When I first started out in photography a decade ago all of my portraits and creative images were done in the 8ft x 10ft spare bedroom of my little Lakeland cottage. At one end of the room was a bank of wardrobes which I needed access to and at the other was propped against the wall a double bed (complete with frame and mattress) a chest of draws and a dressing table. The actual size of space I had to take pictures was that of a postage stamp and the room had to double up as my only other bedroom.

Nevertheless, in that space I became a Master of Print, won a global Covid competition and was subsequently exhibited in the Beijing World Art Museum in China, and won copious gold medals and Honourable Mentions in both local, national and international photography competitions. But it was difficult, I can’t lie. I had nowhere to store any of my kit and the cramped space limited the kinds of photos I could produce.

When I bought my current house, one of the main reasons it appealed was that it had an integral garage off the hallway which could be converted into a Photography ‘studio’. I use the term studio loosely, as it’s nowhere near big enough to actually be used as a photography studio, but it is a dedicated room in which to do my photography which is part of the house but still kind of separate to it.

I had the room made wind and water tight by having the 8ft garage door opening bricked up and replaced with a window back in October 2024, but it then became a much needed dumping ground for all my stuff while the entire rest of the house was renovated. As it wasn’t vital it has been the last room to be done and the conversion only started in earnest in October 2025.

It’s been a lot more work than I’d anticipated. Firstly I needed the Building Control Officer at the Council on board who filled me in on the work needed to fulfil building regulations, although the conversion didn’t require planning permission. The floor needed to be insulated and raised level with the rest of the house and the entire room re-wired. I then spent much of the Christmas holidays building cupboards around the consumer unit and new hot water tank before the room could be plaster boarded then plastered. I then created a large cupboard to house all my photo gear, finished off with sliding mirror doors so that I can see myself when I take my selfie photos, which is going to be super helpful for poses and to make sure my dresses and wigs are looking right. Then finally it was decorated and I laid new floor boards. Finishing touches of dimmable, moveable spotlights for overhead lighting and floor length backdrop blinds were then added, all of which took longer than anticipated as I had various jobs to do outdoors and have now gone down with a dreadful lingering lergie 🤧 Having said all that, little over 5 months for a completed garage conversion isn’t bad going.

I admit to being chuffed with the results. The room will be available to rent as a small photo space, but has been designed to be multi-functional and will also be available to rent as a therapy/massage/beauty/counselling room. It has its own entrance, tea & coffee making facilities, a private bathroom and off street parking. The rest of the house will be screened off for privacy. I’ll add a new section and menu option for the room rental to my website as soon as I can – I’m currently feeling too unwell to even think about that.