We are always up to something around here. In the Winter months, we typically pick an indoor home project. However this years project is bleeding into Spring. I guess it’s a good thing the weather has be fairly dreary and we are staying close to home.
I’ve mentioned before that our home was virtually untouched for about 50 years. When talking about our basement we always would say “It has tons of potential.” But we really hadn’t tapped into it much. About 3 years ago we did add a bathroom to one of the largest rooms and created a play/family room area. We enjoy the extra toy storage and playing Super Mario Brothers in that room. However, the rest of the basement is just multiple junk rooms.
Re-start your blog Jessica. Show them the darkest and dingiest rooms of your home. Yes, thats a good idea. -Me, apparently.
We (I) decided we needed to clean the place up and stop talking about its potential and actually show it. Starting with the hallway.
I had begun painting furniture in the hallway because, well, it was the only open area. It was also right outside the play room yet close enough to the stairs I could hear a crying baby upstairs. Mom life.
But that meant to get to the room we worked hard to finish, you had to walk through my work area, look at the furnace and hot water heater, our canning, and camping stuff. It just didn’t make sense. So, we (Jerrel) put a wall up effectively making an official storage/furnace room.
Our stairs are steep and kinda scary. We are still trying to figure out what to do with them. We might add a turn, we might rebuild, we might tear off the carpet. We will definitely be adding some kind of railing. But we aren’t going to move them, we don’t have the time, money, or patience for that currently. We also don’t really have another logical place for them. Where they are is where they make sense. Old homes. Fun quirks.
Here’s the before of the room that I’m not too embarrassed to show the internet.
Finishing out a basement is a big undertaking and there are lots of things to consider. Drywall, drop ceilings, flooring options, duct work, wiring, plumbing. It can get pretty costly too. While we know the area has lots of potential, we don’t have lots of money to spend on it, nor do we really want to invest our money there. So, I hit the Pinterest road to find some simple inspiration.
I love using Pinterest to show me (and Jerrel) that my ideas aren’t crazy and that things can look good even if we don’t always “go big”. It’s a fantastic tool for visualizing your space. I also love how I can collect different ideas all in one place and see trends in what I pin. It helps me focus when there are so many different options out there.
Here’s how I use Pinterest for room makeovers. Many times when I decide something is going to be my next project I’ll have a couple ideas. I’ll go to Pinterest and search them. When we were going to do the first room in the basement I knew the power of paint, so when I didn’t want a drop ceiling I thought, paint? But I didn’t know if it would give us the transformation we were wanting. So I searched on Pinterest and found SO many photos, tips, tricks, color options. It was great and it helped us solidify our plans.
I use Pinterest all.the.time. For.all.the.things. School, cooking, home, DIYs. I’ll love looking up color stories on Pinterest to help me get inspiration for colors for a room. Many times I’ll then go get paint swatches of those colors to just “have” around or in my purse if I’m out shopping. I’ve Pinterest-ed mixing finishes in bathrooms and kitchens. I’ve looked up how to make my own candles. It’s been such a great tool for my creativity.
If you ever can’t picture something or need tips. Just Pinterest it.
Just don’t ever let Pinterest steal your joy or your time. Get up and go do something. Even if it’s something small. Quit pinning, start doing. I should trademark that.
So here’s what I came up with for a inspiration for the area. We painted the rafters in the other room and we actually like how it looks as opposed to a drop ceiling. We also will probably to paint the concrete floor. It makes sense for a mudroom and its friendly to the budget. And though the walls are concrete, they have a texture to them that paints really nicely and doesn’t look like concrete.
I still want the area to feel warm, have style, and functionality. The photos I pinned reflect those things too. I plan to get a rug to go over the freshly painted floor and use a pegboard to hang our extra coats and snow pants during the winter. Baskets or a wood tone bench or chair will help add warmth to the space.
Check out my Pinterest board for more inspiration as well as inspiration for our playroom!
We are painting the rafters and the walls the same color: Warm Oatmeal by Valspar. I keep going back and forth on a dark floor or a light floor. What do you think?
Here’s with the wall up and the official storage room done! Yes! Jerrel said the other day, “You were right, again. It feels so much better to just have that stuff contained to one room.”
Ah, I couldn’t agree more.
Some simple studs and drywall make such a difference.
We have an old door that we plan to put on a barn door slider to hide our storage room.
Now Jerrel is working on painting the ceiling. We tried a paint sprayer. Fail. Huge. Epic. He had paint all over his face and it was just splattering everywhere. Multiple YouTube videos and rereading the instructions gave us no help. So, he’s back to working the old fashioned way. With a brush. It’s time consuming but just another coat on the duct work and that part will be done too!
Then we will make some final decisions on flooring and stairs. Then the fun stuff! But I’m finding this totally blank space a bit intimidating. Even with my inspiration. Will I be able to put those elements into this basement area? I don’t know, I’m going to just have to roll with the punches and see what happens. But this is definitely another story about the power of paint.
Thanks for stopping by!
-Jess