miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
I recently mentioned in the Prime "goals" thread that I was possibly going to be doing a studio expansion in the near future.
Today I met with a contractor, and we kicked around some ideas. This will involve an addition, and also some overall house remodeling...but the addition and the existing space that it's being added on to, at one end of the house, is what I'm thinking about for the new studio space.
I was initially considering using that for living space, and just keeping my studio where it is, and then expanding into the rooms that would be vacated once I moved into the new living spaces...but I'm pretty decided that my preferred option is to move the studio into that new space. That would be the real "WOW".
The basics are simple...it's currently a 14'x24' space (it's actually an addition that the previous owner did, that connects to the rest of the house with a foyer in-between)...and I'm looking to add a another 10' to the shorter side...so the whole thing would be a 24'x 24' structure, joined to the rest of the house with the foyer in-between. I would also be adding a full bathroom at one end of that foyer, since the foyer would also be expanded. (It all works nice...we already agreed it was a good spot for the bathroom). I would need to have a bathroom for the studio...but going with a full bathroom instead of a half-bath will be the smarter choice.
The real options that I'm trying to decide on is how (or if) to divide that 24'x24' space. I can't (well, I don't want to for a few reasons) go out more than the 10'...but I also know that 24'x24' is a prefect square. So...at this point, I'm thinking of leaving it as two rooms...14'x24 and the new 10'x24' space. I would use the bigger space as my main room where the console, monitors and rack gear would go, among other stuff...and then use the 10'x24' as the live room space, with a connecting door, and a small glass window between them.
Also, both spaces will have vaulted ceilings going up 12'-14' feet...depending on how we decide to do it.
That said...the idea of having one, big open space with the high ceiling really appeals to me...I just need to consider the "square" thing.
The ceiling being vaulted will help things a lot...and I can possibly have the contractor change the angles of new walls internally by a few inches and.or just work in a bit more extensive acoustic treatment.
Also...if I went with the 24'x24' open space, I would most likely want to add a couple of larger iso-booths at one end, like a couple of 5'x 6' booths at one end (though they would only have 8' ceilings, maybe 10') ...which should change the "square" aspect of the bigger open space significantly, I would think...???
I have some time to kick this around...we're talking about starting the main addition portion of broader remodeling project by June...so I will look at the acoustics stuff and make a decision.
Of course...going with a 10' x24' and 14'x 24' pair of rooms isn't really a bad option either. I would maybe do one iso booth at the end of the 10'x24' room...or still do two 5'x6' side-by-side booths.
My other consideration is that I'm still not planning to do a full-tilt commercial studio thing. I want to do more outside recording work, but it will be mostly for my recording projects, and the "outside" work would be more for the people I'm already doing projects with.
I would like to bring in a baby grand piano which is one reason I would like a bigger open space...though I think it would be OK in the 10' x 24' space considering that there will be the high ceiling.
Finally, I want to also use the space for some band type rehearsing when needed, and for that, one big space would probably be more comfortable.
Anyway...this is like the first baby step, just the initial discussion with the contractor...though I am pretty committed to seeing this happen, as I told him. So right now I'm kicking around the ideas, and looking for any suggestions that might help gel them into a final plan.
One thing is for sure...my current space is jammed up. I have outgrown it, and I'm using every square inch of space, and in need of more. I've got too much gear kinda "stacked" and crammed...so I need to expand.
Today I met with a contractor, and we kicked around some ideas. This will involve an addition, and also some overall house remodeling...but the addition and the existing space that it's being added on to, at one end of the house, is what I'm thinking about for the new studio space.
I was initially considering using that for living space, and just keeping my studio where it is, and then expanding into the rooms that would be vacated once I moved into the new living spaces...but I'm pretty decided that my preferred option is to move the studio into that new space. That would be the real "WOW".
The basics are simple...it's currently a 14'x24' space (it's actually an addition that the previous owner did, that connects to the rest of the house with a foyer in-between)...and I'm looking to add a another 10' to the shorter side...so the whole thing would be a 24'x 24' structure, joined to the rest of the house with the foyer in-between. I would also be adding a full bathroom at one end of that foyer, since the foyer would also be expanded. (It all works nice...we already agreed it was a good spot for the bathroom). I would need to have a bathroom for the studio...but going with a full bathroom instead of a half-bath will be the smarter choice.
The real options that I'm trying to decide on is how (or if) to divide that 24'x24' space. I can't (well, I don't want to for a few reasons) go out more than the 10'...but I also know that 24'x24' is a prefect square. So...at this point, I'm thinking of leaving it as two rooms...14'x24 and the new 10'x24' space. I would use the bigger space as my main room where the console, monitors and rack gear would go, among other stuff...and then use the 10'x24' as the live room space, with a connecting door, and a small glass window between them.
Also, both spaces will have vaulted ceilings going up 12'-14' feet...depending on how we decide to do it.
That said...the idea of having one, big open space with the high ceiling really appeals to me...I just need to consider the "square" thing.
The ceiling being vaulted will help things a lot...and I can possibly have the contractor change the angles of new walls internally by a few inches and.or just work in a bit more extensive acoustic treatment.
Also...if I went with the 24'x24' open space, I would most likely want to add a couple of larger iso-booths at one end, like a couple of 5'x 6' booths at one end (though they would only have 8' ceilings, maybe 10') ...which should change the "square" aspect of the bigger open space significantly, I would think...???
I have some time to kick this around...we're talking about starting the main addition portion of broader remodeling project by June...so I will look at the acoustics stuff and make a decision.
Of course...going with a 10' x24' and 14'x 24' pair of rooms isn't really a bad option either. I would maybe do one iso booth at the end of the 10'x24' room...or still do two 5'x6' side-by-side booths.
My other consideration is that I'm still not planning to do a full-tilt commercial studio thing. I want to do more outside recording work, but it will be mostly for my recording projects, and the "outside" work would be more for the people I'm already doing projects with.
I would like to bring in a baby grand piano which is one reason I would like a bigger open space...though I think it would be OK in the 10' x 24' space considering that there will be the high ceiling.
Finally, I want to also use the space for some band type rehearsing when needed, and for that, one big space would probably be more comfortable.
Anyway...this is like the first baby step, just the initial discussion with the contractor...though I am pretty committed to seeing this happen, as I told him. So right now I'm kicking around the ideas, and looking for any suggestions that might help gel them into a final plan.
One thing is for sure...my current space is jammed up. I have outgrown it, and I'm using every square inch of space, and in need of more. I've got too much gear kinda "stacked" and crammed...so I need to expand.