An art studio where creativity blooms

Dinner and the daily routine

A professional artist needs a peaceful, private retreat in which to think, reflect and create. So, when you specialise in Australian botanics and your garden is surrounded by inspiration, that space should be there, not the dining table.

But like many creatives, that’s exactly where Nicola was working. Her studio by day, the family dining table reverted to its domestic duty each night. Not only was her source of inspiration frustratingly close yet so far, it was a situation that was impractical, inconvenient and inefficient.

“I had to pack away my art supplies at the end of every day to regain the dining table,” Nicola explains.

With three children at home, this wasn’t optional. Family dinners can’t be skipped. Homework space is essential. The table can’t be permanently occupied by oil pastels, canvases and botanics.

So, every day followed the same routine.

Set up the canvas, position the subjects, arrange the pastels. Work for a few hours, stop mid-flow, pack and store everything away, wipe down the table.

Every. Single. Day.

It’s exhausting. And it’s not a solution – it’s a compromise.

Creativity doesn’t keep office hours

But beyond these frustrations is something more fundamental. Creativity doesn’t work to a 9-5 schedule, conveniently avoiding family meal times.

When inspiration strikes, an artist needs to step into their workspace and pick up where they left off. Immediately see their previous work with fresh eyes, pick up their pastels and apply their creativity to canvas. It can’t wait until homework is finished or the dishes are cleared.

But for Nicola, it had to.

Active with exhibitions and commissions, something had to change. The impracticalities of this daily routine were creatively stifling, and working from the dining table was no longer viable. She needed what every serious creative needs – a dedicated space where her work could be put down and picked back up at any time. Where she could close the door behind her and separate professional and family life.

Yet she didn’t want to work anywhere else. The subject of her artistic niche was thriving all around her, and working from home as a mum of three made family life so much easier.

The perfect place was her backyard, steps from the back door, always ready and waiting, and with the bushland that inspires her daily all around her.

Investing in a garden art studio was the clear solution. And a Melwood Mod was the obvious choice.

Chosen by artists everywhere

Nicola chose a Melwood Mod 12. Measuring 3.2m x 3.6m, it’s compact enough to sit comfortably in the garden without dominating it, but spacious enough for her artistic needs. Room for a generous work area. Storage for art supplies and canvases in progress. Space to step back and critically assess work from a distance. Then there’s the light. For an artist, this isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity.

It’s why the Mod design is so popular with creatives.

With its signature highlight windows across the façade, essential angled light floods in. Nicola added double doors and full-length glass sidelight windows to create an almost all-glass frontage, embracing both natural light and the views of the garden and beyond. In doing so, inside feels connected with outside; an extension of the surrounding environment rather than a retreat from it.

Nature meets design

But size and space weren’t the only considerations. It had to look good.

And Nicola’s finished studio is as visually appealing on the outside as the masterpieces she creates within.

The cladding to the garden-facing side was upgraded to cedar, a feature wall that literally integrates nature into the design, with a double-hung window drawing the outside in. The remaining board and batten cladding has been painted to match the “Woodland Grey” roof – a colour that mirrors that of the house, and blends beautifully with the deck that connects the two buildings. The timber double doors and sidelights have been painted white to match the aluminium window frames and provide a modern accent to the grey.

Of course, aesthetics mean nothing without comfort. Built to the same standard as any room in a house, with quality materials designed to withstand Australia’s harsh and varied climates, Nicola’s Melwood Mod is a genuine year-round workspace—not just a fair-weather retreat.

The daily difference

The garden room has transformed the practical realities of both family and creative life.

No more packing away work in progress and art supplies at the end of every day. Now, Nicola simply shuts the door, returns to the house, and comes back to a ready, waiting creative haven.

But art isn’t just a physical process. It requires breathing space – a luxury that the dining table simply can’t provide – and Nicola now has a haven for uninterrupted reflection and contemplation.

“It’s quite a personal space for me,” Nicola states. “It’s helpful having no distractions.”

And with a workspace in the backyard, there’s no need to worry about the kids when inspiration strikes outside of office hours.

“Even though they’re here, I don’t have to go somewhere else to work, which is good,” she explains.

Close enough to be a parent, separate enough to be an artist. It’s the best of both worlds.

Seven years of success

It’s been almost seven years since Nicola made the move to her garden studio, and it has transformed productivity for her.

“I don’t know how I managed to do it before,” she says.

With a string of exhibitions and prizes to her name, Nicola’s art has gone from strength to strength and her distinctive talent is recognised by many. Her close ties to art galleries extend both locally and Australia-wide, where her work regularly sells out. Original pieces, prints and even a gift range are available on her website, and her work has featured on clothing collections with ethical, Melbourne-based label, Nancybird.

Nicola agrees that her art studio enables her to produce artwork from home without limitations.

“Now I’m much more productive and can commit to more exhibitions,” she says.

It would certainly have been a more difficult undertaking from the dining table. We like to think that by providing her with the space to do what she does best, we have contributed in some part to her achievements!

Let creativity bloom

Nicola’s success is founded in her botanical art, but the underlying need for creatives is universal.

Artistic endeavours – whatever form they take – require dedicated space. Musicians need somewhere to practice without disturbing the household. Writers need quiet to focus. Sculptors need room for tools and materials.

Working from the dining table, a corner of the spare bedroom, or the garage isn’t a long-term solution. It’s a compromise you make until you can create something better.

That something better could be your own Melwood art studio, right there in your own garden.

Don’t fit creativity around life. Give it the space it deserves and allow it to blossom.

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Nicola’s Melwood is a Mod 12 measuring 3.6m x 3.2m.

It features a cedar cladding upgrade feature wall, with Board and Batten cladding as standard to the others.

Nicola further personalised her design by adding additional timber sidelights, aluminium windows in “White” and Colorbond® roofing in “Woodland Grey”.

All measurements are approximate.

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