Basement flats are bad, end of story.
(Pic above for illustrative purposes only)
Actually, I'll begin with the story.
It was the beginning of summer 2021, the UK still gripped by the Covid-19 pandemic now entering yet another wave. The leaders of the 7 most advanced nations on earth met in Cornwall to review their devastating effects on climate change. Euro 2020 was finally kicking off only one year later than planned.
Finally, summer 2021 signalled the move into a small studio basement flat in Hammersmith, London.
It was our previous situation that led to us seeing this studio flat as a leafy oasis in the desert, a haven through rose tinted spectacles. I think when you have the opportunity to finally have your own space, after several years of sharing Houses and apartments with other dwellers (as many citizens of this city have to), the desire to make the jump without conducting research or making careful consideration of factors and potential issues is risky to say the least.
It was only the second flat we had viewed since we began our search, but it seemed perfect.
Pros:
It was dirt cheap, great location, recently renovated, part furnished, small garden at the rear and loads of privacy to boot.
Cons:
The floor was ceramic tiled from wall to wall, it only had one east facing window to the rear, you could hear the neighbours upstairs through the floor, and the total height of the studio from floor to roof was around 2 meters.
Well you might think, "Hey! Those cons sound absolutely appalling, I'm not sure if they outweigh the pros!", and you would be right. But none of that thoroughly ran through our heads at the time, it was simply our own space and we could fill it with our lives as we pleased.
The remainder of summer was great, we bought plants and trees and completely revitalised the heavily weed infested garden. We even rescued some young tomato plants in the hope we could get a small harvest by the end of the season.
Unfortunately, the honeymoon period ended as abruptly as it began as autumn crept in. Biblical rainfall one evening in october resulted in a horrendus sewage overflow in many properties in central and west london and with our flat being a lower ground property, it was almost inevitable that ours would be affected. The Inch of black, stinking sewage water covering the entire studio floor that was met as we returned from our respective jobs, is not something I wish upon my worst enemy. Many other properties had it several times worse than us too.
In the months following the flood, the lasting damage of the water that had crept under the skirting boards and sponged up inside the walls began to show, Cracking plaster and bubbling paint was followed by toxic black mold in several areas of the apartment. It was this deterioration of our home that coincided with the slow but noticable decline of our motivation and productivity levels. Work wouldn't get done, books wouldn't get read, cleaning wouldn't happen. Not only did we live in a small, cramped basement flat with only a single window to let you know the world still existed, but now it felt broken, like it wasn't our home anymore.
Shortly after New years '22, with that ever reliable incentive for change that comes a'knockin, saw us decide that enough was enough, and we notified the landlord of our intent to move out. Luckily, a friend of ours had just vacated their 1 bedroom ground level flat 5 minutes from us and invited us to check it out.
Its been nearly a month since we moved in, and wow, has the change been noticable. Its absolutely revitalized both myself and my partner, not only in our work lives, our productivity levels and our enthusiasim for a perfect home, but its revitalized our relationship as well. We were desperate to find somewhere that was perfectly suited to us. I feel like we have very specific requirements to how we function as creatives, how we relax and how we operate as a couple. Some of these requirements range from the complex to the painfully simple.
I'm going to list 5 things that I believe have been vital in the regeneration of our happiness and personal creativity.
The Vibe
Our home now just has this vibe now. Its hard to explain but It feels good. Like when you go out of London to the countryside and you take a big inhale of that lovely sweet clean air, everyday feels a bit like that now. When we used to have cold tile under our feet in every inch of the last apartment, now we have lovely soft carpet. When we used to have 1 small window letting in light for what felt like 20 minutes a day, now we have several huge windows letting in light from sunrise to sunset. It is a place where we can move around, jump up and down, blast some music and dance. Importantly, we now feel comfortable doing it. We love it and our plants love it too.
2. The desk
Back in the old apartment, we each had our desks, our workspaces. These were places we should have been able to create, concentrate, read and write. I have no doubt that they served their purposes, they're just desks after all, but in the same way those dull, cramped grey cubicles you see in every american tv show are consided offices, but in reality is a box. Each desk faced a wall on opposite sides of the room. not exactly great for inspiration. My partner also had to endure the whirrs of the fridge boxing her in on one side too.
Now her desk looks out one of our large south facing windows, perfect for lighting up her personal creative space from dawn til dusk. Granted, the view isn't the cotswolds but its definitely better than staring at a wall. Our new creative workspaces give us drive and energy. They are places we almost can't wait to be when we wake up in the morning.
3. The silence
The ceiling in the old apartment was paper thin, I mean, subatomic particles thin. If the neighbour upstairs dropped something, it sounded like a nuclear explosion going off to us. the constant sound of footsteps above us was so distracting it was almost unbearable.
Now when we want silence, we have it. Its a blessing to be able to fully control aspects of a creative space. If we want music to accompany our processes, we play music. If we want absolute silence to let us fully concentrate in our work, we can have that too. The silence also helps us feel secure, alone, but in a good way alone.
4. The space
A studio flat, for those who for whatever reason don't already know, is comprised of one room which houses the living area (kitchen included) and bedroom area. A second, usually much smaller room is for a bathroom. When one of us would have wanted to go to bed for the evening, it usually meant the other had to follow suit. Its hard to sleep when you have the glow of a computer screen or the clacking of keyboard keys keeping you awake. Having a room where you can go to isolate yourself, without disturbing others is very important to feel like you have complete control over your focus, without having a detrimetal effect that focus of others.
Something as simple as having a seperate bedroom is a huge advantage. My partner can go to sleep and I can continue working in another room with a clean conscience that I'm not a disturbance.
5. New energy
The last few months living in the basement apartment sort of felt like a car slowly running out of petrol, with the next petrol station moving further and further away.
Now imagine setting off from that petrol station with a full tank of fuel and some snacks and a coffee for the road.
Thats how we now feel in our new space. Each aspect, a combination of mental, physical and emotion are fufilled again and we are now creating freely.
Its the zone, a place where you feel most inspired.
So in summary, ensuring that we have a creative space that is peak in terms of functionality and effectiveness is now key to our work-life balance. Our home is a place were we spend most of our days but for myself in particular its where I get most of my work done. I'm not a sit down in a coffee shop, open my laptop and get cracking kind of guy, That environment proves too much of a distraction for me.
For us, for now and for the rest of our lives, our creative space will be key to our careers, our futures and our happiness. Thats why it absolutely matters.
Sam
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