There was a time in my life (like 2 years ago) when I thought that basements were dumb. What was the point? Seriously. They're dark, dank, and smelly. If you put things down there in storage, they'd either end up ruined or completely forgotten behind a stack of moldy National Geographics. Plus there's bugs--those nasty centipede things that I abhor. I was NOT a fan of basements. I'm surprised that we actually have some pictures of the befores since I seriously hated going downstairs into our dungeon.
Warning: crappy pictures ahead (to match the surroundings).
You get the idea: nastiness. And you know it's gotta be bad when I give Mitch free reign in the decor department anywhere in our house. So when up to him, he painted the walls bright orange (once a Flyer's fan, always a Flyer's fan) and I never stepped foot down there again. That is until we decided to finish it.
There were several "rooms" down there. Mitch removed one wall to open it up.
Smashing the wall. I did partake in this event. It was fun, but dang, was that sledge hammer heavy!
And it went from looking like that, to this.
Update: We painted the walls Behr Light French Gray (in an eggshell finish) which is a beautiful soft blue/gray. The color, along with the addition of lighting (pots, sconces, mini chandy, and lamps), really lighted things up down there.
The room is divided up into two zones. One half is the lounging/tv zone and the other half is the work zone. This is Mitch's side of our work zone. Notice the tasteful sports theme. Out with the orange walls, yet the Flyers are still represented. And that's a picture of Jackie Robinson sliding into home and the Babe hitting a homer. Classics. And I'm cool with that.
Mitch made this little shelf. It's the perfect spot for his collection of Philly sports team glasses.
And this is my side.
Mitch bought the 50s dining table for me for Christmas one year when we were dating. I spotted it when we were out at an antique store, fell in love, then he went back and bought it for me. It makes the perfect desk. I made the inspiration board. The lamp we got at Target years ago. And that cute owl I picked up at a thrift store.
We're really happy with how it all turned out. It gives us another room to retreat to--which in a small two bedroom rancher is much needed. We did the demo part ourselves but hired out the construction aspect. Now I can't imagine our house without our finished basement. If you haven't seen it already, here's a little clip of our basement taken by our friend Keith.
Participating in:





seriously gorgeous! I wish that we had a basement. . .
ReplyDeletelooks fantastic!!! LOVE the mirror-mounted sconces! Totally Candice Olsen-esque!
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw the first finished pic I said OMG out loud even though I've seen the video clip. It is amazing!!!!!!! I would love to have a basement even if you looked 1/2 as good as yours. Did you do the mirror sconces? they are beautiful!
ReplyDeletegorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteAll that design and construction talent...under one roof! Absolutely stunning!
ReplyDeleteSo nice! You would never know it was the same room! Visiting from My Uncommon Slice...thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteLiz
What an amazing transformation! I would never guess that it is the same space. You did a fantastic job!
ReplyDeleteAll I have to say is WOW, this is gorgeous! I love all of your design choices for this room.
ReplyDeleteI Love basements (when they're finished) and yours turned out beautifully! Thank you for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteA huge transformation! You guys did a great job making your basement a comfy and functional space. I love that you included the sports items in a classy way.
ReplyDeleteFab remodel! Love your color palatte. We have to remodel our 70s basement soon...so this was really good inspiration.
ReplyDeleteMichael
Great transformation. Thanks for joining WUW.
ReplyDeleteWow. I hope my basement looks like this someday. Great job! Visiting from TMC.
ReplyDeleteshut your mouth girl! you could do this for a living! :)
ReplyDeleteWOW beautiful. Please tell me about the flooring. Is it laminate, hardwood or what ... I love them.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a difference. Most people would have just kind of given up on jazzing up that basement. But you guys made it stunning! Great job!
ReplyDeleteWhat a HUGE change! The sconces make the whole space, in my opinion. They are fantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to the roomspiration party!
what a great improvement! Love it all and the video is a great idea!
ReplyDeleteYes, most of the folks think that basement is dumb and use it as a storage room. There are a lot of ideas to make the basement best place for living like making gym, office, hangout, theater. Is there any other idea for renovating the basement?
ReplyDeletethat looks amazing! i can't believe how bright and airy it looks. we are in the middle of a basement reno-have been for like 2 year now, lordy. slowly, verrrry slowly, it's coming along, lol. what's with all this philly stuff, are you guys local? i'm 20 mins outside of philly.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Fantastic! I can't believe this space was ever dungeon-y. ;-). Seriously a wonderfully function and fabulous room that I'll bet you use all the time. Perfect for a Super Bowl party. ;-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up to my first Room Evolution party - I look forward to seeing more!
Wanted to let you know that I featured your basement on my blog today for the Room Evolution Link Party. Thanks so much for sharing your space - you must use it all the time! I love it.
ReplyDeletewww.evolutionofstyleblog.blogspot.com
Saw you featured at Evolutions of Style, what a great transformation! So much work, but so worth it!
ReplyDeleteHappy to be your newest follower.
Karah