Photo Studio Transformation (Hint: Heaps of White Paint Were Used)

Laura’s new & improved photo studio, August 31, 2020

It’s amazing what several coats of white paint and a new floor can do to transform a space. Here are a few images that show the evolution of my photography studio as I worked on it over the course of the last 2+ years.

This first view above is an after pic to show the studio in its most “complete” state. I say most complete because there are still a few things I’d like to do, but I’m happy to call this good for now.

This second picture was taken ~ 6 months ago and shows my studio at roughly midway:

Laura in her photography studio, Livermore, California, March 14, 2020

I had torn out the ceiling to expose the rafters above, and painted all of the wood beams white. Even with having a primer base applied, it still took two heavy coats of Kelly Moore Swiss Coffee to get enough coverage to avoid a golden tint.

It was at this point that I began to really enjoy working in the space… opening up the ceiling made it feel a lot more welcoming. Still, I was daydreaming of a proper floor. Fast forward to August of this year (2020) and I finally prioritized finishing the studio transformation project, as I’m calling it. Over the course of the hottest days of the summer (eeeek), my husband and I scaled the learning curve of a DIY install and worked together to put in a maple floor. A few days, a bunch of trips to Lowe’s and more than average screen time for our toddler, and we got it done!

For comparison, here is a before picture of the future home of Laura Farrell Photography taken in 2017 from the same vantage point. Nothing had been done to the space, it merely acted as storage for some of my gear.

Laura’s photo studio, “Before”, August 2017

All in all this was a challenging yet super rewarding project, and I’m so, so grateful to now have an inspiring space in which to do my work.

Thanks for having a look!