Ideas for a Mine Basement

Floors and Walls

• Keeping the floors concrete will give the most authentic feel if you are recreating a mine shaft. Laying down scuffed and aged wood floors would add to the ambiance of an old mining town. Options for decorating the walls are to panel them like the inside of a saloon, paint faux stones and rocks like the inside of a cave or create a mural of an old mining town going about its business.

Lighting and Artwork

• Tract lighting, with dimmers, along the ceiling of your basement recreates the string lights miners use to use for exploring the shafts. Another option is to refurbish old lanterns, or buy new replicas of vintage lighting, to hang along the top of the walls. In a recreated cave, ideas for artwork include embedding faux gold nuggets, diamonds and pickaxes into the wall. Hanging flat fountains, painted like the walls, will give the visual and sound appearance of water trickling in an old shaft.

Furniture

• Basement furniture ideas include painting traditional wood furniture to mimic the look of concrete or stone. Mosaic tables with river rocks and place glass on them to keep the theme flowing. Old slatted wooden boxes placed around make for extra seating and table space. To recreate the look of an old western mining town saloon, use scuffed up card tables and a bar with rawhide leather bar stools. Many old mining towns didn't have much access to building supplies so they used what was readily available to them to make things. Vintage beer bottles and caps turned into furniture would replicate some of that history.

Accessories

• Bringing in old miners hats, mining pans and other memorabilia from old mining towns will add an air of authenticity to your basement. Make sure to get these items legally however or you might be facing more than criminal charges. Residents who refuse to leave these ghost towns even after death are still said to inhabit the areas as spirit caretakers. Just consider the case of the infamous Annabelle Stark, the last resident of St. Elmo, Colorado whom died in the 1960's. Steve Garufi of the Los Angeles Times states that it is reported she still "wears a white flowing dress and looks out for vandals and trespassers."