Name: Kristy Ahumada of Volatile Photography + her trusty assistant Lewey
Location: Petaluma, California
Size/Room: 11ft x 13ft bedroom + workspace
Years lived in: 26 years
Kristy and I met 6 years ago when I was working in Petaluma. She was an aspiring photographer quickly building a great local clientele and reputation for her stunning imagery. Living at home in her childhood bedroom, she invites us to see how she runs a full blown international photography business in a converted closet workspace.
Running a wedding photography business will keep you very busy most of the year. To ease the hustle and bustle of your workflow it's probably best to have a stress free environment and ample space to lay out your gear and computer software. For Kristy, she enjoys the peace and quiet of her family home and operates out of the very bedroom she grew up in. Kristy was happy to photograph her space for us and share her tech savvy ways.
My intrigue with this space began with how she found such an easy way to make room for her business. Many of us do not have the luxury of a spare room to create an office. She has easily removed the closet doors and installed a full sized desk, all her electronics, then softened the appearance with some clever curtains.
That gorgeous red wall adds ample warmth to where she sleeps, and I'm sure reminds her that her workspace is anything but bland. I love all the nostalgic sentimental photos and decorations sprinkled around the room, especially the vintage dresser which she added new hardware onto. Whether you're living at home still, or have just moved into your first apartment this bedroom/ workspace offers a wonderful example of how the two can coexist gracefully.
My style: Colorful and bold. The room is a mixture of antique, new, handmade (DIY) and natural pieces.
The inspiration for my bedroom / workspace: I love detail! I can get bored when there isn't a whole lot to look at and enjoy while at home and at work. I believe my bedroom reflects this part about me.
Favorite element in your space: I work from home and don't have the space to create a separate office. Because of this, I had to get creative and morph my large closet space into an office. To do this successfully, I had to remove the wooden sliding doors and come up with something else to cover up my workspace at the end of the day. I ended up hanging curtains that complimented the style of the room. This is my favorite element.
Biggest challenge in designing my space: I would say the biggest challenge in designing the space is separating work from regular home life. It can be a little hard to take a load off when your work is staring right at you! I also have a lot of equipment and a large collection of photo products, which are tricky to store while still keeping the room looking tidy.
Area where there is room for improvement/future projects: I would love to have a better system for filing away my documents. This is a struggle with the lack of space, so I hope to figure out something that fits and still looks great.
Proudest DIY (do it yourself) project: I would definitely have to say I am most proud of the fact that I converted my closet into a workspace.
Biggest indulgence with respect to my space: The largest indulgences would definitely be my computers and camera equipment.
What Friends Say About My Space: Friends most often compliment the following: the dark red accent wall, my outrageous collection of wedding magazines, my antique dresser, and my powerful Mac Pro.
Best advice about organizing or incorporating tech into the home: Keep it minimal to avoid clutter, while also keeping eye sores that you use easily accessible.
Dream source for stuff: Bridal magazines, and bridal blogs. I am more old school when it comes to saving ideas I like- I have a physical journal of favorite wedding-related things, instead of a pinterest account. I feel happier when my inspiration is for my eyes only.
Resources
Tech Hardware:
• Apple Mac Pro
• 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display
• Apple MacBook Pro
• Altec Lansing Speakers
• One Imoega 500GB Iomega External Hard Drive
• Two 1 TB Seagate GoFLex Portable Drives
• HP OfficeJet Wireless for printing, scanning, copying and faxing
• Apple iPhone 3Gs (I use this a LOT for client emails)
• Camera Equipment-
• Two Canon 5D Mark II bodies
• One Canon Rebel Xsi
• Canon Rebel GII
• Nikon F100
• Holga
• Two Canon Speedlite 580 EXII
• Two Gary Fong Lightosphere II diffusers
• Sigma 20mm f/1.8
• Canon 35mm f/1.4
• Sigma 50mm f/1.4
• Canon 85mm f/1.8
• Canon 100mm f/2.8
• Canon 70-200mm f/4
• Canon 28-135mm f/3.5
• Sigma 15-30 f/3.5
• Lensbaby 2.0
....And many more!
Furniture:
• Antique painted dresser from Red Umbrella Consignment in Petaluma, CA. (Knobs on dresser from Anthropologie.)
• Black leather desk chair from Staples
• Bedside table from Marshall's
• White wall shelving from JCpenny
• White table with shelving from Ikea
(I cannot remember for the life of me where my bed or desk came from! Sorry! Been forever since I got them!)
