CanoePam

I have had my sewing room in the basement for probably 6 or 8 years now. I love it! Concrete floor means it is easy to sweep up all the thread and fabric snips. Lots of fluorescent lighting. Lots of space. I don't have any natural light, so if I want to match colors I run upstairs or use an Ott light. I do run a dehumidifier but it doesn't do much condensing since it is so dry naturally. I find I get cold more in the spring and fall when the central heat isn't running much, so I have a space heater I turn on when I need to.

I'm looking at moving soon, and I may actually have to use a bedroom for my studio. I am definitely not looking forward to carpeting!

Pam

shrabar

I have my sewing in the basement it is a finish basement . where my sewing room is there is no windows but a lot of lights & I really like it no one gets to see it unless I show it too them.

Sew Freak

I have a sewing room on the main floor and a craft\sewing room in the basement. I really hated the way when I begin a project and the mess just multiplies faster than rabbits. I had my DH make me a room off one corner of the basement and it is a w e s o m e!!!! This was just recently completed so I am taking down stuff I would use in the pre-sewing phase. In other words, my plan is to cut out the majority of patterns and material downstairs to hopefully keep the upstairs room 'relatively' clean. I hate looking at the mess cut pieces and clipped threads make on the floor and I'm not able to clean them up 'relatively' (there's that word again and used as optional in both cases) quickly. I realize we don't all have a basement or if we do, we don't have someone to transform it for us. But if you do....go deep!!! I love my craft\sewing room downstairs! My DH made me a 4x8 formica top (that he made-he glued the formica to particle board) with two storage cubes under to support the top instead of legs. I do have an egress window in this room and three lights, but I want to get long tube lighting. He's made shelving off to one end of the room and on each sided of the egress window there are shelf units approx. 24" wide x 18" deep. He cut a pieced of plywood to put under the window to serve as a shelf and under that he made me another shelving unit that I use to keep supplies in storage boxes I got from Wal-Mart. It is really nice....I love it down there. I have a couple of machine plus a serger down there and I can make my cutting mess and when done, if I have to stop for any reason, I can just walk away and I don't care what it looks likes. Oh..one of the nice bits of this room is the door to it. We got two 12 pane oak framed glass doors at a garage sale for $50.00 and DH used one for my craft room and one for his Man Cave! (awesome!!) (I love getting stuff at gs's) And now for the best part....(drum roll) DH wants to learn how to sew!!!! A W E S O M E....do I say that too much...sorry...but....A W E S O M E!!! He has some things to get finished on main floor (painting, patching) and then we are going to get him started sewing. He's already done some practice stitching on some plaid flannel followin the lines...
oh, we are empty nesters...(can you say 'H E A V E N L Y!!!' )..so this will give him something to do to keep busy....I can't wait...I've been wanting someone to sew with for a long time! My one DD lives a 2hr. round trip away and the other lives in WI. So, 40MPHK9, use up as much basement as you can and enjoy!!!!....oh, I do use a dehumidifier and heater for when it gets too cold. Let us know what you decide and have fun! (don't forget pics!!!)

singerbabe

I moved my sewing room from a second story bedroom to our mostly finished basement six years ago when our youngest son went off to college. Previously he and his buddies had been using the space as a poker/recreation room. There would be up to a dozen of them playing cards at the same time, so they had set up several desks and tables of similar heights so that they could all play one game together. So I had an immediate set up for laying out my quilts to pin. It is a daylight walk-out, but I still need to supplement the overhead lights with a few spot lamps, but that seems to work for me. The biggest problem has been the size of my stash, which has increased to fill my space--LOL! As far as heat, just put on a sweater and enjoy the productivity from being able to work harder without sweating too much! It has also been great in the summer as it's nice and cool down there!

connie d

I think I would take the area with the most space, however I would definitely watch the humidity. I know I would rather be in front of a window but I think space would win out. Good luck and post pictures after so we can see your progress. Welcome to the board from Florida

fireworkslover

I would check out what's available for a hard surface floor covering: laminate plank flooring, cork, vinyl flooring, etc. I have cork tiles in my sewing room on the main floor. You can pick from a bunch of colors- it's not all dark brown like bulletin boards. When we installed a laminate floor in our basement 14 years ago, they at that time said, to not use Pergo. If you ever had water issues, the Pergo would delaminate and be ruined. There are other brands that work - we used Wilsonart. Whatever you choose, I would for sure, not choose carpet.

jenniferlrn

My mom used to sew in the basement and was also toying around with the idea of keeping her sewing room downstairs but then decided after moving all of the computer stuff into the other room that she had my previous bedroom all to herself and she is much more happy now. She has more light and when her joints don't really like the stairs she can stay upstairs and sew to her hearts content. She still has her mid arm downstairs as that is where it has always been.
But back to your question, I am not really sure if I would want to stay downstairs to sew all of the time or not. I really enjoy the natural light that I get from the window and I only really get alot of sun in the late afternoon, so I am blessed with just light natural light for most of the day. I would really miss that light if I was downstairs. But if the sun is not out and it is cloudy, you still have more light then than if you were downstairs anyways. But if you want extra light then I would get some Ott lights they are wonderful to use and give great light to any situation. I would probaly also move the couch and other things, except for the dog bed. You can put the dog in the corner by the sewing machine. Mine likes to sleep under the ironing board, go figure. I would be worried that I would get hit in the head by the iron. Oh well. Hope this helps, was a bit long winded. sorry.

rosebud23323

WOW! what beautiful space you have, I live In VA and we don't have Basements, I wish I did have one
because that would be my sewing room! love the pics,you have a wonderful room to sew in

Bon-bon

stick with the room you like to be in. I could use upstairs rooms for a sewing room, but I wouldn't like being up there! The basement might need a dehumidifier, as usually they are damp. do what is most comfortable for you. Clutter is not bad!

Trish88

Well from my experience......when I had my sewing room in the basement I didnt seem to get much done...for several reasons.....my laundry room was around the corner.....so I did my laundry and always would say okay while thats getting done I will sew...well that didnt work all the time...and then my hubby has our TV/BIG lol around the other corner with exercise equipment....are you getting the picture lol...I had so many obstacles that when I wanted to sew something was always distracting me.....so I thought okay I need my own space with lots of light a window for fresh air and just to see outside from time to time....so I took my daughters room which is a spare room for grandchildren or guests....well let me tell you it was the best thing that ever happened....now I dont hear hubby when those football games are on and hes exercising and grandchildren getting into my threads etc.....so PLEASE do yourself a favor have your own space.....and one very important factor is the temperature of the room not to mention dust and moisture which seems to be in rooms in the basement....which leads to problems with your sewing machines so thats my advice....good luck and have fun doing your own room making it yours........it took me 3 months to get everything the way I want it and Iam still doing things to make it workable is that a word lol......God Bless Trish