New Layout Space

I bought a basement and it came with a house.  The basement is 1200SQFT overall, but that's divided into two halves.  On the right side of the stairs is a bathroom, bedroom, utilities room.  On the left side of the stairs is a 40x13.5 room and an additional 16x11 room.  If things became dire, I would knock out some walls and extend the trainroom into the bedroom to add another 12' or so, but for now, that will not be necessary.

Below are two shots.  The first is of the trainroom.  It's still a mess, even a month after move-in.  I have rebuilt my shelves and the rolling stock boxes have been lined up on the left.  Once I move the Lionel boxes into the shelves, they will all sit below layout height and be out of sight.  There is a window immediately to the left, but I will figure out how to make something to cover over the window as I want to have scenery around all walls.  There is also a door on the far left that will let me bring materials easily into the house, but it too will be blocked by a swing-out piece for the layout.  This will also allow me to brew beer and easily move it all back inside for fermentation.

You can see the door to the storage room on the right to the second picture. (The entrance to the whole area is to the right of these doors as well.)

 

(Click on the images to see higher-resolution if desired.)

 

This second picture shows an unfinished storage room.  The right-hand side has a bunch of storage for train boxes and other materials and my tools.  The bowflex takes up quite a bit of space, but when I saw a deal for it for $100, I couldn't pass it up.  It will be nice not having to leave home to workout.

The lefthand side will become my initial workbench.  I've yet to figure out plans, but I am looking to have a 4ft section I can sit at and model and then an 8ft section to the right of that to do any serious house and train projects on.  The 4ft section will be about 29" high and the 8ft section is undecided...40" or so.  I'm still researching online for best practices.

I will probably finish out this room at some point, but its not urgent for me at this time.  I am still deciding whether or not I want to bring the layout into this space...break down all of the walls, or make a new entrance, close out where the current doors are, and have a tunnel come in there for a staging yard.

Lots of decisions...but more housework to be done before more fun can be had.