updated! Where would you locate your scrap space?

In our old house my scrapbook stuff was in an extra bedroom upstairs. I liked that I had space and a door, but really that was it. It was too closed off and I was so far away from the kitchen, front door and the living room which is where the kids usually were. Now in the new house my scrapbook space is at the top of the stairs and is an open space (makes me have to keep it clean lol). The kids bedrooms are near and we have a large upstairs family room which is where the kids usually hang out. Also, my new space has large windows that overlook the front of the house. I no longer feel isolated and I have a nice bright area to hang out in. Also I have a couple chairs and a TV so often you'll find a kiddo hanging out there with me.

I actually think having your space down there could be the best of both worlds. If you're turning the basement into a new playroom space, your kids can play down there while you're scrapping. I think I might like to have mine with me contained so I could see/hear him but mine is 3 so it's a little different for me at the moment. And later when they outgrow the playroom, it'll probably become a teen hang out zone, so having a reason to be down there while friends are visiting isn't a bad idea.

I also like having a door on my space, so if I want the privacy or noise reduction capability, I can use it.

But I also see the benefit of being upstairs among the action. It's also a lot easier to do a couple quick things on a WIP page while you're waiting for dinner to finish in the oven, etc.

I have done several of these things, before and after kids. In our last house, my room was upstairs away from everything and I loved it bcit was out of the way. But if we were still living in that house now, I would have had to make a play space for DS in there too or move it bc it just wouldn't have worked.

When we first moved to this house we moved my stuff into what should be the living room. I absolutely HATED IT. It was TOO open. DS was getting into stuff all the time, you could see my mess if someone came to the door, I felt my room always had to look neat, and I hated that I didn't have a door on the room to "escape" if I wanted.

So we sold some bedroom furniture we weren't using in a room upstairs (was too big for the room anyway) and moved my room up there. I like it much, much better. And it's next to DS's room so he can still play up there when I'm in my room. I also often bring in his little table and chair to color or do playdoh, etc in there with me. It has worked well. I also love having a closet in my space, which I didn't have downstairs. It solved a lot of storage issues for me.

I think it just depends on what works for you.

I like being in the mix.

I moved mine to an extra bedroom upstairs when we moved to our bigger house, but DS was only 2 then. I essentially used the space for storage and never worked in there. I brought my active projects down to the dining room for the same reasons you stated. I did MUCH less scrapping during that time, but it kept me going on some projects while I had to watch a little one.

Now that DS is older, I love having a separate room to actually work in. In your case, if the playroom is downstairs, you could have both a separate space and be close to the kids. I would go for it.

Mine is in the formal dining room, too. I know I get a lot more done because of it's location. I can use those spare moments when cooking to just walk 10 steps and work on something and keep a watch on the cooking, too. I am just across the foyer from DH's office, too so I don't feel isolated.
I don't have a basement, but I don't think I would scrap much at all if I had to go there.

I think if you're already worried about feeling isolated, that you will for sure feel that way. I know for me I could never stand to be shut off from everyone. My room is also a dining room in the middle of my house and I love it that way. I can do my crafting, but still feel accessible (aka less guilty!) for my hubby or the kids to pop in and talk to me. It's easy for me to walk a few steps to the kitchen or laundry, and be right back in MY space working on a project. If it was far away I would never go there, I just wouldn't.

So many variables!  How is the lighting downstairs?  That is a huge issue for me.  I'm in the basement (which is also our family room & dining room) and the lighting is awful.  I would much rather be upstairs for that reason. 

Do you have people over to scrap?  If you do, then you do want the bigger space, which sounds like it will be your basement.

Of course, do you really want to move your stuff down there for a few years & get all comfy in your new big space (because even if it seems too big now, you will grow into it) and then have to pare down your stash to fit it into a smaller space?  I'd try to think long term.

Do you prefer quiet when you're scrapping or do you like the hustle & bustle of your family nearby?  Like LisaDorothy said, if you think you'll feel isolated then you probably will.  

On that note, I will tell you that while it was nice having my space near the kids when they were little, now that they are teens we all wish my scrapping space wasn't in the family room.  If they want to have friends over, I either say no (which I never do) or I don't scrap.  Sharing the space has definitely lost it's appeal.