Accessories:
• Beige/Floral closet curtains from Ikea
Lighting:
• Two Rectangular Paper lights from Ikea
• Silver Desk Lamp from Staples
Organizing Tools/Accessories:
• Small white letter organizer from Marshall's
Thanks, Kristy!
*For more info follow Kristy's Blog!
Ellen's Thirties Style Small Space
Juan's Garage Turned Modern Guest House
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Commercial Flour Sa...
10 Picnic-Ready Salads to Eat Outside
Make-Ahead Lunch Recipe: Chopped Kale, Farro & Chickpea Salad
were the repeated answers in the survey a cut and paste error, at?
I see cords! What a relief! Tour candidates are real people, too!!! :)
Lewey sure looks like an EXCELLENT assistant. I bet he's pretty detail oriented. :)
I personally felt like there was so much going on in such a small space it was hard for me to focus on any one element, here. And I'm never going to "get" the bed/furniture on an angle in a room this size. But that said, that is just my personal opinion. What does impress me most is whenever someone can take a very small space like this and make it work for dual purposes. That's tough to do in a large space, let alone one bedroom and it looks like she has made it work for her needs!
Where are your hanging clothes?
Yes, people in these features are real people : ) I agree that having my bed at an angle is not the best to utilize the size of the room, however- the bed actually has custom drawers around all sides which helps a lot, since I basically don't have a closet for my wardrobe! ; ) The drawers would not be accessible if I had any side of it against the wall. So, with that said, I have very little clothing hanging on the far right side of my closet. The rest is folded neatly and placed in my drawers. Thanks for viewing the feature everyone!
I covet your lens collection!!
Interesting space! Would love to see how she stores her professional gear. I am looking for a safe and neat option to store the growing collection at home.
There are 34 photos of a single room, most of them NOT focusing on the "tech" portion of the space, many of them repetitive in content. AT claims to have editors. Could you guys, um... edit?
That said, this is a cute and cost-efficient little business space. Would have loved to see more of her office and equipment organization techniques.
@ Thorndale...Totally agree. Great job on your space. I remember growing up in the exact type room, brought me back to when I made it my own. I live in 400 square feet and am always impressed at good use of dual purpose.
Thanks for the feedback everyone! Some of the comments are supportive and positive which is awesome. Some of the comments are borderline rude, but hopefully they were meant to be constructive. I think that for starting out a business with next to nothing and having gone through a lot, my bedroom and workspace is a great start. Sure, I may not appear as "hip" or "together" as the rest of the artists you see on this website, but I think my space shows that almost anyone can start a business. : )
Wow that red is insane (good insane)! Don't suppose you remember the paint brand/color... I'm looking for that perfect red.
Personally, I like the space quite a bit. You have to appreciate the difficulty in taking a small space and making it a place that is quiet, comfortable and at the same time conducive to getting work done.
It's also a nice change from the standard AT fare, which typically shows places that are so perfectly put together it's reminiscent of how Big Macs look on TV versus how they are in person. It just isn't reality.
And on a side note, Kristy is absolutely stunning. And she's a baseball fan! Doesn't get much better than that.
Thank you SO much Luka16! Go Giants! ; )
creative space and great solution for working at home!
i think some of the negativity in the comments is a result of the new apartment therapy format - combining tech posts with living posts. at first i thought i was looking at a "house tour", in which case i was really confused why i was looking through 34 pics of ONE ROOM. then i noticed it was a "tech tour". does this mean it's a post to show off her equipment? or the fact she is using her bedroom as a workspace? i feel like this post fits better as a "house call".
Kristy, you are my hero!! I'm one of thoses 20 something's living at home too :) Most of the time it's an awesome arrangement, I get to travel all over the place (hence the reason I never bothered getting my own place) but when I am at home it's crazy! My room is tiny anyways (10X10 I think yikes!) so putting a bed in is bad enough, but then a desk too (I work at home sometimes), all the stuff I collected in my travels plus all my clothes (and I'm a 24 yr old girl so you know there's a lot of them lol), well lets just say that my dad says I live in my closet! :D So the fact that you made everything work in your room is great, but then you're an amazing photographer too, that's awesome!
