I sew in an extra bedroom that I made into a sewing room. Make sure the basement doesn't leak. I store fabric in my basement and run a dehumidifier during the spring, summer & fall. I live in northern MN and it does get humid. In the winter I am lucky as I also burn wood so the basement stays warm. I do cutting and pinning and layout quilts in my basement. I guess the most important thing is a DRY BASEMENT!!