When designing your home workshop, it can often be easy to get caught up in the details and forget about the big picture. After all, it’s a space you’re likely to spend a lot of time in. To create an optimal workspace for yourself, consider these top design tips for building a workshop at home as a military veteran. In this article, we share expert advice on designing your home workshop with ease in mind.

This is not just about making your home look pretty but about creating spaces that are useful, accessible, and conducive to the activities you will be undertaking regularly. Follow along as we take you through an expert checklist for designing your home workshop optimally:

Decide on a Usage Plan

At the start of your design process, it helps to have a clear plan of how the space will be used. This will inform your design to a large degree, especially when it comes to the logistics of the space. Consider the following questions: How many people will use the space? How often will they be using it? Will any of your activities require special equipment? What will be the main activities taking place in the space? Also remember that the home workshop doesn’t have to be JUST a workshop. If you have the space, it can be so much more than that.

It could be a place for you to practice yoga, meditate, study, or even host guests in a pinch. Your home workshop doesn’t have to be 100% work either: A space dedicated to a hobby like woodworking can double as a creative art space for painting and decorating your finished creations!

Decide on the Space(s) You’ll be Using

Depending on the layout of your home and the size of your budget, you’ll have to decide which areas of your home to use for your workshop. If you have the luxury of designing a new space entirely, it can be helpful to sketch out a few different options, including a few sketches that reflect your current space and its limitations.

There are a few different factors to consider when deciding on a space. The first is, of course, the dimensions of the space. How much room do you have to play with? How much room do you NEED to play with?

The second is the general environment of the space. Is it indoors or outdoors? Is it in a quiet part of the house or a louder part? How much natural light does it get? What are the temperature extremes?

Walls, Floors and Windows are Important

Beyond the layout of the space, there are a few other design elements that are important to keep in mind. The first is the walls. How smooth are they? Do you want to paint them? If so, what color? If not, are they suitable for hanging up tools and other implements?

The floors of your workshop should be sturdy and durable. You’ll also want to consider windows, if applicable. If you have a lot of windows in your home workshop, they’ll need to be treated so as not to let in too much light during the day. You may also want to consider installing blinds or curtains to control the light.

Storage is Key

The most important element in any workshop is storage. Having the right amount of storage in the right places will make your life so much easier. Whether it’s storing tools, materials, or work in progress, having easy access to the things you use the most will help you get your work done.

If you are designing from an existing space, you’ll want to take into account the types of storage that are already there. Make sure there is enough space for everything you need and that it is positioned in a way that makes sense for your workflow. If you are designing a new space, you can take these considerations into account as you design the layout.

Add in the Bigger Pieces Now

As you go through the design process, you’ll want to make decisions about the bigger pieces of furniture and equipment you’ll be making use of in your workshop.

This may be a workbench, tool cabinet, or even a larger piece of equipment like a drill press or table saw. If you can, it’s best to start with the larger pieces of equipment, especially if you are designing your workshop from scratch. This will give you a chance to plan where you’ll place these items in your workshop, which will help you make decisions about other elements of your design as well.

Add the Details Later

Finally, as you are designing your home workshop, don’t forget to leave room for details and smaller pieces of furniture and equipment that you’ll want to add in later. You don’t have to have the final design of your workshop in place before you begin using the space.

You can start out with a few large pieces of furniture and smaller items like shelving or a desk. Then, as you get more comfortable using your workshop and know what works best for you and your work, you can make changes. This is especially true if you are designing from an existing space and have to work with what is already there. In that case, you’ll want to focus on using your space as effectively as possible and making changes as you go based on what you discover.

Final Design Notes

Creating the perfect home workshop for a military veteran can be easy with the right design tips in mind. Deciding on a usage plan, deciding on the spaces you’ll be using, and taking walls, floors, and windows into account can help with the process. Beyond those elements, you’ll want to make sure you have enough storage, add in the bigger pieces of equipment you’ll be making use of, and leave room for details to be added later.