ToP TiP: How to hobby when space is tight

Who doesn‘t know this: so much hobby, so little space. In this video, I’ll show you how I paint, airbrush, take photos of my minis, film, and store my paints and tools on just a 48″ x 24″ desk. Since I don’t have a ton of space I had to come up with a setup that is efficient, modular, and ergonomic.

Few people have the luxury of a large hobby space, especially if they don’t live alone. I also have to make do with limited space, even though as a content creator I spend a lot of time painting and modelling Warhammer miniatures. I live in a city with high rents, and I only have a 12m² room in my flat that has to serve as a hobby space, home office, and storage room. However, necessity is the mother of invention, and over my 20 years in the hobby, I’ve learned how to make the most out of limited space. In fact, my entire hobby setup, including photography and filming, fits into a 48″ x 24″ inches space – that’s one of the smallest desk sizes from IKEA.

How to setup an ergonomic workspace with limited space

Let’s talk about the IMO most important thing for a workspace: ergonomics, so you can safely enjoy the hobby for many years to come. For more than a decade, I’ve been working on a raised surface of about 95 cm in height (more about this here). Less hunching over, keeping a straighter back – it’s a game-changer for back health. Plus, you get more control because you can rest your arms and work at eye level. Previously, I used a rather cheap desktop and legs combination, but it was quite wobbly. While that might be acceptable for most people, needing to add extra lights and a camera arm for content creation turned the wobble into a problem.

So I was looking to upgrade my hobby desk for quite a while, and thanks to Flexispot I was able to upgrade to a height-adjustable desk, the E7 Pro. You can set and save different heights as presets, like 95 cm for painting. When I’m quickly priming models with the airbrush, I found I like to do that while standing, so I can raise the desk a bit. There are many similar height-adjustable desks out there, but the E7 Pro’s frame is made of automotive-grade steel with thickened legs. It has a weight-bearing capacity of 160 kg, so it’s super sturdy even with all my equipment, and the wobble is gone.

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You might want to think about getting an ergonomic chair as well. Those racing chair-style gaming chairs might look cool and feel comfortable, but they’re really not the best for your back. Better look for a proper ergonomic office chair.

Next time that limited edition FOMO box set comes out, think twice and better invest in your health instead. You’ll benefit more in the long run than just adding another box to your pile of shame.

An entire hobby setup on a 48″ x 24″ / 120 x 60cm desk

Let’s take a closer look at my workspace and all the storage hacks I came up with over the years.

2-in-1 paint and airbrush station

With my new height-adjustable desk I’ve stuck to the 48″ x 24″ / 120 x 60 cm desk size. Centrepiece is an airbrush extractor from Amazon, a white-label product sold under various brand names. Along with a proper rebreather this saves your lungs and your room from fumes and stray pigments. The only thing I recommend with this extractor is replacing the short, rigid hose with a more flexible one like this.

Although the unit is foldable, I‘m keeping it permanently installed for convenience. Because here’s the twist: For brush painting, I use a paint station that fits perfectly into the extractor, which I can remove when airbrushing – a true two-in-one solution! My paint station is scratch-built from an MDF paint rack kit and plywood, though you can buy similar ready-made MDF kits.

To the left of the extractor, I have a pen holder for brushes and tools. What I love about this organizer is the way the compartments are arranged, so I can reach everything comfortably with my left hand while seated. 

Extra storage, photography, and filming

Speaking of reaching stuff. Under the desk is a drawer unit where I sort my paints. Mine is a used Bisley model I got pretty cheap, but you can find a nearly identical one at IKEA. I’ve customised the drawers with plastic L-shaped profiles from the DIY shop to keep things organised. This way, my most-used colours are always within easy reach.

On top of the unit, I put the airbrush compressor (the trusty Fengda FD-186) and my photo corner, which is simply a sheet of white paper as a backdrop. For lighting, I use two rechargeable, dimmable Raleno LED panels from Amazon (I have the smaller version, but there is also a slightly bigger more powerful version which is great for larger units and models). Mounted on clamps, they can be quickly attached or removed and used elsewhere. This is where I take photos for social media and my tutorials here on Tale of Painters and Patreon. For filming, I’ve installed a camera arm from Vijim with a 12″ ring light from Neewer, which also serves as a desk lamp – again killing two birds with one stone.

Above the desk, I’ve installed wall shelves for extra storage. Check out your local DIY or furniture stores for ideas, but the key is finding something for which you can get compatible boxes. I’ve got some basic IKEA CD-sized boxes that I use to sort hobby materials. For example, when I’m airbrushing, I just grab the box with all my thinners, varnishes, and cleaning tools. As you can see, I use the boxes without lids, repurposing them as trays which come in useful when testing new paints for my channel for example. This keeps everything together and makes it easy to pack away, freeing up valuable desk space in seconds. Feel free to share your favourite storage hacks in the comments below.

My PC desk & shelfing unit

Next to the hobby space, I’ve got a second desk for my PC, but theoretically, you could fold up the extraction system, lower the table to a standard height, and set up a laptop there. However, as a creator and for home office use, I need the extra space.

Here, on the large screen, I edit videos and photos, review the latest Warhammer releases for Tale of Painters, and create my hand-painted colour swatches, which now cover all the major paint ranges. For maximum accuracy, my monitor is calibrated to the same colour temperature as my camera and LED lights. Naturally, I double-check each colour by eye, ensuring that my swatches are compatible with each other, so you can convert colours between different paint ranges. When I’m not working on swatches or content, I like to unwind with some games here, mostly boomer shooters and Metroidvanias.

You’ll recognise the shelf opposite my desks as the background from my YouTube videos. It’s actually the „Platsa“ wardrobe system from IKEA. The version with 40cm depth also does fantastic as a shelving unit. It gives me extra storage space for things like my terrain collection and primers. To turn the IKEA Platsa into a display cabinet, I used plastic tracks for terrarium construction and combined them with cut-to-size acrylic glass sheets I ordered from a specialised online shop.

This shelf also houses my second photography setup, where I take my cinematic miniature photos. I clamp my LED panels here and use additional RGB lights – modularity is key when space is tight.

I hope these insights into my hobby room have helped you to optimise your hobby setup. A comfortable and ergonomic workspace will make your hobby experience significantly more enjoyable. Be sure to check out my YouTube video above, where I show you the rest of my man cave and give you an overview of my current favourite paints, brushes, and tools.

Feel free to leave a reaction, or drop a comment below, I’m also happy to answer any questions on our friendly hobby Discord server. Thanks a lot, and happy hobbying!