Convert a room into a family studio

Q : Since we don’t use the dining room often, we plan to combine part of it with the old laundry room to create a family studio. Do you have any design tips for this project? — Ann J.

A : The concept of a family studio is becoming more popular in today’s home. People tend to be less formal than in the past, so as you have found, large formal dining rooms are used less often.

With both parents often working and the children involved in many outside activities, families seldom sit down to a dinner together anymore. The dining room table in most homes just ends up being a catch-all for school books and small projects.

As long as you do not shrink the size of your dining room to the point of being unusable, adding a family studio room should make your home more attractive and valuable to families. As a minimum, your downsized dining room should be able to seat eight people comfortably around the dining table.

The family studio will become the location for your family to do many of their projects, crafts, studying for school, laundry, etc. Since this room is separate from the rest of the house and will look like the laundry room, you won’t have to feel embarrassed by the mess when unexpected guests drop by.

Before you start knocking out the dining room wall, make sure you have ample floor space. The minimum size for a functional family studio is about 8 by 10 feet and that will be slightly cramped. With the wall moved to create a room of that size, determine the remaining size of the dining room. When you do sell your house someday, people also will want a usable dining room.

Since you are using your laundry room as the base for the family studio, you will already have water available and a sink for projects and cleanup. If your laundry appliances are old, consider installing newer efficient, space-saving models. A front-loading clothes washer with the dryer mounted on top of it will free up some floor space. A combination washer/ dryer is another option.

Adding a lot of counter space is a must for doing projects and to provide storage underneath the countertops. Install durable solid surface countertops that can take a beating and survive. They also have a much more solid feel when doing heavy projects on them. Storing a little collapsible Workmate workbench on a hook from the ceiling will come in handy at times.

When you have the new wall built, install extra electrical outlets along the wall. You may even want to install a new circuit breaker in the service panel with a line to service the new family studio. If your children are doing some studying in there, it won’t be long until a computer or two make their way into the studio.

Adequate lighting is essential to making a family studio inviting and easy to work in. Installing a dropped suspended ceiling is an excellent way to incorporate bright recessed fluorescent fixtures into the ceiling. Install them in several groups on different switches so you will not always have to keep them all on. Also run the cable to the room so the television can be used and a cable modem can be accessed.