Basement - Finished!!!!

After

Before

This is a finished project that has been a long time in the coming.  Renovating the basement common area to something usefull and tasteful that will entice people to use the space - for something other than a dumping ground.

The youngest had a large table for Lego, and it's been used as a game room/Xbox room off and on.  But yet, it wasn't comfortable or enticing.  Just some space where junk accumulated.

Our oldest is away at college and comes home from time to time during school breaks.  With his departure to college, his bedroom was immediately taken by one of the younger kids.  We still needed a place for the oldest to come home to.  So the Basement Improvement Project was conceived.

We hauled out all of the junk, finished out an archway area into more wall space and a door, painted the walls, replaced the skanky carpeting, bought new furniture, and made the basement a combination part time bedroom and teen rec room.

I think it turned out wonderfully! 

Ikea Billy bookcase and Hemnes TV stand

Hemnes 3-drawer dresser

Conference table, four chairs and Manstad sleeper sofa





Moving in - homework, computers, guitars

Seating area - couch and 2 bean bag chairs

Ikea Manstad couch folded out to a double/queen bed

I'm thrilled with the results.  It's the way I envisioned the colors and features.  Hopefully, Big Boy and other kids will enjoy the space for years to come. 

The Flor carpet squares worked out really well and the furniture looks to meet the function.  The party starts here tomorrow!

On to the next project.

Start here for the first Basement post.

Astrid

Basement - Carpet!

Male bonding - Stuart, Jake, and Kris laying (on) carpet squares

The Flor squares are pretty cool! 

After laying down a few squares to get the feel and squareness of the room - all it takes is a little sticky to join the corners and you're good to go.  The floor was carpeted in no time. 

Joining the corners with little stickies

On to the last phase - moving in the furniture.

Previous basement post - wall painting
First basement post here, the "before" picture

Astrid

Basement - Color!

I'm so loving sunshine yellow!

Tonight is painting around the edges, which are hard to get with a paint roller stick.  Tomorrow is another coat to even out the color.  Then carpet and finally furniture!  A race against the clock.

See the first basement post here
See the previous post here
Carpet is next


Astrid

Basement - Practically Perfect

This space used to be a very large opening and now is a door and wall

Leveling the concrete floor - a french drain was installed years ago.  The drain and existing floor are now one

First basement post here
Previous basement post here
See the start of painting here

It just keeps on getting better and better.

Astrid

Basement - Wall Texture

texture on the new sheet rock

See previous basement post here
See first basement post here
See next basement post here

Progress - and today we bring home a TV.

Astrid

Basement - Great Progress

Kathrin, aka, My Little Elf, started putting furniture together!

Kathrin  never ceases to amaze me - she was fired up and started putting the TV stand together.  Tomorrow is dresser time. 

While she was busy with the drill and screw driver, I was with Rose at Ikea for my last trip - couch time.  And wow are couches large!  I didn't have my camera with me at Ikea but I wouldn't let anybody unload the SUV until I took a picture.  Four large boxes.

Rose helped me with the last remaining item, a large L-shaped couch/fold out bed

Ikea's Manstad couch

Manstad couch folded out

Manstad couch in our living room!

All the furniture is home now.  Time to finishing painting and laying carpet, put together a bit of furniture, and then it's all done and ready for Stuart.  Great team work from so many people!

Astrid

See next basement post here
Previous post here
First post here

Basement - matched set



Four matching chairs for the game table

Today was another race against the clock between snow storms.  My friend Nina and I managed to bring home 3 chairs, a 5-foot table frame, a set of table legs, a 2-drawer TV stand, and assorted small items (more dishes - cough cough) all in my sub-compact rental - yeah girl power.  And poop to the old man who didn't think we could get it all in the car and felt compelled to make cutesy comments!

Kathrin learned how to put office chairs together from her good friend Alyssa.  So while I was pushing snow off the driveway, Kat was using her new skills.  Thanks girls!

And for tonight's entertainment, another coat of primer to hide the marks on the walls. 

So all that's left to procure from Ikea is a table top and couch.....and another 4 inches of snow on the way. 

