Basement Walkout Makeover

 

When we moved into this house 4 years ago (seems like yesterday),
the basement was partially finished.

A bedroom, bathroom, and family room was framed in, minus the drywall.
When we hired my hubby’s best friend, Scott, to finish it,
he realized all of the framing was done wrong.
HUH?
So, we had to start over 🙁

When it came time to do the floor, we chose ceramic tile because our dog, Dude.

Dude-a-kins goes potty out the basement doors.
Labs like to roll around in dirt.
Carpet would not work, although I wish it could have for the warmth factor.
The ceramic tile is holding up quite well.

After Scott finished the drywall,
I decided to use some left over paint to paint it all hoping to save some money.
Bad move because it turned out very dark.

Here it is before:

It’s not bad, kind of cozy, but I knew I would change it eventually.
I first needed to raise some cash flow.

The pool table was used for Polly Pockets and Dude’s hair catcher, so I knew that was going (poor Polly).
Then I realized I had no use for the stools, so I sold them too.

All on Craig’s list.

Craig’s list is great and all, but make sure your hubby is there with you when anyone comes over to look at your item.

Then there are the curtains…sold at our garage sale.
Garage sale tips found here:

By this time I was pretty loaded (not really).
Time to hire a painter.
My Dad 🙂
Yes, I paint, but I can only paint so much, ya know?

So…
My Dad has come and gone, 4 times to be exact.
He did a great job.
He’s 78, but can still paint like a 28 yr. old.
Thanks Dad!

Come with me,
I’ll walk you down…Check out this cool TWEEN SPY WINDOW.
Shh!!!
I SEE EVERYTHING FROM UP HERE… wink

Keep going…
(by the way…I had the runner installed because I fell down the upper portion 
and nearly killed myself, so I knew I had to do it-be careful.)

Here she is…
I have the fire lit, and I made you POPCORN!

(popcorn is REAL!!!!)

I set up lots of games to keep out so they don’t go to waste in the closet.
The girls doll house is there too.
Sure wish they would play with it.

The pillows I got at Bed Beth & Beyond with my handy dandy 20% coupons.
The rug is from Home Depot-it’s an outdoor rug-cheap.

The table & light fixture I had.  I was going to sell the light, but so happy it worked here, even though it’s a little high.  We had to rig it up there.  The top base cover thing was missing, so we used an old one from another fixture.

Right before I took this picture it fell, but I pushed it back up there.  Hopefully the Zots I used will hold it.

No worries though, the fixture is up there very secure-thanks Rick!
(By the way I am selling the old fixture if interested!)

The stained glass window I paid a friend to make for us.
I like how the blue shows up here.

The Curtain Panels are from Bed Bath & Beyond also.
That is where most of the budget went.  These are great.
They look like burlap, but not so thick.
Rick’s belt came in handy here, just like I did in our family room.

I moved the photo door here because the room called for it.
This is a room we hope to make many memories in, so it’s perfect for the mood.

Adds lots of warmth too.  To see how I made this photo door, click “here“.
I was thinking about painting the armoire and coffee table.
So happy I didn’t.
I love the different wood tones together.

Want to come visit us for a weekend?
A friend of our’s has a quote…
“Company is like fish…2 days and then you throw it out.”
Through these doors is our guest room suite (Scott built that too).
Our family & friend’s like to visit us, and this is their own little nest.
I’ll show you that soon-promise.

I bet Dude could eat that entire bowl of popcorn in 2 minutes.

I’m so very satisfied with the space now.  It never felt right before.
The girls bring their friends here, we turn on the electric fireplace, and it becomes a great place to have fun.  Looking forward to watching some movies down here.

Love,

Click here to see Christmas at our house: