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It takes time and a lot of work to make a house feel like home. But I’m getting there. I haven’t stopped being busy ever since we moved to our new farmhouse. One of my favorite things has been turning our basement into a fully functional workshop. In LA we put our power tools in the garage, but I always felt guilty about using them because of the noise. Over here I can make as much noise as I want. So exciting!
I never had a basement before but there is something special about being underground. Down here I feel calm, focused, and inspired. That must be how some small animals feel when they retreat underground during the Winter.
I love the primitive aspect of this room. Even though it’s strong and solid and it has no issues, it isn’t visually perfect. It’s like the inside of a human body. From this place I can see all of our house organs (heater machine, oil tank…), the veins and arteries (wires, pipes…). Here is where the real heart of our house is, literally.
This place reminds me of the houses that I grew up in Cuba. They were ugly but my Mom had her own way to make them beautiful. All it took her was a brush, some paint, and a bit of imagination (plus tons of plastic flowers, she loved them!). As soon as I saw this place I decided that it was going to be my little Cuba. Just like my Mom used to do in the past, I took a brush and started painting on some of the walls.
I also installed lots of new lights. The floor was unfinished when we arrived here (there was just gravel) but our contractor finished it with concrete. Then I painted it with a great water proof material for concrete. A white floor makes such a great difference!
I love power tools! My collection started up in LA. Every time my brother came from Florida to do work in our house, we bought something new. Before I knew it we had a whole collection with the most important tools. Technically, I can build anything with them, such as furniture, frames, boxes… anything.
I can’t wait to see the things that I will create from down here. This will be my second studio, and probably the one where I will spend the most time. The one upstairs is beautiful and perfect, with great views, but sometimes when something is too perfect you feel restricted. You end up worrying more about not staining the rug accidentally (which I already did), than about letting your imagination run wild.
This space has 2 small windows where you can see the backyard. That’s perfect. Sometimes little chipmunks and even birds, look at me from out there. They must be wondering what animal is now living in what it used to be a dark room.
Down here you see my small ceramic kiln. It’s missing the bottom part but I’m planning to put it together soon. We need to install a 220 power outlet for it, and a vent to direct the fumes outside when in use.
Below you can see many more pictures.
I really enjoyed painting the mural below. Those hands will remind me to use mine creatively. For painting this and the other blue flowers, I used these tiny Benjamin Moore paint sample bottles. You can find them almost everywhere where paint is sold. A single bottle goes a long way!
The table down here is an improvisation. I found a set of folding legs in our shed so I placed an old door on top of them and voilà! Now I have a strong support for smaller power tools.
I hope that you enjoyed seeing my basement workshop as much as I enjoy spending time over there. Now back to work!
Have a wonderful day!
Elsita 🙂
Elsa, Absolutely beautiful work space!
Thanks, Daria! 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
absolutely lovely!
Glad you liked it, Rae! 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
This is simply wonderful!
I loved what you wrote about being underground and comfortable, like a little animal.
I often fantasize about work spaces.. now I have a new set of images for my mental studio library.
Thanks for sharing, I can’t wait to see what you create in this lovely atmosphere.
Warmly,
Susan
Thanks, Susan!
Being underground is truly special.
I’m drawn to that place like a magnet.
I wonder if we associate the feeling of being underground with some deep memory about being in our Mother’s womb.
Maybe there is a connection over there 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
Always inspiring, Elsita. Thank you 🙂
Thanks, Theresa! 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
Thanks for posting all the photos! Your paintings make it a wonderful space!
You’re welcome, Ellen! 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
The only thing missing is the couch I used to sleep on in your studio in Los Angeles. I used to love being out there at night surrounded by your art-making stuff. Even the shadows in the middle of the night weren’t scary because I got used to all of the tables covered completely and just how every served a purpose.
Oh, Joan, the couch!
We left it in LA 🙁
It’s funny because Natalie said that we should get a couch for the basement here.
I would be happy sleeping down there anytime! Even on the floor 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
Wow! I love your comment about going underground like an animal feeling safe and about house’s organs. You always see the positive and beauty in everything. Thank you.
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Thanks for your comment, Jeannette! 🙂
Elsa Mora recently posted..My Basement Workshop.
Beautiful space – look forward to seeing what you create from there.
Thank you for sharing your experience and your images of your additional basement studio. It will be such fun working and creating in this fun space with all your art surrounding you. Keep going and keep creating and best of all keep sharing. That’s what life is all about.
I love your workshop! Can hardly wait to see the rest of the house, and your future creations! Thank you for sharing!
Oh God,that’s really amazing!!!Congratulations,Elsa
Qué precioso lugar! No dan ganas de salir de allí!
Es muy importante que nuestro lugar de trabajo sea un ambiente bello y confortable, impulsa nuestra inspiración para seguir haciendo cosas increíbles, como lo son todos tus trabajos. Un saludo!
this is the most beautiful basement I have ever seen.
What a beautiful and happy place!
your workspace is wonderful
so creative and refreshing
you have done a beautiful job with it!
wishing you a grand time in there.
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I think that is the most beautiful basement i have EVER seen #basementenvy 🙂
This is absolutely stunning E! I’m super jealous that you have such a big space to be creative. I can’t wait to see all the fabulous stuff you do down there. Best of luck and enjoy! 🙂
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Elsa I read this first thing this morning and it inspired me so much I have now spent 6 hours clearing out our garage!! 🙂 This is such a great space – I totally agree about perfection making things feel restricted – I just can’t wait to see what you will do!
What a beautiful place to work.
Love, love, love your basement working place! Do I see another kiln besides the ceramic one? For glass/email work?
I wish I could turn my room in the basement as a workshop too, but I can’t, as the wall soaks up the water from the surroundings and the proprietor doesn’t want to do something about it 🙁
Best wishes!
Wow, that space is so exciting! The pictures made my hands itch with wanting to make things there. Oh, how I love that basement, and dream of visiting you there some day…
It is so great to have a proper place to work! I draw and paint wherever I find enough space to put my things down… but there is a room in the back of the house, waiting to be mucked out. In the fall, when the garden doesn’t draw all the attention the kids leave over, maybe… Anyway, I envy you 🙂 Enjoy your gorgeous workspace!
¡Qué bueno que tu estudio ha cobrado forma! Sé muy bien a lo que te refieres con lo de los espacios “perfectos” y el efecto inmobilizante que a veces tienen sobre el proceso creativo. Yo misma descubrí (por pura casualidad) que me resulta más fácil mantenerme productiva & concentrada en espacios diminutos, con paredes blancas, sin distracciones visuales, etc. Ojalá que pases muchas horas de creatividad ininterrumpida en tu sótano de maravillas, inspirada por la belleza bruta de sus imperfecciones, y en la compañía de espíritus amistosos.
Truly unique, warm and inspiring space.
Wow!! very wonderful basement work place I ever seen. It is look like living house. No different at all. I have this way which would be great and sure it is very important to us for decorating our work place look like house. People will be surprise.
What’s happening, excellent online site you have here
What a beautiful view. I imagined myself having a basement workshop like yours. I keep on wondering how I’ll be able to decor it.
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This workplace is stunning.
Very beautiful place, I have a friend who works as a model on https://firecams.com/, her place of work is almost the same. She is an artist herself,but also just likes to earn money as a model.
I also know a friend who works at https://www.chatsexocam.com/en/ and her workplace is spectacular. She always worked from her house and it looks like a very homely and special place.
Basements have extra space for home maker . basements made for extra luggage and other privacy. in basement one person do their work easily.
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My favorite part of the article is where you mentioned that you feel focused and inspired while working in the basement. It gave me an idea to turn it into a workstation where I can study for my online classes without any distractions. Maybe I can ask my parents if we can hire contractors and have them remodel the space.
Great Post! This post is very helpful to buy workshop tools. Thanks for sharing such a amazing post.