Ya'll. When I maiden of all showed you lot the beginnings of the basement renovation, I had no thought it would receive got us 8 months to complete it. I exactly looked dorsum on the engagement of that first post, in addition to lo in addition to behold, I pretty much wrote it the twenty-four hr menses I got pregnant.
Sooooo....that's means also much information, but I experience similar it's my best shot at explaining why I moved at extreme sloth speed on this one.
Let me warn you lot on the front end end...this is a long post. I debated on breaking it upwards into several smaller posts, but I've made you lot hold off long enough. So, today you're getting 8 months of difficult move crammed into i long post.
Let's start at the beginning. Eight months ago, the basement pretty much looked similar the below picture. I used it equally a hoarding room for projects gone bad, it smelled similar a litter box, in addition to it seemed to survive the official countrywide coming together identify for spiders in addition to ants.
I avoided it similar the plague.
Once nosotros decided to receive got the plunge on renovating it (worst timing ever), nosotros ripped upwards all of the gross truthful cat carpet in addition to onetime 1970's trim.
And this is where the problem began. I've been putting off writing this post for weeks because, well....SHAME.
The bottom trace is this: Back inwards Oct I chose the grossest chocolate-brown woods plank tile ever.
In my defense, I was newly pregnant, sick equally hell, in addition to I totally allow some preserve store sales guy bulldoze me into a buy I didn't genuinely love. I mean value this film of Jesse looking at the tile inwards the store kinda sums it up.
And what's fifty-fifty worse.....once nosotros brought the tile home, one-half of it was damaged in addition to muddied (we assumed all of the gunk would come upwards off during the dehazing process...and it definitely did NOT), in addition to piece the tile looked a footling to a greater extent than grayness inwards the store, inwards our basement it was a lovely shade of poop brown.
But nosotros pushed forward. Because that's what you lot exercise when you lot pass $1000 on tile that you lot can't return.
Never again, preserve shop. NEVER AGAIN.
Jesse spent almost 2 weeks installing this poop tile inwards the entire basement. And piece I tried to encourage him in addition to cheer him on (he worked hence difficult in addition to did such a expert job), I was also secretly crying inside.
I knew I hated it from the minute he installed the maiden of all tile, but I exactly couldn't verbalize up.
I experience similar it's a life long mission of mine to acquire how to trust my instincts. I tend to e'er know what I genuinely desire correct from the beginning, but I'm hence bad at listening to my gut. I acquire pressured into things genuinely easily, in addition to I'm the worst at speaking my mind. I basically receive got to disaster-ify something in addition to and hence call almost it for a brace weeks before I receive got the balls to start over in addition to develop it. It's a painfully obvious flaw.
So, equally you lot tin reckon inwards the below picture, I was genuinely diving headfirst into the 'make the 1970's basement fifty-fifty to a greater extent than of a nighttime pit' strategy. I was testing out nighttime grayness pigment colors on the walls, in addition to obviously....poop floors. I mean value I felt some sort of self-imposed force per unit of measurement area to build this into a 'mancave', in addition to hence I didn't genuinely receive got into concern human relationship what would genuinely expect the best inwards our house.
Also, after several attempts of dehazing the tile, it nonetheless dried similar this. And the nighttime grayness grout nosotros used dried white.
All inwards all, a totally ideal outcome.
Sarcasm.
So, nosotros decided to pay someone to come upwards professionally dehaze the tile, in addition to they weren't able to exercise it either.
The disaster exactly kept growing amongst intensity.
So, I spent a few days freaking out in addition to feeling similar nosotros were exactly going to receive got to alive amongst this. Because who asks their hubby to rip upwards M foursquare feet of tile he exactly spent 2 weeks installing yesteryear himself.
Well, after a few days of soul searching...I do.
It took a footling convincing, but ultimately Jesse admitted that he genuinely hated the tile, too, in addition to that nosotros should exactly suck it upwards in addition to develop it. The infinitesimal nosotros were both on the same page, I felt a huge moving ridge of relief, in addition to I knew it was the correct decision.
And I'll survive honest. We decided to pay someone to come upwards demo the poop tile in addition to install the novel tile of our choice. I was manifestly pretty worthless (renovation-wise) at this point, in addition to it was exactly i of those times where nosotros knew it would suck to pass the money, but that it would survive coin good spent. And it was.
