Craft room floor ideas and considerations
October 7, 2015 11:40 AM Subscribe
My new house will have a dedicated craft room. (squee!) But the floor is currently carpeted, and I intend to work on messy and incendiary crafts. I think I should probably rip up the carpet -- what should I do with the concrete underneath?
The room is in a basement, and has sufficient ventilation to allow me to pursue jewelry-making and other metalwork type projects. I might even do some wood turning too. I expect there to be dust, chemicals, torches, metal shavings, sawdust, and various other delightful messes.
I'd also like it to be somewhat attractive, in a "this is a working space, but it is well kept" kind of way because the room has french doors and therefore is visible from one of the more public spaces in the house. Here's a shot of the basement, the craft room doors are open in the back. The furniture shown is not mine.
Some options that I've considered are: staining it, painting it, epoxying it, and, if it's already sealed (haven't tested that yet), just leaving it as it is (maybe with a rug? maybe I should have a rug regardless? maybe I shouldn't?).
Other options that I've considered and rejected are: leaving the carpet (dangerous, uncleanable), tiling (expensive, pain in the butt), anything that involves fancy stencils (pain in the butt, not my style)
So, what should I do? I'm looking for other treatments that I haven't thought of, and also some color advice. The basement that it's in has a lot of exposed wood and not a ton of other color so it would be neat to give it a bit of a pop.
The room is in a basement, and has sufficient ventilation to allow me to pursue jewelry-making and other metalwork type projects. I might even do some wood turning too. I expect there to be dust, chemicals, torches, metal shavings, sawdust, and various other delightful messes.
I'd also like it to be somewhat attractive, in a "this is a working space, but it is well kept" kind of way because the room has french doors and therefore is visible from one of the more public spaces in the house. Here's a shot of the basement, the craft room doors are open in the back. The furniture shown is not mine.
Some options that I've considered are: staining it, painting it, epoxying it, and, if it's already sealed (haven't tested that yet), just leaving it as it is (maybe with a rug? maybe I should have a rug regardless? maybe I shouldn't?).
Other options that I've considered and rejected are: leaving the carpet (dangerous, uncleanable), tiling (expensive, pain in the butt), anything that involves fancy stencils (pain in the butt, not my style)
So, what should I do? I'm looking for other treatments that I haven't thought of, and also some color advice. The basement that it's in has a lot of exposed wood and not a ton of other color so it would be neat to give it a bit of a pop.
If I could start all over in my basement shop / craft area I would paint or tile the floor solid white. Easy to sweep, easy to mop, and with a solid color you can more easily find the small tiny little things that you will be constantly dropping.
You could use other colors but if there's any pattern at all it's going to camouflage anything you drop.
posted by bondcliff at 11:52 AM on October 7, 2015 [3 favorites]
You could use other colors but if there's any pattern at all it's going to camouflage anything you drop.
posted by bondcliff at 11:52 AM on October 7, 2015 [3 favorites]
Jesus. What a great space. I am so damn jealous of you right now.
Have you actually seen the floor yet? I absolutely adore the industrial raw look of plain old concrete, with some shine to it. I don't know if that's your style or not but it is so easy to clean, and has a minimalist hip vibe to it. And judging by where you are, it will be cold as hell most of the time. So yeah, if it were me, I would have a plain concrete floor and a nice warm area rug (that will give you the pops of color you're after) that I could roll up and take outside and shake out whenever I wanted to. That's how I would do it. The concrete is just too easy to sweep and looks so good, I couldn't cover it up.
I can't see doing wood turning (on a lathe?) in that space though. I have a lathe and I can't even do it in my giant garage....the mess is insane. I have to take it outside and work in my driveway. Maybe if you had a great ventilation system or vacuum hook up. I know that wasn't actually your question but the clean up is seriously insane with wood turning.
As to color, that's just a personal thing. No color doesn't go with neutrals. If you have room for furniture beyond a desk, chair and shelving, the area rug and a few pillows will give you the color you want. Maybe a few posters on the wall. I'm all about the neutrals- I find them very calming and zenlike. But if you love color, then go bright - it will make you happy!
posted by the webmistress at 11:52 AM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Have you actually seen the floor yet? I absolutely adore the industrial raw look of plain old concrete, with some shine to it. I don't know if that's your style or not but it is so easy to clean, and has a minimalist hip vibe to it. And judging by where you are, it will be cold as hell most of the time. So yeah, if it were me, I would have a plain concrete floor and a nice warm area rug (that will give you the pops of color you're after) that I could roll up and take outside and shake out whenever I wanted to. That's how I would do it. The concrete is just too easy to sweep and looks so good, I couldn't cover it up.
I can't see doing wood turning (on a lathe?) in that space though. I have a lathe and I can't even do it in my giant garage....the mess is insane. I have to take it outside and work in my driveway. Maybe if you had a great ventilation system or vacuum hook up. I know that wasn't actually your question but the clean up is seriously insane with wood turning.
As to color, that's just a personal thing. No color doesn't go with neutrals. If you have room for furniture beyond a desk, chair and shelving, the area rug and a few pillows will give you the color you want. Maybe a few posters on the wall. I'm all about the neutrals- I find them very calming and zenlike. But if you love color, then go bright - it will make you happy!
posted by the webmistress at 11:52 AM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
From experience, if you do have concrete underneath (and not some sub-carpet flooring material) just leave the concrete bare. Sure, a rug here or there will be fine, but the idea is to make it as easy to cover up as possible if and when you chose to move.
I had a wonderful four year period back in my 20s when I still lived in the boonies and could afford to rent a needlessly large house. One room in this house had had a small fire during renovations and when I moved in that room had been repaired but the carpet hadn't yet been installed. I immediately asked the landlord to leave it bare--I used to paint a lot in my spare time and really liked the idea of not painting in garages anymore (hello cold fingers). He agreed.
Before I moved out, I took pictures of that concrete floor just before I moved and it was carpeted over. It was beautiful! I love the thought of some future homeowner discovering it. I'd written lots of notes on the floor, even transferred some images to it, and signed and dated it. My ex-landlord called me afterward and said, "The signature was a nice touch."
Enjoy your new craft room! Focus your energy on your work, not what's on the floor.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:55 AM on October 7, 2015 [4 favorites]
I had a wonderful four year period back in my 20s when I still lived in the boonies and could afford to rent a needlessly large house. One room in this house had had a small fire during renovations and when I moved in that room had been repaired but the carpet hadn't yet been installed. I immediately asked the landlord to leave it bare--I used to paint a lot in my spare time and really liked the idea of not painting in garages anymore (hello cold fingers). He agreed.
Before I moved out, I took pictures of that concrete floor just before I moved and it was carpeted over. It was beautiful! I love the thought of some future homeowner discovering it. I'd written lots of notes on the floor, even transferred some images to it, and signed and dated it. My ex-landlord called me afterward and said, "The signature was a nice touch."
Enjoy your new craft room! Focus your energy on your work, not what's on the floor.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 11:55 AM on October 7, 2015 [4 favorites]
I just stayed in an airbnb that had gray painted concrete floors. The gray was a little industrial-looking, I'd personally do a soft sage or browny-orange, but you could also paint a simple grid or thirds for a "rug" shape. It seemed easy to keep clean and felt fine to walk on barefoot.
I would also have some short-nap rugs though - I actually like the cheap acrylic ones from Big Lots or similar, for a pop of design but no real guilt if something happens to them.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:02 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
I would also have some short-nap rugs though - I actually like the cheap acrylic ones from Big Lots or similar, for a pop of design but no real guilt if something happens to them.
posted by Lyn Never at 12:02 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'd second leaving it as concrete, or something very dull (to find missing bits).. BUT, do get yourself a firm fatigue mat to stand on if you'll be doing standing/stationary work - your knees and back will thank you.
posted by k5.user at 12:24 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by k5.user at 12:24 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Yeah, concrete + fatigue mats are where it's at, given "messy and incendiary". Those do come in various and sundry colors, for what it's worth.
posted by brennen at 12:47 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by brennen at 12:47 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Yeah I periodically work standing in the same place for hours on concrete, I recommend a mat or six. But add my vote for sealed concrete.
posted by deadwax at 1:15 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by deadwax at 1:15 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
Another vote for concrete floor. My basement studio has a bare concrete floor that I don't mind spilling paint and whatnot on. We did paint the basement floor with a concrete-friendly paint and I put down a colorful rug. Our basement is relatively dry, but the couple of times we did have flooding (hello broken water heater fill pipe), it was nice to just be able to mop the floor and move on with the other cleanup, as opposed to ripping up soggy carpeting or other ruined flooring.
posted by sarajane at 1:17 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by sarajane at 1:17 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
As much as I love the epoxy we did in our garage, I wouldn't want to deal with it in a room I wanted to keep clean. You're supposed to add a sand mixture to give it grip (because otherwise it gets SUPER slick when wet) but the flipside of that is that it's not comfortable on bare feet and it's kinda hard to clean because it shreds mops or sponges.
nthing keeping the concrete as is or possibly staining
posted by brilliantine at 1:39 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
nthing keeping the concrete as is or possibly staining
posted by brilliantine at 1:39 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
We just painted a concrete floor with epoxy and it came it out great. Yes, shiny and slippery when wet but comfortable and it seems like it will be durable.
posted by Jode at 2:10 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Jode at 2:10 PM on October 7, 2015 [1 favorite]
If you are leaving it as concrete, then get yourself some puzzle mats or chef mats to stand on. Standing on concrete for hours is hard on your feet, knees and back.
We have black puzzle mat in our garage and it's pretty awesome. If you drop something it's easy to spot and things don't roll away. Also keeps your feet warm and your joints happy.
posted by 26.2 at 3:06 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
We have black puzzle mat in our garage and it's pretty awesome. If you drop something it's easy to spot and things don't roll away. Also keeps your feet warm and your joints happy.
posted by 26.2 at 3:06 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
Cheaper than puzzle mats are horse stall mats. Seal that concrete and lay down a mat where you'll do most of your standing. Plan to let it off-gass outside for a few days.
posted by PorcineWithMe at 3:38 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by PorcineWithMe at 3:38 PM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]
« Older I Must Have Missed this Law and Order Episode... | Yet another 'What to do in NYC' question. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by anonymisc at 11:46 AM on October 7, 2015 [2 favorites]