Plans for our basement renovation

I’ve been working on the plans for our basement remodel for the last couple of weeks. I ran across a great application by Google called SketchUp. It’s a great application to create 3-dimentional models and it’s FREE! It took a bit to learn the application and I would highly recommend anyone interested to view all of the online tutorials before diving in.


Our basement is partially finished and we’ve been making due with cold concrete  and really inadequate lighting for quite a while. Our new plans will involve the finishing of two separate rooms, one a smaller bedroom that we’ll use for framing and matting and a large common room (shown below) that we’ll divide into an area as an indulgent reading room along with a separate office / studio space for myself. I’ve included some images from the SketchUp program showing our current plans.

Entering the main room through the archway from the hall.

Turning to the right to view the office / studio area. Wow! Countertops! The dividing wall to the left of this scene will actually include built-in bookshelves as part of the studio space.

Looking from my office towards the new reading area. The bookshelves on the right will include a nice padded bench and the small refreshment bar on the left will have a mini-fridge, coffee maker (a definite must), and some additional storage. The fireplace insert will create a nice ambiance and should help heat the area as well.

We still need to work out exactly where the lighting will be installed and the smaller details. Once the artwork starts to go up, it will create a much more intimate space.