I know, I'd love to build one in my house but I don't think it would help my resale value any so that is out of the question. Maybe when I'm in my "forever home" I can though, that would be rather awesome. Thankfully you can still do a few darkroom processes like pinholes without any structural changes to the building, and cyanotypes can be made in a kitchen sink if need be.
Drawing is a weird beast to tame! I do a little but it's definetly not my specialty. I have found photography to be a help though, it trains you to see, then you just need to train your hands to imitate those forms. Practice does make perfect though! The hardest thing to learn in drawing is that it's okay to erase. I use a technique called intuitive gesture, you don't look at your drawing, just the subject, and for the for 10 minutes I make very light marks. I change things constantly, reevaluating the proportions and shapes. Once you know that work can evolve, not just be static, it makes it so much easier to render objects realistically.