The Basement Workroom.

This room was downright frightening. The spider population outnumbered Clever Gal's entire village. The little window looks out on the landscape under the deck. Gross! That needed to be hidden for sure. Although, the cats from the previous owner didn't seem to mind the view. The wall under the window and the wooden sill were completely scratched up and needed a couple layers of spackle to smooth them out. However, all in all, this was a pretty easy job. Just lots of cleaning and gallons of paint. Then decorating. Clever Gal's huge collection of leftover stuff came in handy and she was able to make use of several pieces that no longer went anywhere else in the house. The Clever Gal Mum also donated some fun tropical fabric.

BEFORE

AFTER

This room now has more function than all the rest of the rooms in the house combined. Sewing room, pottery and craft table, workshop, storage closet and display space. I love the room so much, sometimes I almost want to sleep down there.

This is the pottery and craft table and a place to sit and contemplate the next project. The cheapie Ikea table ($49.00) is very sturdy and I covered the top with artist canvas so the pottery clay won't stick.

The frames on the wall are another project that is only half completed. The frames were all just lying around the house empty so I decided to make use of them. The top left one is now a cork board. The bottom right is fabric with a thin layer of batting behind it and crisscrossed ribbons tacked at the intersecting points to hold cards and photos and things. The frame on the top right will be a chalk board and the bottom left one will be a magnet board, as soon as I figure out how to get a piece of metal to fit the frame! 

Sewing station and storage galore! The storage still needs doors on the two right cabinets and in front of the open area on the left. The middle two cabinets are for displaying my pottery.  The open part of the closet leads to a storage area behind the cabinets for big stuff like suitcases and my craft supply carts.

One day I hope to paint the red sewing table legs like bamboo or something to match the room. Perhaps that will have to wait till next winter...

And THIS is the workshop area! I love my tools. They're displayed so well. Easy access and beautiful to look at. (Or is it just me who thinks that tools in a row are pretty?)

I made the workshop "rug" out of peel and stick tiles stuck to artist canvas instead of directly on the floor so that it's removable. The rug makes it easy to sweep up the sawdust by stopping it from collecting between the floor boards.

And can I just say, it's amazing what new lighting can do to a room! I changed the icky old incandescent ceiling fixture to a simple little 5-light halogen track light and it was the best change of all!