Our basement has a utility area that had a big workbench in it, next to a washer, dryer and a shower. I built my first two guitars there.
Here it is.
It worked out ok, because it had to, but it was far from adequate.
Around the corner from this space, was a big room. In the far corner of it, ever since we first moved in, 8 years ago, has been my "office." But in reality, it's been more like a "mound." My junk was starting to get piled there. And on the near side of the mound was my 8-yr-old son's "area." Another mound.
Well, it took a lot of planning and shuffling stuff around, and a yard sale or two. But I've finally got it configured in a way that I can be happy with. Last summer, I did some 3-D drawings to see if I could make it work, with furniture I already had or could make, for free.
This would be my assembly/setup/french polish area. I also wanted play music in there and listen to tunes.
My son's mound was completely extracted. Then I built a wall across the basement and put an antique door in the wall. I put a vapor barrier on the studs before hanging drywall. I did all this in December. I put the drywall on and hung the door last week. (If I could do this, anybody can do it.)
Here's the outside now.
And here's the door, looking into the office/shop:
Views of the four walls:
(I wasn't planning on having the power tools be in there, they have just been sitting there temporarily so I could clean them up. btw, that POS ryobi saw is leaving my life soon, and forever!)
And out in the garage I have another area for sawdust making stuff:
It was getting to the point where there would be days when I didn't feel like working on anything, because I would have to shuffle too much stuff around in order to even work on it. I still don't have much space, but it feels good to have carved out this small one.
I have a heater in there, as well as a small humidifier. In the spring I'll be getting a dehumidifier, and we'll see how that whole struggle goes. Before, the basement could feel so drafty, 15 degrees or more cooler than the upstairs, but installing the wall, even without insulation, has helped out in that regard, tons.