This combined with oiled-bronze light fixtures, Alpha panels with the same gray elm veneer as the walls but with black fabric on the ceiling, and solid white crown molding to follow the ceiling line and give the room a taller look at the vaulted ends will look fantastic. I’ll start at the peak of the vault and work down towards the eaves where the crown molding will cover up the cut end of the paper. This has enough texture and grain to add visual interest without being this massive statement piece. I think it’s going to look great, won’t cost much, and if it doesn’t live up to the hype it easily peels off and I’ll just paint it as I’d planned previously. Ignore the creases in the sample. It was folded up rather aggressively in the box. The actual stuff will be in a roll that I’ll lay out to relax any deformations before applying. It also gets “spread” with a flat trowel-like tool that removes any creases or air bubbles once it’s applied.
The vestibule is way too small to even try to play around with dark colors. We picked out this light gray and will be going with a shade of white for the ceiling that’s complimentary to the gray. It will help to keep the small entry and storage space feeling light and inviting. Mood in the main room, function in the vestibule.
Without further ado...
...and continued stalling...
...stalling such as this...
...I give you my aesthetic choices for the studio interior!
Here is the wall and flooring colors. Your first thought is likely that the wall color is too dark and that it will make my relatively small space look even smaller. While you are technically correct, the dark color is merely a backdrop for a couple things that will brighten everything up, maintain a cool moody vibe, have a ton of really cool energy to keep the room from feeling boring, and will ultimately just look fantastic. This deep navy color in a semi-gloss finish will be bordered by base and crown molding that will be very chunky and a bright solid white. The acoustic treatments will be largely from GIK’s Alpha series and will consist of gray elm veneer (sort of light to medium gray wood exterior) with white fabric backing. The flooring will be similar to this sample (the sample is called Coulburn Maple) which consists largely of tan and gray tones. I don’t like this particular product, but the color was perfect, so I’ll be finding a similar look in a better feeling product.
Here’s an example of the GIK Alpha in gray elm with white fabric. This one has the 2D-b scattering plate pattern (dashes-only). I’m undecided on whether I prefer this or the 2D-a scattering plate pattern (dots and dashes). I’ll sort that out before I place my order. You can see how this bright shade of gray and white fabric will immediately pop off the dark walls, but since the color and semi-gloss finish are exciting it will add a nice sense of depth to the whole thing. The flooring should keep it from feeling overly cold. I’ll also be using all oiled-bronze finishes on my fixtures and hardware which will add to the warmth. I’m very excited about this combination.
The ceiling of the main room was a bit of an adventure. I wanted a wood ceiling, but since I’m pushing up to the limit of what the structural engineer told me I could safely hang from my scissor trusses I knew that wasn’t an option. I found an awesome product called Stikwood, but it was priced around $14/sf and would have cost me in the ballpark of $4,200 for just the ceiling covering! The product looks incredibly real, has texture, is easy to install, weighs very little and had finishes that were just what I was looking for. It was perfect in every detail, except for the obscene price tag. That was immediately off the table. We switched gears and were going to go with a dark, chocolatey brown color to offset the navy wall backing, but then I stumbled across peel and stick wallpaper. Eureka! There were a number of choices, but this one was the winner. It’s cost effective, light, easy to install, is pretty subtle (the more obvious wood appearance rolls looked comically loud and were definitely trying too hard). This combined with oiled-bronze light fixtures, Alpha panels with the same gray elm veneer as the walls but with black fabric on the ceiling, and solid white crown molding to follow the ceiling line and give the room a taller look at the vaulted ends will look fantastic. I’ll start at the peak of the vault and work down towards the eaves where the crown molding will cover up the cut end of the paper. This has enough texture and grain to add visual interest without being this massive statement piece. I think it’s going to look great, won’t cost much, and if it doesn’t live up to the hype it easily peels off and I’ll just paint it as I’d planned previously. Ignore the creases in the sample. It was folded up rather aggressively in the box. The actual stuff will be in a roll that I’ll lay out to relax any deformations before applying. It also gets “spread” with a flat trowel-like tool that removes any creases or air bubbles once it’s applied.
The vestibule is way too small to even try to play around with dark colors. We picked out this light gray and will be going with a shade of white for the ceiling that’s complimentary to the gray. It will help to keep the small entry and storage space feeling light and inviting. Mood in the main room, function in the vestibule.
Decorating decisions are about the hardest you can make in the project. Everything else is technical and is easier to evaluate.
I know someone that used peel and stick wall paper in his studio. He applied a plastic pinstripe tape over the seams. It helps to paint the plaster surface the color of the paper or darker where the seams will be. If there is any shrinkage or gaps, it is less visible.
I know someone that used peel and stick wall paper in his studio. He applied a plastic pinstripe tape over the seams. It helps to paint the plaster surface the color of the paper or darker where the seams will be. If there is any shrinkage or gaps, it is less visible.
Priming with a gray primer in areas of dark paint, and white primer in areas of light paint.
All the corners get hit with a foam brush to ensure they’re fully filled in the area that’s commonly missed by a roller.
North wall done
West wall is coming along, but first I must stop to make dinner.
All the corners get hit with a foam brush to ensure they’re fully filled in the area that’s commonly missed by a roller.
North wall done
West wall is coming along, but first I must stop to make dinner.
Those are some awesome looking choices. Don't see many studios go with blue too often. Red's are common. The combination you've chosen sounds like that'll really be the kind of place you want to spend time and get inspired in.
to each his/her own, i'd think in a rainy and blue climate like seattle you get enough blue and cool hues, but hey i just love earth tones and warmth.
The red and orange thing in studios is definitely overdone. It’s what I thought I’d do initially, but I’m happier with something that has more of an identity.
Here’s a little secret: Seattle isn’t as rainy as everyone thinks. It doesn’t even crack the top 10 rainiest US cities, but we definitely have that reputation. For us it’s all about grays rather than blues. If I painted the studio walls a color like “marine layer gray” or “foggy morning gray” or “it’s not actually raining but somehow my clothes are still damp gray” I would totally agree with you. The wood veneers on my acoustic treatments will be gray, but off of the deep semi-gloss navy, bright white trim, rich chocolatey ceiling, and warm toned flooring it should be vibrant and cool without feeling overly cold.
...also, I never got back to finish priming last night. I made very tasty lamb burgers for dinner and working after such a feast was simply impossible 
I’m going to peck away at the priming over the course of the week in the hope that I’ll be able to start (and maybe finish) painting over the weekend.
I’m going to peck away at the priming over the course of the week in the hope that I’ll be able to start (and maybe finish) painting over the weekend.
I've painted interiors twice in my life. Once when I moved into a house because the room was a horrible mauve, and once when I moved out and the landlord offered to pay me to paint the living room and two bedrooms.
I hate painting. The place that I was paid to do had this horrible textured panelling. It took a deep nap roller and WAYYYY to much paint and time. Never again. I don't think I'd even paint a single closet wall at this point.
I hate painting. The place that I was paid to do had this horrible textured panelling. It took a deep nap roller and WAYYYY to much paint and time. Never again. I don't think I'd even paint a single closet wall at this point.
When I sold my first house I painted every room in the house on both the walls and the ceilings in the span of two days to get it ready for market. It was a small house (850 square feet), but it was still a massive effort. Everything was already painted, so no priming was needed, but still. This studio paint is a breeze by comparison. There's no finished flooring, trim, or fixtures installed, so the only things I have to tape off are the two installed outlets, the electrical panel, the exterior door trim and the switches by the front door. Other than those easily to handle areas I can just blow through the whole thing with a roller. Since I'm papering the ceiling I don't even need to do any overhead painting, save for the storage vestibule which is a really small area.
Easy peasy!
Let me share this caution: Dark walls and ceiling will minimize reflected light. This puts more reliance on direct light from fixtures and creates strong shadows. It will be more difficult to see things near the walls and corners, and under a desk — like the the back of an amp — unless a light fixture is aimed on it.
The majority of the walls will be the light-to-medium gray elm wood veneer as shown above. On top of that I have sufficient lighting that also happens to be aim'able in the main room.
Just got the first of two quotes on the Overly 460460. There are only two suppliers in the region that are distributors for Overly, so my options are limited. Since the studio is located far enough from Overly's manufacturing facility they will not ship it with the glazing in-place. So, with that said...
$5,896.42, plus installation, plus the cost to have someone install and seal the glazing in the door.
I knew it was going to be expensive, but I was budgeting for $6,000 installed with the glazing. I'm guessing if I go with the Overly door I'll be closer to $8,000 by the time the dust settles. That's too much to spend on a door. Time to find some other options.
$5,896.42, plus installation, plus the cost to have someone install and seal the glazing in the door.
I knew it was going to be expensive, but I was budgeting for $6,000 installed with the glazing. I'm guessing if I go with the Overly door I'll be closer to $8,000 by the time the dust settles. That's too much to spend on a door. Time to find some other options.
There are only two distributors for this region. No one else can procure a door from Overly. The installer could buy it, but then I’d be paying two markups.
It still might be worth asking an installer if they can get you a deal.
Overly sells to you at list price, the installer may get a discount on the door. The installer may know of used ones available if a facility is remodeling. You never know.
