Carving Out an Art Studio in Our Basement
I was inspired after reading Artchoo!’s post on Kids’ Art Room Floors to try to carve out an art space for my oldest, Grasshopper and Sensei, who gets frustrated trying to do her art in the dining room only to be forced to clean up before she’s done with her paintings because it’s time to eat. A dedicated art space is so great to eliminate that!
She got a nice, huge desk for her birthday last year but there simply isn’t room in her room for all the art supplies. Canvases, paper, and paints take up a surprisingly large amount of real estate!
We did a huge purge in our basement playroom all during the summer. We got rid of every single toy and now it’s an empty space. The corner was used to store ever-increasing supplies of soccer and sports gear since we lacked a mudroom.
A little more purging and reorganizing with hooks helped to clean up a perfect spot for our budding artist.
The Before:
This space has been a reading nook, a toy storage area, and then a “mud room locker room” for soccer cleats before turning into an art studio.
And after!
The art desk was on sale at Amazon and Grasshopper and Sensei got it for her birthday. I had no idea there were a gillion pieces to assemble it. Thank goodness my husband is handy because it took a few hours to put together.
The only thing we are lacking, ironically, is an art floor mat. I found this matt on Artchoo!’s post and bought it but it hasn’t arrived yet. I figured it would come in handy when she’s painting.
p.s. More about Art Colleges from our college tours:
Visiting Emily Carr Art + Design University in Canada
Visiting California Institute of the Arts (CalArts)
Applying to Art School: School of Visual Arts
Visiting West Coast Art Schools & Foodie Stops Nearby
Applying to RISD: Advice from Antonio Peters in Admissions
Tips for National Portfolio Day
Xtreme Week at Mass College of Art
and some fun stuff …
If you are visiting New York City, here are our cheap foodie finds.
45 Art Gifts for Seriously Arty Kids (by my arty daughter)
Art Competitions for Kids and Teens
Our Art Gift Kits for Arty Kids
10 Inspirational Art Books for Arty Kids
Follow PragmaticMom’s board Art with Kids on Pinterest.
To examine any of the items listed, please click on image of item. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
I’m so excited you did this! I’m sure your daughter is, too. How exciting for her to have her own dedicated art space. ( I hope the floor mat comes with that cute baby.)
Hi Jeanette,
I accidentally got TWO floor mats from your site! I have that wooden looking puzzle spongy one AND a pink vinyl one. I guess I let her choose and send one back. She’s excited to have a dedicated space and paints more often now!
I LOVE THIS!!!! My girls would totally love this and spend all their time in it! We are in the process of moving but I am going to try to incorporate some of these things at our new place.
Hi Monise,
It turned out that we just needed a small corner and storage was the most important though I think my daughter has too many art supplies. Even a small desk when the artist can just leave things out without having to clean up constantly is great. Your girls must love art too!
Awesome! Love that flooring and those shelves are great for inspirations : )
BTW, love the underwater mural!
Hi Ann,
My daughter is so happy with it though it’s a tight space. We need to add in the flooring mat today!
It is really good to hear that a basement can be turned out well like that.
Hi Kelly,
Thanks so much! My daughter is really enjoying having an art space where she doesn’t have to constantly move it and clean it up. She does still use it quite a bit too. I’m glad I made that effort to carve it out of the basement for her.