Creative ways to use your unfinished basement

Just because your basement is unfinished doesn’t mean you can’t make good use of it. The experts at Family Handyman have some clever pointers for an underutilized unfinished basement.  y

These are our top picks:

Woodworking Workshop
If you enjoy building furniture, you can use your basement as a workshop! Since it’s a blank canvas, you can use the space for messy projects. You’ll also have space for tools and it’s more private than the garage. 

Photography Studio
One of the hallmarks of a good photography studio is its adaptability. An unfinished basement is the perfect place to take staged photos because you can add backdrops, reflectors, drop cloths and manage lighting. 

Home Gym
To create a home gym in your unfinished basement, you just need some large workout mats and your favorite gym equipment! This will give you more space and privacy to do your home workouts and you won’t have to use up precious space in your home’s main space. 

Dance Studio
Simply add laminate flooring and wall mirrors to your unfinished basement to create a dance studio. You can use it as a practice area for tap dancing, ballet and other dance styles. The basement is usually the largest open space in the house, making it the perfect spot for a dance studio. 

Wine Cellar
A wine cellar has to be cool and dark, so an unfinished basement is an ideal place to start a wine collection. You will just have to manage the temperature to stay around 55 degrees F, so a cooling unit may be necessary.