Rebecca,
Welcome. You have a very unique situation in that you can actually design
a workshop from scratch. I was in a similar situation when I moved my
workshop from home to a store. One thing I had learned from working at
home is that I wanted everything within reach. No more moving from one
room to another in order to complete different tasks. I have about the
same space you will. It’s more that you’ll need to start out. I set up my
space in a “U” shape. I built the 4’ workbench in the back of Tim
McCreights “The Complete Metalsmith”, and that is one leg of the “U”. To
the left of that is an 8’ table height bench that my contractor built out
from the wall. On that is my pickle(crock) pot and my soldering tools
(when not in use). The center of the bench is workspace (when I clean it
off) for doing bead stringing, etc. The security monitor is also on this
bench. The other leg of the “U” is a 4’ computer table (piled high with
papers) with my computer(of all things). Across from the open end of the
"U" is a file cabinet. A chair on wheels in the center and everything is
within reach. The rest of the space is used to store all of the clutter I
collect. Someday I’ll organize and set up a real polishing station. For
now everything is done at my bench.
The down side of this efficient workcenter is that I’ve gained about 15
lbs since I opened the store, because I spend most of my day in that chair
in the center.
Good luck, and hope this helps.
Sharon Ziemek