See previous basement post here
See first basement post here
Next post here

Astrid

Basement - Furniture Procurement

Here's where I'm at with basement furniture procurement.  Kat and I managed to wrangle a dresser and chair home today in the subcompact rental car. 

Ikea's Hemnes 3-drawer dresser - unassembled and flat packed for shipping

Hemnes 3-drawer dresser after magical elves work overnight

Skruvsta chair from catalogue

After modest assembly - only 3 more to bring home in a small rental!

But now I'm conflicted.  The matching Hemnes TV stand is supposedly sold out in the larger size I want and the prognosis for new stock is uncertain at this time.  Do I wait to see if it will ever come in stock again or do I buy the smaller stand, let the TV hang over a bit or buy a smaller TV?  Decisions....

The larger Hemnes TV stand that is out of stock for an undetermined amount of time

The smaller Hemnes cabinet that will comfortably hold a TV smaller than 42 inches

Tomorrow I go back and load the car up again - table legs, table frame, 3 more chairs and possibly the smaller TV cabinet.  Friday is couch and table surface day!

Onward and upward.

Previous basement update here
First basement post here
Next basement post here

Astrid

Basement Update - Huge Disappointment!

Ikea's Manstad couch

My friend Rose and I have been plotting and giggling, waiting for today, the Presidential Birthday, to shop at Ikea.  We sounded worse then teenage girls as we made our plans.  We even had a coupon for a free meal that expires today, we measured the cargo area of her SUV to make sure the boxes would fit, and coordinated a time.

But now, my heart is crushed - Mother Nature dropped 6-8 inches of snow on us starting yesterday afternoon, with alternating layers of freezing rain, with more snow predicted.  We've called off our expedition for a sofa for the basement.....sniff sniff.  Postponing the trip is the "right" thing to do, the adult decision, but I feel grumpy.  I have been looking forward to this trip for a few weeks.  Not only was I picking up a couch for the basement, I was also going to show Rose the delights of Ikea shopping.  In the grand scheme of things, another day is no big deal but I can't help feeling disappointed.

This is the couch I would have picked up today.

Manstad couch unfolded to sleeping position.

So instead today of shopping, and after I shovel a mountain of snow out of the driveway, I will tromp down to the basement and cover old crayon marks with primer.  I won't bother with a picture of this next task as it doesn't have much visual interest.  As we were scrubbing and spackling the wall, it was hard to imagine what went on the basement when this house was lived in by other families- were there no parents supervising their kids - marks and gouges everywhere. 

It's 6:30 in the morning and the street is alive with snow-throwers.  I'll wait until the fumes die down before starting my turn.

A big shout out to Kat who got out first thing this morning - even before me and starting working it!

Next post is here
Previous Basement Update here
First Basement post here

Astrid

Basement - Incremental Changes

New wall and door taped and mudded

$770 worth of carpet squares - in modest pizza boxes!

buttercup yellow paint

The basement project seems to take forever and then there are minutes when it seems like there is warp speed progress!

Next is sealing the outer edges of the floor and painting.  See the start of the project here. 

Astrid

A Door and a Wall for the Basement

A new door and wall

As part of the Basement Improvement Project, the goal was to wall-off an office area and make the main area a bit more pleasing for our soon to be home for Spring Break, son-away at college.  We took an odd shaped opening between the two areas and added a door and sheet rocked wall.

Odd shaped opening between office and main area

removing some of the low over hang

Over hang removed

test fitting the door

adding studs and anchors for the sheet rock

gluing and bolting down sheet rock anchors

another job well done

Tomorrow's task is to "mud in" the sheet rock and get the walls ready to  paint.  While the mud is curing, we will re level the floor and seal the odd strip around the edges where a french drain system was installed a few years ago.

Another step closer to Stuart's Man Cave.  See start of the project here.

So far, we have spent

$770 Flor carpet
$40 paint
$40 miscellaneous bolts, glue, nails, floor leveler etc.  I'm not counting the door and sheet rock as we already had these on hand...

For a total of $850, so far...the rest of the spending will be furniture and a flat screen TV.

Astrid