The actual basement itself is round, earthy, low-ceilinged, welcoming, warm, and sunny. There are lots of yellow hangings, burnished copper, and overstuffed sofas and armchairs upholstered in yellow and black, and small circular windows that provide a vista of "rippling grass and dandelions". There is also a large, honey coloured, wooden mantelpiece with carvings of badgers on it. This is located underneath a portrait of the house's founder, Helga Hufflepuff. The head of house, also brings many interesting plants in to decorate the common room (some of which dance, talk, and wave), placing them on the windowsills or having them hang from the ceiling, encouraging interest in Herbology (and hence part of why Hufflepuffs tend to be good at it). Various cactii stands on wooden circular shelves that are curved to fit the walls, and copper-bottomed plant holders dangle amid the ceiling with ferns and ivies.