Some of you have probably read on other forums I've been talking about fixing up an old house to rent.

That's still a work in progress, but I've started thinking I'd like to turn it into a studio and move my two home-based businesses there, just to get more organized, have more room to work, and to separate my home life and my work life.

The house is only three blocks from my home, so it's close enough, it has three bedrooms I could designate as different purpose rooms (office, supply room and nap room ), a large garage I can use as a workshop, and I'm even thinking I could turn the living room into a showroom.

I've had a lot of collectibles mall booths, successful and not successful, over the years, my current one since 1996.

And I'm thinking I could probably make as much or more money from having a private showroom as I do at the mall. The house is located in a mixed use area, with other single family houses as well as businesses on the block. And it's a half-block off of a major boulevard, two blocks from a major intersection with a U.S. highway.

Those of you who have studios and sell your work professionally, do you have any advice or suggestions?

On the one hand, it might be as financially intelligent just to rent the house and continue with my businesses as I am now.

On the other hand, I'd really like to have my house back as just my house, and be able to organize my business endeavors better, not having inventory in my dining room and supplies in my spare bedroom and my office in my TV room.

I'd also really like to have my workshop set up more efficiently in that spacious garage.

I should add I'm "supposed" to be retired, but I have two part-time jobs and at least two home-based businesses, in addition to the collectibles mall thing.

So I can't say the money is irrelevant, but it's not the most important consideration.

Any perspectives from people who have been there and done that would be appreciated.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ringo's Tree House,

I don't have any experience to give you advice from, but I think it sounds like a great idea to set up the house for your businesses! I know I struggle with keeping my hobbies from overwhelming my living space - still planning on setting up the garage as a workshop/studio someday . . .

Mind if I ask what type of home-based businesses you have?

I sell rare and out-of-print books and build custom furniture.

And my collectibles mall stuff is also sort of a home-based business, everything from dishes and vintage American art pottery to to old toys, Native American art and cowboy/western memorabilia.

Sounds fun!

i feel your pain i have two open houses a year and have to gut two rooms and the porch, then put it back together again, i wish i could have bought the neighbors house but i didn't. i have numerous out buildings and a studio i sell out of, but it would be nice to have it contained in one spot, although my peeps like to tour my buildings & dig for goodies if i were you i would rent it and fill it up, take appointments which for me is alot easier than having a set time to be open, because i have to make my furniture i can't be waiting all day for people to show up!good luck

quote:

Originally posted by Ringo's Tree House:
I sell rare and out-of-print books and build custom furniture.

And my collectibles mall stuff is also sort of a home-based business, everything from dishes and vintage American art pottery to to old toys, Native American art and cowboy/western memorabilia.

Ringo - do you have a website of your custom built furniture? I love to browse

No, unfortunately I don't have a website. I'm almost a Luddite when it comes to digital cameras, although I've had one for several years and never used it.

And now I see they have them at Wal-Mart for $19.95! Yikes, when they're that cheap it means I'm waaaay behind the times.

But I did get a cell phone a couple of weeks ago, I'm almost ready for the 21st century!

My stuff is made of old barn wood and crate wood and made to look "faux-primitive."

Mostly it's bookcases, pie safes, rustic china cabinets, boxes that can be used for anything from coffee tables and end tables to blanket chests and toy boxes. And some of it has a sort of Native/cowboy look.

I've been thinking lately I should start to use nicer wood, but I like rescuing the old boards that would otherwise end up in a landfill because no one wants it.

Thanks for all the feedback. Gioni, maybe I was unclear, I already own the house I'm thinking of using, when I said "rent" I meant rent out.

But if I understand your suggestion, you're saying use the whole thing for a showroom, and don't move my office there.

That could work, too, although if I do move my office and my books there, I wouldn't be open all the time, I'd make appointments, as most of my book work is not done for the walk-in public.

Thanks again for all the feedback, I'm thinking this is an idea that could work well for me, however the final details shake down.

RINGO,i make stuff with old woowd also & pieces & parts of old furniture, although sometimes i use new wood and age it; i have enough old wood for a lifetime

quote:

Originally posted by Ringo's Tree House:
No, unfortunately I don't have a website. I'm almost a Luddite when it comes to digital cameras, although I've had one for several years and never used it.

And now I see they have them at Wal-Mart for $19.95! Yikes, when they're that cheap it means I'm waaaay behind the times.

But I did get a cell phone a couple of weeks ago, I'm almost ready for the 21st century!

My stuff is made of old barn wood and crate wood and made to look "faux-primitive."

Mostly it's bookcases, pie safes, rustic china cabinets, boxes that can be used for anything from coffee tables and end tables to blanket chests and toy boxes. And some of it has a sort of Native/cowboy look.

I've been thinking lately I should start to use nicer wood, but I like rescuing the old boards that would otherwise end up in a landfill because no one wants it.

Thanks for all the feedback. Gioni, maybe I was unclear, I already own the house I'm thinking of using, when I said "rent" I meant rent out.

But if I understand your suggestion, you're saying use the whole thing for a showroom, and don't move my office there.

That could work, too, although if I do move my office and my books there, I wouldn't be open all the time, I'd make appointments, as most of my book work is not done for the walk-in public.

Thanks again for all the feedback, I'm thinking this is an idea that could work well for me, however the final details shake down.

