What our eventual home space will look like is a major topic of conversation for Mr. F and I.  We’re on our 15th(!) living space in 6 years of traveling and with each new home we discover what works for us and what doesn’t. 

Since amping up my studio practice in the last several years, having space to paint has become more and more important for my happiness as an artist and well, the Mr. knows that happy wife=happy life.  For our permanent living situation, we’ve talked about an in-home studio, backyard studio, and off-site studio.  But lately, we’ve been seriously thinking about a live/work studio home.

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Even when I have a little studio area, my painting paraphernalia always seems to find its way out into the other living areas.  We don’t want a huge house with wasted space, so why not combine our living space with my work space?  

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Mr. F isn’t picky and he’s super low maintenance, not minding the thought of basically living in a big artist’s studio.  All that he requires is a comfortable bed, sofa, and well-functioning kitchen.  We both prefer spaces that aren’t precious– none of that “furniture you can’t sit on” for us.  So I think we’d be OK with knowing there may be random paint splatters happening.

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With that said, I’m a pretty neat painter– I always wash my brushes and keep my studio pretty clean and organized.  So I think we wouldn’t have to worry too much about living in a disaster zone.

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We’re still a few years away from settling down, so we have lots of time to ruminate on this option.  Any of my artist readers work/live in the same space?  I would love to hear your experiences!

All images sources linked above.