Basement Sewing Space

What have I got to show you?

Last year, our water softener went haywire and flooded part of our basement because our floor drain backed up.

Fortunately, we have insurance for sewer backup, so after a little angst, we got it all cleaned up and had new carpet installed.

That room is what I would call semi-finished. It has carpeting and some drywall, but also some areas that are straight-up 1950s basement, complete with concrete walls that probably shouldn't ever have been painted, since now the paint is flaking off.

We had to move all of the stuff we were storing in there so that they could put in the carpet. Dee and I talked about it. She said, why not just make that your sewing cutting area and storage space? It already has closets.

I said, "I love you."

So, we did.

Weird closets that I will now stuff with my sewing stuff.

Cutting area. Storage under table for trash, scraps and patterns.

Tunes.

Boomer, plus some storage. (BEFORE)

The Window Solution

Guest appearance by sleeping Boomer.

Let's say you want to set up a semi-permanent photo studio in your basement that has wonderfully-awesome windows. Now, windows are fantastic in a basement. I love them! But, if you want consistent results on your color balance/light levels, you've got to be able to block out light from said windows. Otherwise, you can only shoot at night, and where's the fun in that?

The solution: big ol' pieces of cardboard, custom-cut (sort of) to block off the windows.

Annoyed by my cardboard cutting, Boomer abandoned me.

Because NOTHING lets the neighbors know that you're normal and everything's fine like covering your windows with cardboard, I left mine removable. I pop them in when I need them and stash them under the futon when I don't need them. Spiderweb removal is a gross, but unavoidable simultaneous task.

Basement Studio

So, I finally went from this: 

To this:

This:

and this:

Yes, Boomer is my constant companion in the basement!