And I never captured a film of the flooring guys demo-ing in addition to installing the novel floors (because it's hence awkward to tell contractors that you're a blogger in addition to and hence receive got pictures of them). But, here's a reminder of what the floors looked similar after the poop tile was removed.
After the tile was removed, I spent a lot of fourth dimension going to unlike dwelling improvement stores in addition to flooring stores in addition to weighing my options. I was determined to build the correct flooring conclusion this fourth dimension (and honestly terrified that I was exactly gonna build a mess of it all over again).
But luckily, I did terminate upwards making a bully decision.
I chose the Leonia Silver woods plank tile from Lowe's inwards the 6x24 inch. And I exactly chose a grout to check the tile because I didn't desire also much contrast.
Lowe's didn't furnish me amongst tile or pay me to tell you lot almost this. I bought this tile amongst my ain coin similar a normal mortal in addition to I'm telling you lot almost it because I similar it.
So, after the novel tile was installed (and I felt similar I could breathe again), I decided to follow my pump in addition to exactly build this entire infinite lite in addition to brilliant in addition to basically the contrary of my master awful plan. Our solid is from the 1970's in addition to it exactly looks ameliorate when it's lite in addition to bright.
You'd mean value I would've learned this lesson when I stained the upstairs floors nighttime chocolate-brown in addition to had to redo them.
YOU WOULD THINK.
AND YOU WOULD WOULD BE WRONG.
So, Jesse painted all of the nighttime beige walls white. I used Sherwin Williams Simply White similar nosotros did upstairs.
And then, fresh off the unloose energy high of finally choosing the correct tile, I decided to exercise something that I've wanted to exercise since the twenty-four hr menses nosotros moved into this house.
I had Jesse pigment the fireplace.
For those of you lot who receive got been next the weblog for awhile, you lot know I've debated icon the upstairs fireplace for years. And when I mentioned it a few times on the blog, I got a massive moving ridge of emails from you lot guys. Half of you lot wanted me to pigment it so bad, in addition to one-half of you lot were absolutely freaking out almost me ruining it. It totally got inwards my head, in addition to I never painted it.
So, since the basement fireplace is much smaller, easier to paint, in addition to well, inwards the basement, I decided to receive got a boundary of organized faith in addition to exactly exercise it.
I tested out a footling nighttime grayness pigment maiden of all in addition to decided it looked awful, in addition to ultimately went amongst the same only white pigment nosotros used on the walls. The goal inwards the terminate was to exactly acquire inwards blend inwards amongst the walls in addition to ultimately build the infinite experience larger.
And it totally worked.
Here are a few before in addition to after shots hence you lot tin reckon how much it brightened upwards the space.
Before...looking into the living room.
And after....
Before...looking towards the fireplace.
And after.
And here's the room equally it looks today. We painted the within of the fireplace box amongst dark high-heat pigment in addition to it genuinely exactly added the perfect finishing touch. I mightiness add together a mantle similar I did upstairs, but I'll acquire to that later.
And here's how it looks from the other direction. We're making some major changes upstairs (which I programme on showing you lot inwards my next post) in addition to hence the upstairs slice of furniture has been moved downstairs. And all I genuinely added was a Homegoods ottoman. Because where else tin you lot honour an ottoman for $100.
I know painted fireplaces aren't for everyone, but in the end, we're both genuinely happy amongst the means it turned out in addition to the entire room exactly feels bigger in addition to to a greater extent than modern. And Jesse was really apprehensive almost doing this in addition to yesteryear the fourth dimension it was finished, he wouldn't near upwards almost how awesome it looked. So, it was genuinely a bully learning lesson inwards trusting my vision.
And for the record, since the twenty-four hr menses nosotros moved into this house, Jesse has basically allow me plough our solid into a frilly dollhouse in addition to he's never in i lawsuit batted an eye. But every fourth dimension I mentioned icon the fireplace at that spot was a tiny expect of terror on his face. So, a huge give cheers you lot to Jesse for trusting my sentence (even after the chocolate-brown tile disaster).
He's a expert one. :)
He's a expert one. :)
We also updated all of the lite fixtures inwards the basement. The worst offenders were the nighttime chocolate-brown boob lights inwards the living room area. Always a fave.
We upgraded them amongst some beautiful chrome in addition to drinking glass level mounts from Lamps Plus.
