Sewing studio flooring question
 

I am thinking of turning a large space in my basement into a sewing room/studio.

Right now it is a plain basement (concrete floor and block walls). I will be putting drywall on the walls and LED lights in for plenty of artificial light, but I am curious what your opinions are on the flooring.

I was originally thinking carpet (very flat sort of like indoor/outdoor) for warmth, but then I was thinking maybe laminate or pergo or something for ease of cleanup and chair rolling etc.

What do you think would be the best option, keeping in mind comfort and ease of cleaning?

I keep waffling back and forth.

Thanks!

I prefer carpeting. I found out that chairs on wood flooring move too easily when I was sewing.

Good point. I live in Wisconsin, but the house is heated, including the basement (even though it is still cooler down there). Think painting is still an option?

Maybe paint and then an area rug where my iron is?

I wouldn't use carpet. I have an almost white linoleum (or maybe its vinyl) flooring in my sewing area. It is easy to see everything on the floor, fabric scraps, thread bits, fluff, dropped pins, etc. And it has no small crevices for things to hide in. More important it's easy to clean, just a quick sweep with a broom or a damp mop. My sewing room might be messy but the floor looks fabulous.

I don't find my floor cold although I do wear slippers during the winter.

I like my low pile carpet. I live in Mi and it provides warmth with my cement basement floor. No problems with moving my chair around. Somewhat difficult to pick up dropped pins though.😀

We just finished our basement also. 24 x 16. It is cooler in winter so I put a electric fireplace down there. Only takes a few minutes to warm up. To be honest I only turned it on a few times. Once you get busy you warm up. I went with lamante flooring because I'm always dropping pins and they hurt when you get pricked by them. Also the threads stick to carpet and really hard to vacuum. Just my thoughts.

When I bought this house I had all the carpet replaced with Pergo, a laminate. I have a number of area rugs, but the sewing/quilting room is all laminate, and I really like it that way. It's easier to find pins, easier to clean. But it doesn't get really cold here, and you need to factor that into your decision.

I had a basement at one time, and it had moisture problems. Carpet down there was NOT a good idea. When it got damp it smelled of mildew - had to rip it out. Hopefully your basement is better sealed than mine was.

Keep the cement floor. The options available for treating cement are amazing now and beautiful. It's easy to etch lines for any design in the cement and then paint and seal. Look at pictures of cement floors online. Use nice office floor mat for under your chair and a cushioned floor mat for your ironing board area.

If the concrete is in good shape, I'd acid stain in a light color and seal. Inexpensive, durable and beautiful. A few area rugs for color and warmth and to keep your chair from traveling too quickly.

Interesting question. My sewing space is in a walkout basement space. It has carpet-very low loft and I really like it. It is easy on the legs when I am standing for cutting and pressing (and doing my ironing). I have an office mat under my sewing machine area and my office style chair rolls around easily. Most of the pins I drop are on the office mat and I use a hand held magnet wand to pick them up. It is easy to vacuum and we use a hand held brush to pick up threads.

I would use a fairly flat carpet. I have laminate in my sewing room & find my chair rolls around when I am quilting.

I'm in an apt. with low pile carpeting in my sewing room. I hate the carpeting! Back problems make it difficult to roll the chair and stool without a lot of effort. I've tried putting larger casters on both and it hasn't worked. I would not put carpeting in there.

Maybe carpet where you'll be standing a lot like a thick area rug that you can easily remove if it gets wet. Sit in your chair and see how easily you can move. not very or too easy like if you cough you're sailing across the room.

The chair floor mats used in offices are a must for any type flooring. Repetitious movement of the chair will scar the floor over time.

We re-did our basement last year and that's where my sewing room is now. We went with epoxy floors. They painted the floors and then added sprinkles. It's really easy to keep clean with a swiffer. I'd be afraid carpet would hold onto a lot of threads and snippets. I do need a clear plastic floor protector under my chair though, as the rolling chair was starting to make marks on the floor.

I would avoid shag or high loft carpeting.

We bought a carpet remnant that was meant for high traffic commercial areas - it has held up well for over 20 years.

Getting a bit tired of it, but it shows no traffic or chair wear at all.

We had a short napped carpet and it was impossible to keep clean. We went to laminate flooring and we love it! It's from Lowe's. We have 2 office chairs and three 8 foot tables and 2 recliners and nothing has left a mark. (including cat accidents). I'm sure other big chain stores also carry good quality.

My thoughts exactly. And if it happens to flood down there, cement is easiest and cheapest to clean. We had laminate in our kitchen for 10 years and it was durable and easy to clean, but to drop something on it is so loud! A penny, a pair of scissors, a roll of tape, a ruler, and let's not get me started on the dog's nails. And laminate can be slippery. Cement has a bit more traction.

Wow ladies! Thank you so much for the responses~!

I do not typically have a moisture problem down there, but then again, one never knows. I do run a dehumidifier, though, just to keep it smelling nice and not stale or musty.

I can see where the no-carpet decision would be good just for the clean-up factor, but can appreciate the carpet for the warmth and quietness.

I did go and look at the acid etched and they are indeed beautiful. I looked online and I can probably do my entire room for less than a few hundred dollars. Amazing idea, thanks!

As a side note: We painted the concrete patio with the epoxy paint and sprinkles, and what a difference in heat retention. We live in So Cal where it can get HOT, and the patio gets sun most of the day. The sidewalk around the patio is unpainted and the concrete with the paint (light blue) is at least 10 degrees cooler. The room going out to the patio seems cooler too, once we painted it.

I have had a painted floor in my basement sewing room for 10 years or so. But I do not live in an area with cold winters and moisture is not an issue.

I am in the process of converting my exh's office into a long arm room. I ripped up the carpet and plan to put down vinyl plank with the underlay that is often used under laminate under it. I will have anti fatigue mats in front of the long arm machine.

Personally I would not have carpet in my sewing room, I sew barefoot and do not want to worry about stepping on pins. I also hate having to cut threads off the vacuum cleaner.

My sewing rooms have always been in the basement. Concrete floors aren't the best on the legs - mine get achy mighty quick right now, as carpet hasn't been laid yet. Carpeting adds warmth to the room, and keeps it from sounding "hollow", as pergo and laminates do. I love carpet in my sewing rooms. We don't have water problems in our basement, so no worries there.

I found these carpet tiles at Home Depot http://www.homedepot.com/p/Versatile...T001/203051709 and fell in love with them. As far as I'm concerned, it's like having a scrappy quilt on the floor! Added bonus, they're 2x2 feet, so if you've got to lay out a quilt, you've pretty much got a built-in ruler. They've gotten rave reviews on the site, and there are tons of pics that people have posted in the reviews. The floors look fabulous. At $1/SF, you can't beat the price. I was blessed with a large area in this basement - about 480 SF, so $500 to carpet the room sure beats the $1500-2000 it was going to cost! I'm going to buy an extra box for those moments when I spill glue, paint or other assorted liquids. Just peel up the square and lay a new one.

I've emptied out my sewing room (except for the LA machine, which still has a quilt on it) and DH is going to start painting the cinder block walls this weekend. The carpet tiles are on order! I'll post a pic once it's finished :)

Lowe's sells a vinyl plank called Smartcore - 100% waterproof which means if it gets wet, it does not swell, discolor, rot etc. Installation is click together, can be cut with a utility knife, but is solid enough that it will not show grout lines/texture if installed over tile or sheet vinyl.
We used it in a basement bath and plan to do the entire basement in it.
I am a barefoot gal, and love the feel of it underfoot, it has a woodgrain texture.
My sewing room is not downstairs, but I really like this flooring.

this sounds great--once removing basement carpet and replacing flooring rolls around on home repair list, I'll check it out. I long arm in basement and would like to get rid of the office grade carpet--too many threads and hate having to cut them from vacumn brush! currently use laminate in sewing room with floor protector under chair and a anti-fatigue mat in front of cutting table. I keep a white throw rug under the ironing board to keep the quilts clean and grab the threads.

I would HAVE to have padding of some kind underfoot. Too much time on my feet and my back starts groaning and my plantar faciitis starts burning. We replaced the carpet in our family room several years ago. We got the best pad with a middle-of-the-road carpet. I can definitely tell the difference between the different grades of pads in our house when I walk in that room.

I've heard that there's a bamboo wood flooring that you can install with a pad or something somewhat squishy underfoot, it's not as hard as wood or concrete. No idea if it's warmer, though.

I added electric baseboard heat to keep warm only when I am there, and a dehumidifier to control the moisture and protect my machines and fabric, I do have a throw rug in front of my ironing board, but my chairs roll freely and I live in my bare feet. Love my light vinyl floor to sweep and reflect light.

My studio had a concrete floor and I added a vinyl floor covering. It has a little cushion to it and is easy to clean. Also, it looks like tile and has surprised many of my friends. I am very pleased with my vinyl and highly recommend it.

I thought your post was cute...my current sewing space is a little disarray but I also keep my floor clean. LOL

Flooring
 

I struggled for a year regarding flooring in my sewing room. I had a concrete floor also and decided on carpet tiles and I love them. I installed them myself with a total cost of just over $500. I didn't want padding and this works great for me, not using a chair mat at the sewing area and my chair moves fine but doesn't roll when I'm sewing. Doesn't leave marks on floor when I pull out the Horn sewing table and I also like that. Good luck with your decision and hope what you choose works well for you.

We installed the Home Depot version (Allure) of this product in our dining room. I love it. Don't know about the Lowe's brand, but the Allure brand has 2 grades. The higher grade/price option - which still isn't that bad - is 100% waterproof and has a lifetime warranty. Goes together just as QuiltingVagabond's did. I, too, love this flooring and will have to check out the Lowe's version as we're looking to install in the bedroom as well.

In my sewing room I have real hardwood flooring (that part of house is 200+ ys) but I also have an area rug under my cutting table for both comfort and noise reduction.

Will be doing the area rug in the DR if I can ever find one I like that I'm willing to spend the $$ for and also for bedroom when we do that room. We'll probably eventually do the LR with this vinyl plank flooring as well. Highly recommend it.

I agree with keeping the cement floor. My basement is huge, 10 foot ceilings and very dry. It is unfinished, heated and my spot to sew and exercise. Would love to have it finished. I would have the floors stained to a beautiful marble look. My H is not to fond of home improvement. He sorta thinks that you do things 1 time and that should be that!

Since I use a spare bedroom as my sewing room, it was carpeted. A couple years ago, it was time to be replaced. I went to the shop and I told the owner what room it was for and what my concerns were - dropping scissors,iron, etc, for dents primarily. He recommended a vinyl plank that looks like wood. We did the prep work, and he installed it - took half a day! Every piece of furniture that went back in the room, has felt pads on its feet. Under the sewing table, I bought a large office desk floor protector from Staples. I did have an area rug that I put under the bed, and the ironing board sits on it, in case I do something stupid like knock down a hot iron. I love the floor, it's easy to maintain - dust mop or vacuum. I look at it and wonder what other room it can go in!

DH recently remodeled our unfinished basement and I got a finished quilt room. We live in Michigan so have similar conditions. Moisture is the first issue to deal with. Not a real issue in our sandy location. A vapor lock subfloor and vinyl planking and that equals a happy quilter! I love being in my quilt room.

I have carpet in my sewing room - and I am constantly thinking about replacing it with laminate flooring. I am not in a basement. Even though the carpet is a pale color, I still cannot see dropped pins on it! And cleaning up threads is a nightmare! Until I can decide to actually do it (I hate the thought of moving all that STUFF), DH suggested and we bought one of those laminate office chair floor protectors from the well known office supply place so my chair at least rolls well. Bottom line, I would go with laminate floors unless you have a moisture issue.

I also would go with the vinyl - plank or not. These products have improved so much over the past decade or so - if you haven't looked at them might want to shop a bit. Quieter and softer than laminate. I've been in the apartment business for years, and we have gone with this type of product with great success.

I have carpet in my sewing room and don't care for it. Living in Kansas I sewed in the basement without doing anything at all to the cement floor. It worked there, but maybe not in your cooler climate. I would try an area rug before installing carpet.

I like solid surface floors better in general because I'm allergic to dust, but I've worked on both without problems. For the carpeting, I just took an old broom handle & duck taped one of those magnetic pin cushions to it & used it as my pin/needle collector.

If you do go with solid surface floors, the one thing I haven't seen anyone mention yet is an Anti-fatigue mat for your cutting/ironing station(s). So worth the money & these days you can even get them in colors.

Cement is COLD! I live in Canada - I insulated my basement floor With DRIcore, then put laminate down. I love it. I don't like carpet in sewing rooms - hard to clean (threads stick to it), and pins land point up where you can step on them. Pins on laminate lie flat, so even if you miss picking it up, it doesn't imbed itself in your foot when you step on it.