We recently shared how we sealed every surface of the basement with waterproof Drylok — and after several days of heavy rain the basement stayed completely dry. With the floor painted a rich chocolate brown, the basic waterproofing and finish work were done and it was time to tackle the fun part: planning the layout and choosing storage.
There are still a few small tasks to finish — tidying the hatch to the crawlspace, rewrapping the water heater more neatly, building a short divider to screen the water heater from view, and picking up a dehumidifier to keep humidity in check — but those can wait until after we lock in the major storage pieces and circulation routes.
For the layout planning we went old-school and used graph paper to create a to-scale drawing of the room. After measuring the room carefully — noting the exact location of the water heater, windows, doors and any obstructions — we decided one square on the graph paper equaled six inches. That gave us a small but accurate sketch of the entire space.
Using the same scale, we cut or drew little rectangles and squares to represent each storage unit we were considering. Ikea’s product dimensions are easy to find, so we scaled those to the grid and laid out a pile of paper shapes on the sketch. Labeling each piece with its Swedish name and price made comparison simple and let us judge how each piece would function in the space and how it fit the budget.
To focus the decision-making, we listed the types of items we planned to store: seasonal decorations, bikes, sporting gear, extension cords and hoses, old yearbooks, and odds and ends. With that list we sorted potential storage pieces into two columns on the plan: the most functional options on the left and items that were acceptable but less essential on the right. Seeing footprints, costs and storage capacity at a glance made it much easier to dismiss options that weren’t cost-effective or practical.
For example, the Aneboda wardrobe offered the same enclosed storage as a comparable Pax wardrobe but at a significantly lower price. That made the choice clear — two Aneboda wardrobes would give the storage we needed for less money. The Expedit Workstation also stood out: for the price of the workstation we’d get a desk plus an eight-compartment shelf for baskets and bins, which was more useful than a larger Expedit shelf on its own. Billy bookcases, while familiar, proved less useful once we drew them to scale; their shallow depth meant they wouldn’t store as much as we initially assumed.
With the shortlist identified, we moved the best contenders around on the to-scale floor plan until the circulation and access felt right. The winning layout combined surfaces for sorting with a mix of open and concealed storage, keeping the budget sensible by using a table we already owned and purchasing just three large Ikea pieces. The Expedit Workstation creates a peninsula that defines the space visually and still allows a 30-inch circulation path beside the divider we’ll add to hide the water heater.
We also tested several alternative layouts that ultimately didn’t make the cut. Some plans were more expensive and offered less flexibility; others crowded the room or blocked a wall where we want to park bikes and install a small focal treatment. Laying everything out to scale revealed tradeoffs quickly: a more costly plan doesn’t always translate to better function, and placing tall wardrobes on the bike wall would eliminate a future design opportunity.
After about thirty minutes of moving paper shapes, we had a confident, budget-conscious plan. Our shopping list is straightforward and focused on function:
- Expedit shelf (part of the Expedit Workstation) — $120
- Torsby table — already owned
- Woven baskets — around $17 each
- Two Aneboda wardrobes — $100 each
- White storage boxes — approximately $12 for two
- Green storage boxes — approximately $12 for two
- Expedit desk (part of the Expedit Workstation) — included above
Estimated total: about $361. That’s a strong value for a large 19′ x 13′ room that was previously unusable and infested with pests. Even if the final placement shifts slightly once the furniture is assembled, having a scaled plan removed the uncertainty and made the Ikea trip much less overwhelming.
This plan is just the beginning of the room’s transformation. We’ll layer in lighting, art, accessories and a few DIY touches to finish the space and create an efficient, polished basement that functions as storage and a useful work surface. Next up: picking up the furniture, building it (ugh — allen wrenches!), and installing the divider to hide the water heater. Let us know if you have favorite Ikea pieces you rely on at home — any tips for surviving long build sessions would be appreciated.