And I haven't hung whatever wall fine art downwards hither (or fifty-fifty upstairs) in addition to am nonetheless feeling really minimalist inwards my approach to the walls. There's something almost spending the ameliorate component of a yr renovating a infinite in addition to and hence feeling really 'iffy' almost poking a bunch of holes inwards the wall.
So, that's the living room!
Now let's motility on to the residual of the basement.
Remember the bedroom? This is how it looked before nosotros renovated it. We had ripped upwards the carpet years before (CATS!) in addition to it was exactly a disgusting box of carpet gum in addition to dust.
And this is what it looks similar amongst the novel flooring, freshly painted walls, in addition to build novel chunky trim.
We're currently using this room equally the novel invitee sleeping room in addition to dwelling office. It's a massive room in addition to gets tons of daylight, in addition to it's been hence prissy to come upwards downwards hither in addition to relax from fourth dimension to time.
We replaced the lite fixture inwards hither amongst the same level mountain that nosotros used inwards the living room, in addition to nosotros added an amazing novel carpet from Rugs USA. (It's the Satara Edison inwards Nickel.)
The upholstered bed was a craigslist honour in addition to the bedside tables are the Ikea Rast dressers I stained grayness inwards this post.
And exactly yesterday, I changed out the hardware on the dressers amongst these super affordable chrome loving cup pulls.
You tin reckon inwards the to a higher identify pic that they nonetheless had the aureate hardware, in addition to I mean value the chrome plant hence much ameliorate inwards this space. It's the footling things.
The bedding is exactly materials I had approximately the house. The pinkish velvet pillow is from Etsy in addition to the patterned pillows are from Target
(I mean value they're nonetheless there.).
(I mean value they're nonetheless there.).
And this is exactly all the materials from the upstairs office, styled equally minimally equally possible, because who wants to add together a bunch of trinkets to a room that Tootie spends 3/4 of her twenty-four hr menses in.
Not this truthful cat mama.
And right away let's motility on to i of my favorite parts of the basement: the bathroom. I'll preface yesteryear proverb that it belike won't blow your mind. My photography is pretty bad in addition to it's a pretty minimally styled space. But, it makes me hence happy to receive got this footling bath finished in addition to prissy in addition to new, in addition to so, exactly exercise me a favor in addition to pretend similar I pulled off the best bath makeover of all time.
Here's the before. So gross.
Nothing worked. Everything smelled.
And here's the after. So clean. So new.
Makes me wanna waddle all the means downstairs exactly to receive got a shower.
The vanity is from Lowe's (the alone i I could honour that looked expert in addition to didn't build me become broke), in addition to the shower drapery is from Target.
The lite fixture is from Lamps Plus (my absolute favorite...I dear the footling crystal globes.). And the mirror is a thrift store honour that I painted silver.
And in addition to hence the finally footling surface area of the basement...the hallway. It's non genuinely all that exciting, but I mean value it's a bully event of what a large departure pigment tin make.
This is the 'before' view, looking towards the invitee sleeping room in addition to bathroom.
And here's the after. All nosotros did was pigment the panelled walls amongst Simply White, supervene upon the doors, in addition to pigment the cut in addition to doors Ultra Pure White. And in addition to hence nosotros replaced the lite fixture amongst this modern chrome sconce from Lamps Plus.
Here's the 'before' persuasion looking the contrary way, towards the door that leads to the garage. (That's how the tile looked before it was grouted.)
And here's how the hallway looks today. For now, nosotros exactly painted the door to the garage, because Tootie enjoys her truthful cat door, in addition to frankly, nosotros ran out of steam to supervene upon some other door (exterior doors aren't cheap, ya'll).
But still, how much ameliorate is that hallway?!
And that's the entire basement makeover inwards i big, long, brutally honest post. Thanks hence much for existence here, ya'll. And give cheers you lot for allowing me to exactly survive a existent mortal almost all of it.
I'll survive dorsum before long to portion some genuinely fun materials almost the upstairs, but maiden of all I'm going to receive got a footling fourth dimension to hang out amongst Mathias who is dwelling from the Navy for a brace of weeks. It's the maiden of all fourth dimension I've seen him since I've been pregnant...and I'm slow adjusting to errrrrbody grabbing my belly the infinitesimal they reckon me.
I'll survive 33 weeks on Sunday...still truckin' along! :)
'Til adjacent time!
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