I'm just about to go into business for the first time and it's not really practical or affordable for me to rent commercial space. I'm planning to convert my spare bedroom into my shop, and use the attached bathroom as a darkroom.
Is this an appropriate solution? Will it be feasible to keep all of my equipment in my living space? I plan to cover the carpet with something to protect it and put fans into the windows to help with fumes. Are there any problems with this configuration that I'm not anticipating?
Also, it will be difficult to ventilate my darkroom (bathroom). Will my darkroom chemicals have bad fumes? If so, how should I do this?
It depends on your location. If you are in the USA in an incorporated city you are probably not performing to code.
Generally, you are allowed to operate a home based business using a single room in your house and not doing any kind of manufacturing. This varies by city so check your code.
From the chemical standpoint, you probably are not allowed to flush them in the sewer system.
You are generally not allowed to create excess traffic on a residential street nor are you allowed to use excessive utilities. It is possible that increased use of water/gas/electricity/trash will cause a visit from your friends at the utility and they will reclassify your account to a business rate or just plain old cut you off.
Finally, you cannot create a nuisance so if weird smells, noise, etc. emanate from your residence your neighbors would probably complain.
Region laws set aside, I myslef wouldnt use a bedroom for a workspace. I dont know the size of your room but you will need plenty of space for all your materials, equipment and such. I have a 20x20 work room and with everything in it, I still feel cramped at times.
Not only the space but its messy and you will get ink all over at times.
But thats just me.
The fumes, space, and mess are more specific to what I'm asking. I've already researched local guidelines as far as zoning and stuff. I'll simply be printing the shirts here, there won't be any customers coming or going.
I know that it'll be cramped, but until I move into a new place I just have to make due!
I use my bedroom (not even the spare) for most of my printing...
I'm just doing small runs though, so I guess it really depends on how big of job you're planning to undertake.
I say make what you have work until you're ready to move into something bigger. Binki has some great points though... Stay under the radar and you should be fine.
I'm with MetalVirgin. I make shirts from my spare bedroom. Go with what you can afford, at the end of the day it's the quality you put out. It'll be really awesome when you own your own warehouse one day with lots of machinery and you can look back and say you started printing out of your spare bedroom.
Don't use your bedroom, use your kitchen! Thats what I did for a year or so. I moved so the kitchen is no longer practical though. All jokes aside, it can be a serious pain in the butt depending on how much room you have.
if your bathroom will be your darkroom, I assume you'll use your shower for washing out/reclaiming the screens, I would tape up plastic or something as the reclaiming process will stain your tub or shower pretty bad. As for fumes, if your using plain plastisol there are no fumes as far as ink is concerned, and the clean up checmicals arent really bad either, at least the ones I use.
Will a bedroom work for my shop? 
