Design language questions

[daniel_leavitt2000]

With plans back on track for refinishing the basement, I am turning my attention to the look of the room.

There are a few things I can not avoid. The ceiling is low. There are supports down the middle of the basement with a low beam over them. There are heating pipes that extend down into the room below the ceiling. Rather than try to cover these up, I am thinking about accenting the industrial look. For example, painting the pipes in a contrasting color and adding safety stripes (I'm partial to the design they used in the last Star Trek TV show).

To keep the industrial look going, I could build the benchwork with steel shelving parts or PVC piping and a small, and steel colored facade. In essence, I would be embracing the stainless steel kitchen look in the train room.

Now there are a few problems with this:
1. Lighting bouncing off all the shiny surfaces.
2. Lots of sharp edges to kill myself on.
3. It could look pretty hokie if not done right.

What are your thoughts on layout room design? There is always the train station theme, but I doubt it will work with a 7 foot ceiling. I could go with a museum asthetic, but the pipes would stick out. I want something totally unique, something that people would say "Why hasn't this been done before?"

[ljudice]

I didn't do it, but I am thinking of it, but my thought was to paint the ceiling and everything above the scenic backdrop flat black, use black spot lamp fixtures, etc...  Sort of the "theater" look, so nothing detracts from the layout itself.

- Lou

[Philip H]

Daniel,
You might consider something like what Tim Warris did:

http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?cat=15&paged=2

[Denver Road Doug]

Well, I love the industrial or stainless steel "brewpub" look, but I'm not sure it would mesh well with a model railroad.  I have considered it and I think it could probably be done to look awesome, but...it's a risky choice.   Unless you like to bleed, I DEFINITELY wouldn't use metal for the layout parts...just paint things silver/gray.  (I guess you could use steel studs, but just don't make anything metal that doesn't need to be.)  Or if you know someone (or someone to hire) let them do the metalwork.  But I still think I would look to other materials.

I like Lou's idea...it's definitely been done before but it's also a pretty sound way to go.

[DKS]

I like Lou's idea...it's definitely been done before but it's also a pretty sound way to go.

+1

I think you'd run the risk of having the layout and its surroundings in competition. It works on Warris' piece because it's a small, stand-alone display. But for a home layout... I'd definitely go for low-key surroundings so that the layout remains the star of the show.

[Denver Road Doug]

Daniel,
You might consider something like what Tim Warris did:

http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?cat=15&paged=2

Wow, thats cool!

[Ed Kapuscinski]

That is really cool. I didn't know he was doing that with it. Very cool.

But I agree with David. It might be distracting. There is, though, only one way to tell. Try it out. If it doesn't work, do it in a way that you can undo it.

It might also be helpful to do a small area, just to test it out.

[GaryHinshaw]

Daniel,

My old basement was very similar to what yours sounds like.  Since I wanted a bright ceiling (I've never been a fan of black ceilings, especially 7' ones - makes me a bit claustrophobic) I found a plane about 3" below joist level - below the copper plumbing but above the boiler pipes - where I could install low clearance ceiling tiles and light fixtures.  I made a false frame out of cheap 1x3 to support them, and I was pretty happy with the result:



The rest of the room looks like crap and the shot is too dark with the lights off, but the ceiling was nice.  Here is another shot, taken after we moved out:



The front half of the basement ceiling was never finished, so you can see how much brighter the back half is.  Covering the joists also keeps dust way down.  If you wanted to go for a 'look', you could use tin ceiling panels or some such.

I would recommend separating the room finish from the layout finish, and definitely try out any novel concepts on a test patch first.

-Gary

http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?cat=15&paged=2

My first impression from scanning those shots was: why is he wrapping the layout in leather?  I'm sure that wasn't the intended reaction though. 

[sirenwerks]

Dark ceilings really only work with high-ceilings or in dark rooms, as in those with dark walls and furnishings. Dark ceilings with light walls provides the chicken little effect.

Not sure what your ceiling is Daniel. Acoustic tiles a pain to paint. I've done exhibition design and installation for low-budget organizations, a lot of temporary space work in DC. There was one space I did where we used black cloth as a rafter covering, using black-painted stripping secured down each rafter to keep it neat and let it have a slight drop between rafters. It kept the dust down from the foot traffic we had on the 2nd floor and was unique. In the year it was up we never had to clean it but taking it down would have been an all or nothing ordeal. Of course, we had 10-foot ceilings to work with.

If I were you, I'd stick with a clean painted look, go dark, keep the lights focused on the layout except in common areas - what I imagine you refer to as the museum look. I do like the leather padded fascia idea though, with 1-inch leather buttons, kinda the 70s' basement car look.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

A portion of my basment is finished but I intend to rip it out. I do not like the ceiling tile the former owners used and fate the framing. It was a total hack job.

I'll try and photos up soon.

[Denver Road Doug]

I do like the leather padded fascia idea though, with 1-inch leather buttons, kinda the 70s' basement car look.

I'm assuming you are kidding, right?   It's supposed to be a rusted iron rivet structure.  Well, I thought it looked good anyway. 

[Philip H]

Having read Tim's b;pg during construction, I think he'd be amused by the leather references.  He was going for a riveted iron barge side look.

[Bendtracker1]

Daniel,
You might consider something like what Tim Warris did:

http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?cat=15&paged=2

Now that is COOL!
I really like how he made the lower bench work look like a crate!
Very unique and creative!  It really ties everything together and give it a good flavor for the location!!!!

[ljudice]

I'd get a Feng Shui consultant down there right away to get a polarity reading on the basement!

 ;D

[sirenwerks]

I'm assuming you are kidding, right?   It's supposed to be a rusted iron rivet structure.  Well, I thought it looked good anyway.

I wasn't referring to Warris's industrial look. His is a nice look for some presentations and if made with real materials bound to hold up well in crowds, though I imagine a bitch to move. But it's so retro now. It was architecturally haute about ten years ago when it was appearing in Abitare and Metropolis, but it's showing up in Dwell like gangbusters now and will likely be the next craze in Hot Topic stores sooner rather than later.

I was referring to actual 1970s basement bar deco. You know the padded pleather look, that doubled as a safety feature for children or drunks that might fall and hit their head on it. It tended to match the recliners that were popularly becoming the post-Archie Bunker look. Include a paint-by-numbers backdrop and maybe a moose head and you'll be so stylishly post-grunge.  ;D