apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Matthew and his wife, Sharon, moved into their San Francisco studio in 2004. Since they didn't have time to remodel before hitting the grindstone, they made changes along the way. "We're both graphic designers and we were busy with work, so whatever I did couldn't interfere with either of our workloads. In a sense, I had to work backwards -- we moved in, plugged in the computers, and then began working on how the studio should be arranged. I worked in the evenings and on weekends so I wouldn't interfere with business, and I'd tell my wife several days before moving or disconnecting equipment so our work interruptions were minimized." "I'd spent many years working in different office environments, so I had several ideas about how best to use our new workspace. I'd always loved the openness of the design and architecture firms in which I'd worked, and I wanted to avoid the sterility of cubicles. But since we had a very tight budget, I was constantly searching Craigslist and Freecycle for used and free office equipment. I found chairs, a conference table, all sorts of miscellaneous items, and a free color laser printer that only needed a good cleaning and a new fuser assembly."

If there's one thing Matthew and his great studio space have taught us, wait long enough and you can score it for free on Craigslist!

Photos: Matthew Williams