Everyone's lifestyle is different, so think about yours and let that guide you.  I'm jealous you have so many options!  Be sure to let us know what you decide!

I live by myself so it doesn't really matter where the room is as far as being with people. It's me and my dog wherever I am. but I do prefer the basement because I don't have to worry about paper being ruined by light. When I was in an upstairs bedroom I had to keep the paper covered.

I have designs on what is now my dd's bedroom - I would love to use that space as a scrap space, but also keep a bed in there. right now my stuff is piled up in the kitchen and if I get it out I have to put it away so we can eat....

I used to have a really big space almost 25 by 25 feet in our basement. I felt isolated down there. Plus, it was always very chilly during the summer. I chose to move upstairs to a corner room with two windows, an odd little alcove and open closet all in a space of 11 by 14 feet. It was definitely a challenge to pare down regularly-used supplies. For me, it was worth it not to be subterranean.

I would love a scrap room away from everyone.

But I think the more important question here is: Will you have to relocate your scraproom in a few years when your son wants the room?

What if you expand you supplies to accommodate the bigger area? Will you have another room that can fit it all nicely?

And do you even want to have to move it all again?

I'm the type who likes to settle into one place and not leave it. If I get everything just so, I don't want to have to do it all over again. I would constantly be waiting for my son to "kick me out" of my scraproom (you know what I mean) and weird as it sounds, it would give me anxiety.

I would choose to have my scraproom where it could stay put through the years.

I know me and I would not use my scrap space when it is isolated, like in a basement, unless the TV room where people hang out is also in the basement.  

My current scrapbook room is a room upstairs where the bedrooms are and I never use it.  I have just dumped all my stuff there.

If I could choose a space that currently doesn't exist in my house, it would be a room like a library off of a more central gathering area.

I like to be in the mix, but I like having a dedicated space (I used to use the dining table, and I hated to have to put everything away by the next meal!)

At my mom's house, I have a corner in the finished basement. My dad's hangout is in an adjacent space, and my brother's bedroom is off the other end of the space. There are always people going through - the kids have a play area, and someone's usually doing laundry, in addition to my dad and brother - but it still has a "nook" feel. It's perfect.

In my own house, I have a ScrapBox in the dining room. I can keep an eye on dinner through the door to the kitchen, I can hear the kids playing or working in the other parts of the apartment, and DH can work at the other end of the room without disturbing or being disturbed by me. I love everything about it except that my back is to the room. If one of the kids wants to craft with me or just sit down and talk, I wish I were at least facing sideways. They are getting to those tween/teen years when I want to make sure I'm available for them to come to me.

I think the ages of your children definitely make a difference.
In our Indiana house, I had some of the sub-basement and hated it --poor lighting, and a view of storage and laundry. I moved some stuff upstairs to the family room. Better but still not great just due to the dynamics of the house and my kids were littler so everything had to be put away so they wouldn't touch/get hurt.
The Ohio house had converted the dining room to an office with 2 walls having cabinets and 4 desks counters. I set up my standing scrap space in the middle of one section. I liked that a lot because it was easy to just stop by the station and do a thing or two throughout the day. I disliked it because I felt my stuff was junking up the view as it was open from the living room. I tried putting up a divider to at least hide the room, but that disrupted the flow. I then moved to the spare bedroom upstairs. Liked having a door to close, disliked being on the same floor as the bedrooms as I would frequently do things at night and couldn't be loud while the kids are sleeping - no silhouette cutting, sewing machine, music.
Our Michigan house, which we're still working to refurbish, has a bedroom off of the great room that I've taken as my craft room. It's rather large and everyone has to go through it to use the restroom. I'm working on rearranging it now. I like that I can close the door, it's still close enough to my everyday chores that I can work on bits and pieces during the day, and away from the bedrooms if I really needed to run something at night or wanted to listen to something. So far this is my favorite, except there is only one narrow window, so natural lighting is poor.

Sorry to write a book. We've moved a lot (I didn't even mention the Wisconsin house --- did I mention we've moved a lot).