Thank you so much Taryn A! : )
Kristy, I think you did an amazing job w/ what you can afford. My bedroom in my mom's house was about the same size, and there was no way I would've imagined to turn my space around like you did. Being a responsible adult is not about how big of a place you can afford, or how much of expensive items you can own.. but rather knowing how to live below your means. I say, girl, it's an amazing start. Keep at it! And, HELL YEAH! LET'S GO GIANTS!!!! =)
How strange that my comment was deleted, I was neither rude nor negative just making a point based on what I thought AT commenting policies was about:
1.Be honest and fair, yet gracious.
2.No ad hominem attacks or gratuitous meanness.
3.Stay on topic.
4.Add value, don't take it away.
it's sad to see numerous comments censored by AT. while i've never been censored here, i believe that what makes this site so appealing is that it is a forum for a community interested in design to sound-off and express their opinion. if this means they don't like what they see, then so be it. i wish the commenting feature of this site was much more advanced. allow replies to specific posts, and provide a rating system for specific comments. if a comments gets rated below a certain number, it gets censored (with or without the option to show it).
Hi Kristy & AT! I love seeing features of everyone's homes...even the super posh & hip...they are certainly inspiring & at the very least motivate me to get rid of yet, more "uncessary" items...in turn making the mister bust out a grin :)
I will say regarding the feature I was dying to see some of the tech & actual office aspect..[I am a photographer here in Utah & currently downsized in space due to a move for my husband's job promotion] & less of just your bedroom..but I honestly think it may have been overlooked while shooting & editing...it happens, especially when you know someone and are just happy to be spending time with them & featuring their amazing work, work ethic & outlook on life.
I find it amazing that you have started your business as such a young woman & are obviously so motivated & on a successful path. Its an amazing opportunity to be able to grow your business from home. I LOVE IT! Keep reaching for the stars & working hard. Hard work is severely underrated these days & it makes me cringe...I grew up with my dad in the Air Force so the value of hard work is SO important to me & SO evident in my life. Im a Mrs of almost 10 years, a mama to 3 girls [girl chaos! & no more babies!] & a photographer, volunteer etc. & I am only 28! :) You are going to be amazingly successful with how hard you are working, no doubt!
Also, crazy but I have some FAB tips for organizing & in a really discreet way. I have a magic basket of files that has really come in handy & saved me time & so many of my friends & family have now duplicated it. So, if you ever have a free minute feel free to email me. I would love to chat & help out on that end... [greenwoodfamily2002@gmail.com]
P.S. I LOVE MAC too! I say "once you get a mac, YOU NEVER GO BACK!" lol.
Great feature. & glad you could stay positive when others were being so obviously rude & aggressive.
Kristy, where did you get that gorgeous circular mirror?
Hi Kristy!
I'm also a 24 yr old, just starting out and working from home. I'm so excited that you and AT featured your bedroom/ workspace, as I've been searching all around here for one that could be of use in my personal bedroom/ workspace. I agree with Thorndale. Although I don't sponge off my parents, it is pretty tough when you are starting out and in such a small space. Kudos to you for making it work well. Awesome photographer and awesome positivity on your part.
Thanks so much for the inspiration!
Thank you Airgreenwood! I would be curious to hear what your tips are for organizing. I'll shoot you an email sometime soon. : ) I really appreciate your compliments and feedback. I hope that you are right about my success- its been a long time coming, but I do feel I got an early start which can only benefit me in the end!
Cbenyeart- I have had that mirror a long time, and I think if I remember correctly, I got it from Ikea! Love that store.
Receptionitis- Thanks for the support! I don't think that people realize that nowadays, its often the offspring staying at home to actually HELP their parents. Everyone has their own opinion, sure, but it has surprised me that people don't consider that everyone has their own story, and its best not to judge so quickly. : )
Very cute space! Looks like it doubles well as a cozy bedroom and productive workspace.
Kristy, may I ask who the artist of that flying geese painting is? I love it!
Thank you Karinmaybe! I actually don't know who painted the geese. I picked the painting up for a few dollars at a little shop here in Petaluma and the artist is unknown, unfortunately. Its neat, huh? I have a goose tattoo on my back that resembles it, so I had to have the piece when I saw it!
Just the post I needed to see since I may need to carve out workspace in my bedroom soon and give up my separate office. Thanks for sharing.
Kristy this post is SO heartening. I'm also 24 and living at home with my parents. It's convenient as an amazing job ended up being only a half-hour away and it seems pointless to spend half my paycheck on an apartment when I have an amazing family and bedroom to call my own. Your bedroom is amazing and I love the layout (i personally love beds/dressers on an angle). Thank you so much!!!