The Making of a "For Now" Yoga Studio, 4.2.21

 Well, it has been almost a full week off of Facebook and Instagram and it has been a week of getting a lot more done! This drab basement turned cozy yoga studio would probably still not be finished if I had been hanging out on my phone for several hours a day. (The social media "breakup" has been interesting, so I've been taking notes and will give it it's own post very soon.) If you have been wanting a space to practice or teach yoga, but you don't have the budget or don't have the space in your main living area, consider a temporary set-up in your unfinished basement. This space was completed for about $650.00 and took about four days to finish. Yes, one day I want this space to be more "finished", but for now, it is perfectly fine and, honestly, really cozy, pleasant and comfortable for practicing and teaching yoga. It is actually the largest space in our house next to our open living room and kitchen and it is much more quiet. So here is a little walk-through!

BEFORE: A drab, cold basement. But... a blank slate, which is good!

AFTER: The finished altar space. The text will soon be replaced by a hand-painted mandala.

A wider shot that shows the dropcloth "walls", lights, flooring, and a better view of the open space.

The seating area, where you can come in, drop your shoes, grab a block and a blanket for practice, or sit and visit after practice. 

A wider shot of the seating area. The stairs are off to the right. Still looking for a better alternative for lighting- for now white twinkle lights, leftover from Christmas. 

Pretty stark contrast, right?! Here is a breakdown of supplies and cost:

* The flooring, found HERE, is interlocking foam gym flooring. This was the bulk of our modest budget. The space is 504 square feet and we needed 21 boxes @ 18.97 a box, which came to, roughly, $400. This stuff is worth every penny! It is soft enough to be really easy on the knees (no knee cushion needed!) yet firm enough to feel stable while practicing. It was easy to install (I think it took all of an hour) and helped create a cozy, warm space. 

* The "walls" are canvas drop cloths, found HERE I washed them to soften them up a bit and get rid of the weird odor, then, since our basement walls are 8' tall, I folded the extra foot over to the backside and stapled them to the rafters, gathering them a bit at each one to make it look a little more "drapey". I also invested in an electric staple gun, which made this part of the job much faster and easier on my hands. I used 5 drop cloths , which covered the length of the space (36 feet) and the small section on the other side, to hide a water softener and allowed the extra for gathering. Total cost $125.

* I painted the end walls with Valspar paint in the color Night View, found HERE. Cost per gallon was $35 and I used one gallon. The abstract mural on the long, concrete wall was painted using the leftover Night View paint, an off-white I found in the clearance section at Lowes ($9) and a metallic gold Martha Stewart craft paint on clearance at Michael's. Total cost for paint: $49. 

* I found a few decorative pieces from Home Goods- the dream catcher, candle holders, salt lamp, etc. and everything else (lighted tree, rugs, screen, plants, display shelf, etc.) was found in other areas of our house or in storage on the other side of the basement. The altar space was the most fun to put together and is my favorite part of the space. The coffee table came from my grandparents house, the rug underneath was a gift from my parents' trip to Mexico many years ago, and all of the little tchotchkes were gifts from my kids, students or teachers at my yoga "home". (I'll be dedicating an entire post on how to set up an altar sometime soon.) Cost for a few of the small items I bought at Home Goods- $65

Grand total: $639 !!

I hope this inspires you to create your own yoga space, as it really was inexpensive and easy. In fact, it could be even more inexpensive if you used more items that you already have on hand- leftover paint from another project, old sheets instead of the drop cloths, painting the concrete, etc. I would say, though, if you can splurge on one thing, make it the flooring. 

And that's it! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or want to share your own space. Happy decorating and Happy Easter/Spring! 

Be Still. Be Strong. Be Happy. ~ Juli