Basement - Part I

I don't have before pictures for this one but trust me when I say, our basement has been sorely neglected in the decor and furnishing arena.  Actually, it's just been sorely neglected, forget about any arena.  Jenna lives with us and uses the basement bedroom which is prime real estate since it's roomy and private and has its own full bath.  The rest of the space was a catchall for whatever wasn't used somewhere else in the house.  On top of that, we've had problems with the exterior doors leaking.  The space was carpeted and with every storm, it would get soaked.  Despite the carpet drying efforts, it just always smelled musty.  Yuck.  So, the carpet needed to go and the doors needed to be replaced. Work has begun!  The builder-beige walls have been painted (Sherwin Williams Versatile Gray) and ceilings painted white.  The smelly carpet has been replaced with a vinyl-coated laminate that looks like hardwood.  The exterior doors are all being replaced and the work is being done by a contractor who knows how to install doors properly!  These next couple pictures are after the painting and flooring.

This is the main room (recreation room?) and the door there on the right leads into a small room (under the sun room) where a mini-kitchen will be installed (more to come!).  The room at the far left is the bedroom and bath.

The patio door is being replaced with a French door.  It was actually supposed to go in before the floor but there was a delay in delivery - ugh - they are still not in yet :(  Hopefully this weekend or next.

Here is a "partial" after!

Here is the "before" of the bedroom.  I almost forgot that this room had been painted a few years ago when Jen was in college.  We were lucky enough for her to be able to live at home and go to school so we let her paint it.  The teal wall was pretty and somewhat unusual because it was metallic (I remember the paint was from Ralph Lauren) but since this is a basement room with only one window, and Jenna's furniture is black, it just felt kind of dark. 

One of the other great features in this room is the huge reach-in closet with double doors.  The sad thing is, for years it has had only a clothes rod and shelf --which did not make use of the space at all!



But look at this!  We painted the room (Sea Salt by Sherwin Williams), wallpapered the back wall of the closet and Dan installed the organizer!  

... and Dan installed lighting:

Jenna is in the process of moving back in.  She has two nightstands and a chest of drawers to go back in but they are buried under her clothing in the store room - LOL!   

One other area is this nook. 

And this is what it looks like now:

Please excuse the litter pan...but otherwise, I am loving this office!  It's all from Ikea although the desk and chair were purchased when Jenna was in college.  The bookshelves are navy!!  I'm crushing on that color big time and have been since I painted the old waterfall buffet (HERE).  Once this space is completed, I'll post an update.  The electrical panel will be covered with a white board.

Besides the doors, the other big deal down here will be the mini-kitchen.  It will feature gray cabinetry, a refrigerator, a microwave, and table/chairs.  The cabinets are from Ikea and here they are, just waiting assembly:

Stay tuned!