It occurred to me during some passive rambling thinking recently that English uses the same root word for two types of rooms, studios and studies. It’s the Latin word “studium”:
studium -i n. [zeal , eagerness, application, enthusiasm; devotion to, goodwill towards a person or cause; application to learning, study].
The two words are pretty different in definition/intention, however; a study is quiet, a place of cloistering, of absorbing knowledge and thinking — it fits the “application to learning” and “study” part of the definition.
study: [noun] a room used or designed for reading, writing, or academic work.
A studio, on the other hand, indicates a more creative and active space, probably drawing from the “zeal, eagerness, application” part of the definition.
studio: [noun] a room where an artist, photographer, sculptor, etc., works.
The interesting dichotomy that then jumped out at me is that a study is where you absorb and learn, and a studio is where you emanate and practice. But both are places where you interact with your brain and engage in the very human pursuits of knowledge and expression.
These are spaces that some people never care to seek or make for themselves, that some people want and put together one or the other of them depending on their hobbies and personality, and that still others create and make use of both. So some combine them, some make a corner of a room a makeshift study or studio, and some keep spaces outside of their homes for this purpose. I would personally love a combined version, which I’m sort of working on right now in a small and simple way for my small and simple current house; we just bought some furniture for a reading nook in the “office” room of our place. Pictures of this coming soon…
For now, enjoy a view of Jay Walker’s incredible library, the most spectacular private library and personal museum I’ve ever seen.
