We Turned Our Dining Room Into an In-Home Music Studio and It Actually Kinda Looks Good!

I'm so excited to finally share this space with you! It's been over a year in the making and seen several iterations, but I think we've finally settled on a layout that is both conducive for Luke's workflow and, arguably equally-important, satiates my obsession for pretty, above all else.  

As a songwriter and musician whose bandmates (and their professional studio) are located two hours away in Des Moines, Luke needed a spot here in Omaha where he could work on demos and overdubs. Much like any creative profession, there's a lot of gear involved in music-making and it was always a struggle finding room in our home to establish an inspiring setup where he could spread out and get lost in a project. 

Originally this was our designated dining room. But though I'd filled it with a table built to comfortably seat 10, it was more-often buried under piles of old mail than used to make my dinner party dreams come true. We'd hoped the tiny 8x10 den-like nook directly off the dining room could serve as Luke's studio space, but after years of failing organizational attempts, we accepted it was just too small to squeeze both storage and a work zone into. Luke suggested expanding his workspace into the dining room and while it took me a bit to come around to the idea, I'm so glad we did.       

We moved the dining table, re-christened as Luke's desk, into the bay window. Then I lobbed off 13" from each side because it was now unnecessarily massive for its newly intended use. 

To retain a spot for dining (or collecting old mail), I added a round tulip table on the other side of the room. Its smaller profile works perfectly in the space, and though it doesn't see a ton of dinners, it's really handy for setting out apps and drinks on those occasions we do have people over. 

I may not play (or get especially hot and bothered over a good piece of gear, regularly), but my-oh-my that Yamaha CP-70 electric piano is the best thing to happen to this room. It's a touring grand from the 70s, the kind used on the road by the likes of Elton John or Billy Joel – a beast to lug around, but so good-looking it hurts. 

Because Luke's studio is open to the rest of the house I wanted to keep it cohesive by incorporating my signature love of bold pops of color and pattern, though in a decidedly more masculine manner. Bright splashes of southwestern motifs co-mingling with the inherently industrial nature of his musical equipment feel just right in our collected-over-time home. And his partiality for vintage musical equipment, coupled with a talent for thrifting and vintage-hunting that rivals my own, is a real boon.

The smaller room, originally meant for his studio, is now basically a well-appointed storage room. Because the space is so modest I wanted it to feel cozy with a slightly worn but refined English home-library/office vibe. I painted the walls a navy called Cobalt Cannon from Valspar, but occasionally, depending on the light, they even appear charcoal or forest green. Every other room on the first floor is white, with the exception of the green accent wall in the entryway, so it's definitely nice to add a darker color to the mix.

The vintage southwestern-print rug, I scored from a local second-hand shop. It's such an oddly small size that this tiny room is the only place in our house it even fits. And though red isn't a color I typically use when decorating, it just works so well with the various English Gentleman elements throughout – most notably the thrifted British hunting scene needlepoint I finally have the perfect spot for!

On the opposite wall is another shelving unit used to corral a bevy of cables, pedals and various other smaller musical and electronic gadgets. Stacked amps and road cases line the remaining perimeter.

I'm so grateful Luke finally has a designated space in our home to work on music. It's certainly a luxury, but after trying to carve out room in multiple efficiency and one bedroom apartments over the years, I'm thrilled he can finally spread out and focus his energy on creating. It's definitely my favorite way to spend a day – me sitting on the sofa typing out a blogpost, while he leans over the keys composing a fresh idea on the piano or arranges a newly recorded track. #dreamboat