My New YouTube Space – DIY Style

Making time to make my new YouTube space has been something I have wanted t get done for some time now, I just didn’t really know how to go about doing it. That is until now! A few weeks ago, I joined a free challenge to improve my YouTube game. And one of the first things I noticed was the backdrop in one of the presenter’s feed.

Ok, don’t pay attention to her face. I wasn’t trying to caputre that. But look behind her. The shelves, and the things on the shelves. I was so focused on that and thought…..hmmmmm…….that would be cool to have…..

And I could see myself here, and making a talking head video with all of my horsey things on the shelves behind me. This is an easy fix for a background, or so I thought.

So I decided to makeover my YouTube studio, aka my basement.

You Gotta Start Somewhere

First things first, I had to move everything that I have been storing in front of my backdrop for my studio background.

These are all things that I have been putting downstairs to sell on eBay. Out of sight out of mind right? Yeah, but I really need to get these things listed for sale on eBay. So I moved all of this stuff over to my husband’s side of the basement. Sorry Dale.

He also has a YouTube channel, blog, and also a podcast. But he hasn’t been doing a lot with his space lately. So right now, it’s a catchall for my stuff.

The Wall

Right now, my background has just been a tapestry I hung up on the wall. And I have a lot of them to change things up. But I want to up my YouTube game, so the wall tapestries need to go, and be replaced with something more substantial. These tapestries have gotten my channel to over 20,000 subscribers, and I want to grow that subscriber count even higher.

I also removed all of my online horse show ribbons, and took them out to the barn. I spend so much time out in the barn, I decided to hang them out there, where I can really enjoy them.

I also had a ladder shelf that my daughter really liked, so I thought why not give it to her? I don’t need it, and her and her husband would probably appreciate it. And it gets it out of my basement. Oops! I mean out of my ‘studio’.

Getting Some Shelves

Next I had to find something that would be the backdrop for my studio. And like the picture above, I decided to go with some shelving units. I chose white, because the white will light up the space, and look nice while providing some extra storage.

I really wanted IKEA Billy book cases, but I have no idea when IKEA is going to reopen. I keep looking online, but I haven’t seen any official word on them reopening. So I found something to work from Walmart, and they were a little less expensive too. Oh, and they delivered them to my home for free, in 2 days. I really like that.

Building the shelves was pretty easy too, it was just very repetitious.

And once they were built, I found a few knick knacks to put on the shelves. And presto change-o! I have a back drop for my videos.

I like this much better.

It looks good, clean and neat.

Next – Lighting

But the backdrop isn’t the only thing. It’s important, yes, but in order to see it, I had to get the lighting right. And I’m not sure if you have ever tried to set up lights, but it’s not easy. You don’t want the lights too bright. But you don’t want to cast shadows either.

So a little bit of practice to get it just right. A few of the lights I bought a long time ago from Amazon.

They work great, and were very affordable.

I bought a ring light too.

My New YouTube Space

Ring lights are really popular with beauty channels. But they also work great for other channels too. But having accent lighting can help keep the shadows away too.

And even if you don’t have light’s like these, you can play around with the lighting you do have to make it work. Or you can DIY some lights too. There are lots of video’s showing you how to make your own lights.

Seating

Since I will be sitting for most of the videos down here, I had to find a seat right? So I made use a long bench that we use at family holiday gatherings. It’s nice to have, and it works well for a seat.

There’s no back, so I have to sit up straight (no slouching) in videos right?

I also made use of a desk that we had, just in case I needed it for close ups, or putting something on.

Total Cost for my Homemade YouTube Studio

All in, I spent $225.00. Not to shabby right? I bought some things to put on my shelves, as well as the book cases.

The photo frames I already had, because I have a surplus of Dollar Tree frames. I always buy picture frames when I shop at the Dollar Tree because well, I will use them! I am just waiting for my pictures from Snapfish to come, so I can put the pictures in their frames. They aren’t the most awesome quality, but they are cheap at around a nickle a print.

I also put some tape on the floor once I determined the best place for the camera to go. By marking the floor, I don’t have to waste time figuring out where to set up the camera. I can get it perfect after I take my camera outside to do some filming.

I had everything else already, I just repurposed the things to make my studio.

My New YouTube Space

This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time. And I was finally able to do it. I think the difference is awesome. We shall see if YouTube (and the viewers) feel the same way!

If you are reading this because you are trying to come up with your own YouTube studio, hopefully this will help you in your own journey to make your own backdrop for your channel. It’s not difficult really, it just takes some work, and changing things up to find what works best for you, and the videos you are producing.