Okay I'm excited now - WalMart has digital cameras for 20 bucks? I need one so I can share my "stuff" lol. Hmmm someone needs to walk you through putting your things online - they sound right up my alley.

I rescued an old shelf yesterday from work - it was rough wood complete with splinters and believe it or not I had to argue to get it lol. Anyway, it is now in the process of getting spiffed up to be hung in my kitchen.

As for as using your rent house for a showroom, I think that is a great idea. Do you live in an area that has high seasonal traffic? Maybe you could show by appointment some of the time, and stay open at high traffic times.

Although I paint & faux finish for a living, & its just me doing it, I recently moved the operation out of my house. Who knows the property value in the neighborhood might go up

I am sharing it with another contractor but he is someone I have known for 20 years & a good buddy. We are both in high cotton right now. Its so nice to be able to pull my truck into the shop & unload or load indoors instead of out in the weather. Its nice to have all the tools in one place. Between the 2 of us we have duplicate tools like chop saws & table saws so we have room to set up one for metal & one for wood for example. We both work on cars as a hobby & have an overhead winch & also a forklift we can use. 150 gallon compressor in place & walls are piped in with outlets for air. Just tons of perks for guys like plus its got a bathroom hehe.

I can have a dedicated spray booth now & have all the space I need for things to dry. 3000 square feet for $380 a month has changed my life for sure. Oh we split that. Now we can move our works in progress outta the garage at home & maybe let our wives park there. I can take my Van over to the shop & leave it there instead of our driveway cause I normally drive my truck. The time I save over a month makes the money absolutely irrelevant & I feel stupid for not doing this long ago.

Good luck with this. I think you will be fine whatever you do if you get outta the house with your business.

Steve

I think it sounds like a great idea to move it all to your "rental" house. That would give you back your life at home.

I love things made out of old wood - so I say rescue and use all you can. I have some picture frames (although I bought them at Hobby Lobby) that are made of old wood and have some rustic type photos in them. They're perfect. I agree you need to be on-line too.

I think we could live vicariously through Ringo. I can just picture a house with twinkling lights in the windows, rustic furniture showcased, maybe some tiny bells on the door so when opened, it makes that old time welcoming noise, fresh coffee brewing - yeah, go for it Ringo.

RainyNite, you're making this all sound very romantic (in an old-fashioned "It's a Wonderful Life" way) and enticing.

I told a friend once I'd like to open a combination bookstore-coffeeshop but it would be less work and faster clean-up to take the money and light a fire in the fireplace with it.

I'm thinking this might be a way of doing it without really costing much, since I wouldn't have many expenses beyond what I have anyway. Insurance and increased property tax for commercial zoning, which wouldn't be hard to get, since there is commercial zoning next door to the house and two doors down on the other side.

I really just need a work studio, but it would be fun to have an actual place to call Ringo's Tree House.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I don't want to get too far out there and lose my head and make a poor business decision, but I think creating a work studio is probably a smart thing to do, which I know I can afford, and having a pot of coffee on is not wildly reckless.

quote:

Originally posted by Ringo's Tree House:
RainyNite, you're making this all sound very romantic (in an old-fashioned "It's a Wonderful Life" way) and enticing.

I told a friend once I'd like to open a combination bookstore-coffeeshop but it would be less work and faster clean-up to take the money and light a fire in the fireplace with it.

I'm thinking this might be a way of doing it without really costing much, since I wouldn't have many expenses beyond what I have anyway. Insurance and increased property tax for commercial zoning, which wouldn't be hard to get, since there is commercial zoning next door to the house and two doors down on the other side.

I really just need a work studio, but it would be fun to have an actual place to call Ringo's Tree House.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone. I don't want to get too far out there and lose my head and make a poor business decision, but I think creating a work studio is probably a smart thing to do, which I know I can afford, and having a pot of coffee on is not wildly reckless.

Oh I LOVE IT!!! Ringo's Tree House - lets do it LOL. And yeah I'm a romantic at heart

It doesn't seem like you have anything to lose by trying the other house for your work space. I was just having this conversation with a woman in a nearby jewelry shop and she was saying the impetus to work at home is just not the same as having a dedicated space for your craft/business etc. If it doesn't work, you can always rent the space out. My DH is an artist/sculptor and his most productive time was when he had a 30 X 40 foot studio.

Lady of Shallot, I think you're right. I'm feeling less stress just by having the vision of getting my work out of my house and into a place where I can go to work and then come home to a work-free zone. Well, not work-free, but you know what I mean.

I am also having some fun with visions in my head of what I want to do with the house now. I had a lot of ideas of things I'd like to do, but I knew they weren't the best options for colors, etc., on a rental house.

Like now I'm going to choose real colors for the exterior, instead of just white. Maybe a light sage on the body and a darker sage on the trim, to go with the tree-house theme.

And instead of replacing the ugly but functional vinyl flooring in the kitchen, I'm thinking of doing a faux-brick paint treatment, with a gray background and stenciled and sponged bricks.

Also, I'm thinking a good thing to do to start might be to have a sale once a month through the winter and get rid of a lot of items and let people see what's happening to the house.

Garage-sale season is mostly over here, and the dealers and garage-sale addicts go into severe withdrawal during the winter, so I'd have an eager pool of potential customers.