This last room was affectionately referred to as The Pee Room ever since the summer we moved in during Madi’s puppy training days. Over the years it generally became a place where everything from Christmas ornaments to andirons happily found a home and we could shut the door on the clutter. Whenever we were at a loss of where to put something (like old prom dresses or a tuba), one of us would say enthusiastically, “The Pee Room!” It came in quite handy.

Now it’s a space where guests can comfortably stay overnight with an adjacent bathroom and Jason and I can relax to watch movies. I love having the TV out of the living room and out of the way. Our carpenter built an amazing media cabinet with drawers underneath for convenient storage of linens.

Before:

Cutting out the egress window:

After:



The Details | Built-Ins
The foundation ran along the perimeter of the room and included a cement “shelf.” We briefly contemplated cutting it out to create a few more feet and quickly realized what a huge project that would be and decided to just frame it up. This made it possible to create built-in boxes that we left open (in the bathroom we put in a recessed cabinet).

And there you have it. Our basement remodel if finally finished – thanks for taking the tour!

After six years living in a house with one bathroom we were very excited to be adding one. At first we weren’t planning to but after we made the decision for a legal bedroom it made sense. Plus Jason wanted more tiling practice 🙂 I didn’t get pictures of when the trenches were dug to lay the pipes tapping into the sewer line and a ceiling high pile of dirt was in the basement, but you can use your imagination. It was a mess.

We went with the same paint color (Divine Pool), wainscoting and shower tile used in the upstairs bathroom. And the tiny octagonal tile we wish was used.

Before:

Transition:


After:

When mapping out the basement we wanted the living space to be free of heating ducts, pipes, support beams and everything else reminding you you’re in a basement. For the most part we were able to keep these things contained to the laundry and storage areas but the return vent cut directly through the middle of the basement which meant getting creative. We worked the floor plan so the vent ran along the dead space between the two main rooms which became the hallway. Lighting also posed a challenge since you can’t install electricity into a heating vent. In hindsight we would have wired a recessed wall sconce but for now a funky wall light from IKEA will suffice (until I can convince Jason to put his electrician hat on and cut into the drywall :).

BEFORE/TRANSITION:


AFTER:
Details | Doors
Since the doors weren’t standard sizes we knew we were probably looking at ordering custom doors to reflect the style of panel doors upstairs. Then the obvious hit us to just make a trip to the Rebuilding Center. We found all four doors for under 20 bucks apiece. Something came in under budget! I hired a local calligrapher to script The Cellar and Laundry onto the hallway doors.

Details | Toy Storage
I’m a big fan of making Carson’s toys easily accessible for him to get out and put away himself while keeping the house uncluttered. This storage unit from IKEA made us both very happy and the toy sprawl in check.

Details | Art Wall
I love displaying Carson’s artwork and got this idea from The Creative Family by SoulMama. I repainted two old knobs found at an antique store down the street and hung wire between them. I felt quite crafty.

Two rooms to go – The bathroom and bedroom/den. Stop by again on Thursday for the rest of the tour!

This was how the basement looked after we ripped out all the walls last September. Features included a ginormous octopus furnace, fabulous speckled asbestos flooring and soiled ceiling tiles. Plus a lot of conduit wires below the ceiling joists.

BEFORE PHOTOS:


IN TRANSITION:

AFTER PHOTOS:


The Details | Flooring & Paint
Bamboo
A few years ago we went on the Build it Green Tour and one of the homes featured was an old bungalow with a remodeled basement. They had installed bamboo floors and I was struck at how bright and welcoming it made the space. I knew if we ever ended up remodeling our own basement we would do the same.

FLOR tiles
I love the versatility and practicality of FLOR carpet tiles. We chose this design for the contrast and durability (ability to withstand muddy paws and still look new).

Paint Colors
I chose Pistachio and Pecan from Divine Color. I looked for a shade of green that would match my logo combined with a color that would offset its boldness. I love Divine Paint – it truly goes on like yogurt and you can often get by with just one coat.

The Details | Lighting
In addition to the recessed lighting, I wanted pendant lights over my desk. I looked everywhere to find a style that was simple, modern and unique. I discovered this company in DWELL and found so many fabulous styles on their website I had trouble deciding which to choose.

The Details | Cabinetry
We did end up hiring a carpenter for the custom cabinets and it was definitely money well spent. Organization is such a challenge for me but with these cabinets and drawers it’s easy to keep all my office and art supplies organized and out of sight. There’s the home studio tour. On deck for tomorrow: the hallway (when you’ve been living in just over 800 square feet it counts as a room in itself). I skipped the Photo of the Week feature this week. We just returned from a weekend in Seattle and it will return next Sunday!