basement makeover

Do you have a room (or more) in your house that is under-utilized? Something you’ve set up for a certain function, but then never gets used at all?

That’s my basement.

Before Chloe was born I insisted that Hubby finish our basement. I was adamant that we needed a playroom for the girls toys, and that it would keep the majority of the mess off of the main floor. He re-did most of it himself but got professionals in to do the basement waterproofing to avoid damp or structural issues, and we filled it with toys and play areas and posters to make it a fun and welcoming space…

and the girls said they were too afraid to go down there.

UGH!

This past Spring I decided that if the kids weren’t going to use it, then I’d make it Hubby’s man-cave so that he could invite the boys over or just enjoy the hockey game undisturbed. An estrogen-free zone. You’d think he’d be all over that right?

Nope. Said he “didn’t need a man-cave”. (I’ve put it in writing now Hubs, so a few years from now when the girls are all hormones and attitude, I’ll be able to point you to this blog post and say “I told you so”)

Well, I use the basement – or a section of it anyways – for my yoga, and I decided it was time to make the room mine – or at least family-friendly – (not overly masculine and not childish). Time for a basement makeover!

This is my after-the-original-toy-room-but-before-the-new-basement:

At this point I’d sold off all of the girls baby toys that they no longer used and removed all of the posters and pictures from the walls. Hubby’s bar (on the right) was wedged against the wall and was completely unusable.

Based on the damaged walls, this room called for a paint job at the very least. Perhaps even one of the giant images that stretch an entire wall to create a feature for the room found on this website.

I went to Benjamin Moore and told them I had burgundy leather sofas and beige carpet and could they recommend something. Without hesitation, I was directed to Wind’s Breath – and it was absolutely perfect!

The room was beige before, but this one is a much brighter shade, less yellow and more contemporary.

But it’s a very long room, so I thought that the basement makeover needed an accent wall (or two) to divvy it up.

The chocolate brown wall became “Gibraltar Cliffs” and I painted the bulkhead and a few nooks and crannies in “Squirrel’s Tail”

Greige and blue must be the rage for Fall because I was able to easily find pillows, blankets and accessories in those colours.

We hung the TV above the crazy fireplace nook and then I built the bookshelf to fit neatly inside it.

We pulled Hubby’s oak bar (which he built with a friend) away from the wall so that it is finally usable.

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Basement makeover, man cave, theatre room, rec room, basement space, oak bar, DIY bar — (*still need to put the trim back on the edges*)

The window wells were lightened up with a fresh paint job as well and it felt as though I’d doubled the light coming in.

I kept my little yoga section and am on the fence about whether to mirror the one wall or not.

The only thing left to build/add to the basement makeover might be a sofa/console table behind the loveseat.

In the two weeks since the basement makeover has been finished, we’ve already had three movie nights and two sleepovers down here – so I’m going to say the transformation is a giant success.

Boys can watch hockey, play poker and have a few beers, girls can have friends over to play, Mommy can have her yoga section and the best part?

We can have movie nights together in our new “theatre room”.

Total cost for the basement makeover: