Fresh paint and a few simple upgrades for our basement stairs saved us hundreds (if not more!). The staircase is now a clean and bright addition to our basement remodel. When the basement renovation was underway we had no intention of keeping the original basement stairs as they were. They were creaky, narrow, and dirty. Ultimately, we wanted to pull them out and start fresh. But as the project progressed we decided to take our chance at leaving them in place and rehabbing them the best we could. I'm kicking myself a bit because we didn't seem to take any progress photos of the … [Read more...] about Painted & Upgraded Basement Stairs
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Laundry Room Overhaul – Painted Floors
When it comes to old basement floors - never underestimate the power of paint! Painting our basement floors was a quick and budget-friendly option! With some lovely white painted beams above us, we turned our attention to the concrete floors in our basement laundry room. Like the other half of our basement, I explored every option from paint to linoleum to tile. But for the sake of time (and money) - paint was a pretty obvious choice. The existing floor was an uneven mixture of old and new concrete, peeling paint, and stains (see below). While painting the floors was easily the quickest of … [Read more...] about Laundry Room Overhaul – Painted Floors
Basement Bathroom Addition
A big motivator for our basement renovation was adding a second bathroom to our house. A bathroom addition is a big project, but adding a basement bathroom can be especially challenging. If you remember from an earlier post, we had to install a lovely "sewage ejector" to pump wastewater out to the level of our main sewage line. (It's exactly what it sounds like). Once the in-ground plumbing was complete, framing, electrical, and the rest of the rough-in plumbing moved along without much issue. While planning the space, I intended to leave the above floor joists exposed and painted white like the … [Read more...] about Basement Bathroom Addition
DIY “Behind The Couch” Table
Our DIY behind-the-sofa table is easily one of the best things we have ever built. It has so many uses, from wine glasses and books to TV remotes and phones. Better yet - it's a quick and budget-friendly project! End tables are great and all... but sometimes the space just doesn't allow for the extra furniture (or it does, but you'd rather not cough up the money). That was our situation, and after tipping over one too many drinks on the couch and rug in our newly finished basement, it was time to build something. We knew that we could build a simple 'behind the couch table' - and best of all it could be … [Read more...] about DIY “Behind The Couch” Table
Basement Made Beautiful: Part 4 – Final Touches & Reveal
Our basement remodel was an investment of time and money. But the outcome was worth it and more! We now have a bright and clean, yet cozy and comfortable space that adds to our home in so many ways. The truth is, we've been so busy enjoying our new basement space (and planning a wedding and other 'minor' things like that), that it's been more than a year and I'm just now getting around to showing you all the finished product! First, let's have a quick reminder of what our basement looked like before the remodel: Scary, right?! Like how on earth could that possibly become a usable space? Let … [Read more...] about Basement Made Beautiful: Part 4 – Final Touches & Reveal
DIY Industrial Media Console
With the basement construction complete, we began our quest to furnish it. In particular, we knew we needed a TV stand and/or media unit to house some of our electronics, DVDs, etc. I knew I wanted something long, but also shallow in depth. And because I wanted to the basement to feel as spacious and open as possible, we opted to build a simple, open, industrial shelving unit. Our build supplies list consisted of: Three 5' x 11" (1 1/2" thick) wood planks Four 10" galvanized gas pipes (for the top shelf) Four 12" galvanized gas pipes (for the bottom shelf) 16 galvanized pipe flanges … [Read more...] about DIY Industrial Media Console
Laundry Room Overhaul – Dark and Drab to Bright and Fab
I'm writing this post months after this project was completed (wish I could say that's a first...oops). And if I'm being perfectly honest, I'm still worshipping the glorious thing that is pure, unadulterated, beautiful white paint. More specifically, the kind of white paint one uses to spray the $%@# out of your dingy, dark, dirty basement laundry room. Of course, no explanation of my love for white paint is going to be just without proof of it's capabilities. As proof, here are some before pictures of the laundry room in my basement. If you can recall from when we began finishing the basement, the space was … [Read more...] about Laundry Room Overhaul – Dark and Drab to Bright and Fab
Basement Made Beautiful: Part 3 – Flooring
Faux wood tiles were the perfect choice for our century-old basement floors. Extra thinset was used to offset the uneven original foundation. We were left with some pretty gorgeous flooring (IMO) for our renovated basement. Okay so I'm skipping a post about drywall because a) that would be really boring and b) I can't wait to tell you about my new basement floors! If you saw how awful the foundation floor was in my basement, you might have a hard time believing what I'm about to reveal! It was so bad! It was probably the original foundation, and to replace the rough, bumpy concrete would cost a little … [Read more...] about Basement Made Beautiful: Part 3 – Flooring
Small Bathroom Solution: Built-In Shelves Between the Studs
DIY built-in shelves between the studs were perfect for our small bathroom. We installed the shelves behind the door for a discrete storage solution. My upstairs bathroom is itty bitty. And it has an itty bitty vanity and sink to match. So storing toiletries and other essentials has always been a challenge. I plan to one day build a new custom vanity and increase my storage and countertop space, but in the meantime I decided to try my luck at building and installing some built-in shelves. I had been eyeing up a spot behind the door for sometime, and after a stud finder gave us the go-ahead, we started to … [Read more...] about Small Bathroom Solution: Built-In Shelves Between the Studs