Creating a Functional Workshop and Versatile Office Hobby Room

Designing the Workshop and Office

When my husband and I finished our screened-in porch, we realized that we needed a separate space to work on our hobbies. Luckily, there was already a 26 x 60 barn on the property that had a roof and exterior sides. With some creativity, we were able to transform this space into both a functional workshop for my husband and an office hobby room for us to enjoy together.

Interior structure of workshop and office hobby room

Our first step was to lay down treated floor joists in order to create a solid foundation for our space. This would ensure that the floors could handle heavy machinery and equipment without any issues.

workshop, fixer upper, shop

Next, my husband raised the ceiling by installing new structural trusses at 4 x 4 posts supports. This not only gave us more vertical space, but also reinforced the overall structure of the building.

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One of our main goals was to have a separation between the workshop and office hobby room, while still being able to access both spaces easily. To achieve this, we built a wall between the two areas with cabinet storage on the office side and a workbench in the workshop. This allowed us to have designated areas for our different types of hobbies and also gave us plenty of storage space.

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On the exterior of the office, we added windows and doors that provided natural light and easy access to the outside. This not only improved the overall aesthetic of the building, but also made it more functional for our needs.

Exterior structure

The exterior of the office with OSB and Tyvek on the wall.

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Behind these bright orange double doors lies the new workshop. We used double doors to make it easier to move material in and out of the workshop.

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The windows and doors were installed to the office hobby room and Tyvek is covering the exterior wall waiting for siding to be installed.

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After the exterior siding was put on, we were figuring out which Sherwin Williams paint colors we were going to use.

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Interior of shop and office hobby room finish out

For the ceiling of our office hobby room we purchased old roof metal from a friend who was tearing down and old house on his property in NW Arkansas. First we painted the ceiling brown so that any holes from the old metal would not show the wood above it.

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We moved in before we got our floor. We ended up chasing the office furniture around as we put in our floor. This is laminate that looks like old reclaimed wood. I wanted an old wood look for the walls. This is ship lap siding and it was stained, finished, then white paint over the stain. We rubbed the paint and the stain shows through, I got my old wood look using new material.

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We took a corner of our building and put in a bathroom, complete with washer/dryer and refrigerator. To keep us comfortable all year round we added a ductless mini split unit, one for the big room and a unit in the bathroom.

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Finished, ready to move in

The exterior of the workshop and office hobby room is finished. The workshop is behind the bright orange doors and the office doors are behind the turquoise doors. Finished out with cedar made planter boxes on the sidewalk going into the office.

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My husband determined how much space he needed to put his table saw and miter box. He built a receiving support table next to the table saw so he could cut long pieces. He has bench extensions on either side of his miter box for material support. There is room to walk all the way around the receiving support table with the table saw at one end. Benches are on three sides of the workshop. The entrance of the workshop has double doors so it is easy to move material in and out of the workshop.

workshop, shop, table saw

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I took the same Sherwin Williams bright colors and did our two desks. We used door blanks as the desk top and added some old legs to each desk. I used Elfa legal-size file carts from The Container Store to go under the desk to provide the drawer space.

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Our office hobby room features a finished ceiling of old metal, with brown-painted beams and silver faux highlights. The wood beams were designed to resemble real metal for a unique touch.

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Adding Personal Touches

One of the best parts about creating our workshop and office hobby room was being able to add personal touches that reflected our individual styles. While my husband focused on the practical aspects of the space, I took charge of decorating and adding little details that made it feel like our own.

Join us as we embark on more remodeling endeavors, transforming our fixer-upper into a haven of comfort and style.

Creating a Functional Workshop and Versatile Office Hobby Room

Designing the Workshop and Office