Home Workshop Ideas (Before and After)

April 15, 2019 separator Before & After

Get DIY home workshop ideas, and get inspired by this amazing before and after!

Basement home workshop ideas, like this pine custom diy workbench with a 2 x 4 basics workbench kit

This summer will mark three years in our house, and it’s still such a work-in-progress.  

We did our living room basement makeover last year and my guest room office makeover the year before. 

All that’s left in the basement is Cricket’s playroom and … THE DUNGEON!

The playroom is still the hottest mess in the house.

Basement home workshop ideas, like this pine custom diy workbench with a 2 x 4 basics workbench kit

So for today, we’re going to focus on the dungeon, in case that wasn’t obvious. 

But first, today’s post is part of the At Home DIY Challenge. This month’s theme is “home improvement,” so if you’re in a fixer-upper place in your home’s life, check out the other 40ish participating blogs!

See more DIY Home Improvement Projects

Before I dig in, I want to mention that this is my first blog project that was 100% Andrei’s handiwork. He ideated and executed the whole thing entirely himself. He did so much of the work late at night and on his busy weekends, and I’m so proud of how it turned out!

This room has been a gross mess since way before we moved in. Our house was built in the early 1950s, and it has been Frankensteined together piece by piece ever since. 

We dubbed this room “the dungeon” because of its cinder block walls, cobwebs, exposed wires, and yucky, musty vibes. 

Renovating a home workshop with the wood studs Renovating a home workshop with the wood studs

This is by far not the earliest photo. I’m still trying to dig those up from wherever they may be. 

This was after Andrei pulled apart the bizarre workbench and shelving setup piece-by-piece. 

It was hilarious how many types of wood and layers of paint we found along the way!

He framed the wall studs in preparation for some actual civilized drywall. 

Renovating a home workshop with the wood studs

All the weird wires and pipes gave him a hard time, but he found a way around (literally) everything, like this notch he cut out of the stud here. 

If you’re going to do something like this, make sure that you’re only cutting out a tiny bit so that you don’t compromise the structural integrity of a stud or beam. 

Adding insulation to a basement home workshop

He only insulated the wall that connects to Cricket’s playroom because we’re very focused on energy efficiency. 

This will keep her playroom warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, but we didn’t waste any materials insulating the part that connects to the uninhabited nook behind the workshop. 

Adding drywall to a home workshop

Andrei spent several days on these walls, which are still blowing my mind. He installed drywall over the new studs, and then he painted them a nice, neutral grey. 

He even moved the electrical outlet to the ideal spot and added baseboards. 

Basement home workshop ideas, like this pine custom diy workbench with a 2 x 4 basics workbench kit

Custom DIY Workbench

Hands-down the best part of the room, though, is the custom DIY workbench Andrei built to replace the bizarre mess that infested the room before. 

He used the 2 x 4 Basics Workbench Kit to make something the perfect size for this very compact space. The kit calls for a plywood top, but we wanted something that was going to be super durable and sturdy over a lot of time and pressure. 

What you see here is actually three pieces of solid pine board, but to save money, you could definitely still do plywood and just replace it years down the road if needed. 

Basement home workshop ideas, like this pine custom diy workbench with a 2 x 4 basics workbench kit

Above the workbench is the SKÅDIS pegboard from IKEA. You could use any peg board you want, but this system is a little bit upscale and offers a ton of mounting and hanging options. 

Basement home workshop ideas, like this pine custom diy workbench with a 2 x 4 basics workbench kit

9 comments

  1. “Unleash your creativity with these inspiring home workshop ideas! 🛠️✨ Explore the perfect homewares to turn your vision into reality. Craft your dream space and make every corner uniquely yours. #HomeWorkshop #Homewares”

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  3. It was interesting to read your article and learn about what repair and repair tools you use in your home. We also have a small workshop and my husband can sometimes fix things at home if it’s not too difficult. But when we had a problem with the plumbing and the pool, we had to look for where to hire a person who could fix the breakdown. It took us over a month and we would have been looking further if my friend hadn’t advised us to read https://www.bath-planet.reviews/ and see what other people have to say about their repair service. We studied the reviews of people and decided to also use their service, as we have already spent a lot of time and effort. When a man with tools came to us, he fixed the breakdown in a few hours and we were satisfied.

  4. This reminds me of my Granddaddys work bench and peg board – soooo much! Love it! Thanks for the deets!

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