The BIG Reveal! Basement Craft Room Makeover

It’s here! It’s finally time to reveal my BIG Basement Craft Room Makeover!

(This is post 1 of 2. See post 2 here.)

Do you remember the BEFORE pictures that I posted last month? Here’s a reminder.

Those wood-paneled walls made a cluttered craft area seem more cramped.

With a little paint and some help from Fabric.com, this room has a FRESH new look!

(I’ll be back tomorrow to share more about the actual sewing projects, but here’s a brief overview.)

Ta-da! Isn’t that better?

Let’s recap this basement craft room makeover!

The Walls

To cover the walls, I envisioned a few options. Since we’re renting our home and don’t own these walls, I thought covering them in fabric might be an option. Either making some loose and billowy muslin drapes or using starch to stick the fabric to the walls like a removable wallpaper. (I found instructions on Pinterest.)

The reasons I opted against the fabric were A) I worried about drapes collecting cat hair, fabric lint and threads, and B) I worried about them covering our vents and being a fire hazard this winter. Bummer. So I researched what it would take to cover these faux wood paneled walls in paint. I hemmed and hawed over the decision for several weeks, and with our landlord’s blessing, I starting priming the walls.

I bought 4 cans of Zinsser Cover Stain Primer, and used almost all of it. Two coats on all the walls with special attention to the cracks, and they looked so good I almost considered leaving them primed white. I also primed a big part of the ceiling, because the drop-down vent cover and a pole in the middle of the room was covered in paneling.

I painted three walls with Sherwin Williams HGTV Home in a light grey, and left the ceiling and one accent wall (near the stairs) primed white. I think this will be my favorite spot to set up photo shoots!

Here’s my new view from the sewing desk! Much brighter, cleaner and more organized. I feel like I actually want to be in the my sewing space, which is a huge improvement!

I hope this post inspires you (as my new sewing room now inspires me) that you don’t need a lot of money to transform a room in your home! I used all of the furniture and antiques that I already had, and spiffed them up with fabric to make them work in this space!

I estimate that the paint, primer and brushes cost me a total of $138, and most of the projects (aside from the wire shelving cover) require 2 yards of less of fabric.

In fact, here’s a wall that’s just screaming for some more fabric! This will be my next area to tackle, as far as adding some bright pops of color. I used to have my fat quarters folded neatly in this cabinet, but I realized that I am just too busy to re-fold my fabrics after I take them out to consider them for a project. So into the color-sorted bins they go! I do like to keep my favorite pre-cuts out on the step ladder or on my big quilt ladder, changing them out from time to time.

I’m really in love with my workstation, which is an L-shaped desk I got on Craigslist a couple years ago for $30 paired with the IKEA desk turned cutting table. I put up some clipboards on the wall that I plan to use to keep W.I.P.s like blocks and fabric swatches off my desk, yet in plain sight.

The Fabric

You can check out my Pinterest board to see direct links to all of the fabrics I used in this space. One thing I really enjoy about shopping at Fabric.com is the design wall feature, which lets you save all of your favorites to one screen so you can picture them all today!

Disclaimer: I received free fabric from Fabric.com for all of these projects, but was not otherwise compensated. All opinions are my own and were not influenced in any way.

Thanks for checking out my Craft Room Makeover!

Wanna see details of the sewing and fabric projects I made for the space? Check them out here!