How can we turn our dining room into a hobby room?

8 years ago

We have lived in our house for 18 years and used the formal dining room three or four times. The room connects to our living room which I have made more like a library- cozy chairs, ottoman, bookshelves. While reading is one of my favorite hobbies, my husband enjoys building, flying, and (of course) repairing R/C (remote control) planes. How can we design the dining room such that he can use it as a workspace? I'm thinking he would need, at a minimum, some sort of work table, shelves of some kind to store tools and spare parts, good lighting, and ideally, a way to hang at least some of his planes (the smaller ones hopefully). Our home is casual so I'm not worried about losing the look of a formal dining room, but I do want a space for him that is organized and as aesthetically appealing as possible. Any ideas would be appreciated! Thanks.

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decoenthusiaste

8 years ago

Pictures of the space in question, please.

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Comments (7)

rperk36
Original Author
8 years ago
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miss lindsey (She/Her)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I don't have any experience with model building, but I would imagine that setting it up like a hybrid of a woodworking shop (work tables, small drawers for hardware and electronics, larger tool chests) and a jeweler's shop (mounted magnifying glass, pull out counters, strong directional table lights) would be a good direction to go.

He might like a comfortable chair or sofa with a coffee table to keep drinks away from work surfaces. And a bookshelf to hold photo albums, trade magazines, etc.

The yellow walls might be hard on the eyes when working on intricate pieces. Maybe painting to a soft white or light beige would be a good idea.
rperk36 thanked miss lindsey (She/Her)
decoenthusiaste
8 years ago
Although some of these are in garages, there are ideas you can borrow.
Garage · More Info

Model Airplanes · More Info

Ferrari / RC Garage · More Info

My Houzz: Eclectic Meets Rustic in a Decidedly Different Dallas Home · More Info
rperk36 thanked decoenthusiaste
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I think it would be good to swap out the formal chandelier for something similar to the red one posted in the above photos, one that reads less formal and more ''workspace''. I also think painting the whole area one color such as solid white and removing the drapes and just using blinds. I also like that idea of the shelf up top to display models. If you hang any I would only hang them in the center of the ceiling above the table which would work well as the workplace, some swivel chairs would be nice. I'm thinking of short book shelves along the bottom half which leave you a top shelf (counter height)and lower shelves for storage and display and using the open wall space for classic aviation wall hangings that are flat such as signs and framed posters and such would be nice. Floor to ceiling shelves would really close the space in but I think the shorter ones along the lower portion would be sufficient and also hide the formal trimming of the room, but it would be nice to see along a whole wall, not just a couple short shelves here and there in the room, that would make it look very unorganized. Cool, let us know how it comes along!
Fori
8 years ago
Do you need the table elsewhere? It would be a great worktable--I would put a top on it to protect it though. A table cover made of laminate would be a great starter project. :)

I'd leave the yellow walls. Who doesn't like yellow?
Judy Mishkin
8 years ago
french doors with translucent glass.