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Once upon a time, there was a dark and crusty basement.
Yes, for some reason, crusty is the best I can do. Because it just feels right to describe it that way. With crust all over the HVAC system and the floors were dingy and the walls were covered in spiders and who-knows-what-else. We were pretty sure there was a clown in the crawlspace situation and also hoped to find drug money stashed in the walls. I mean, JK we would totally turn in the drug money in a responsible manner. We would not keep it for ourselves a-la Breaking Bad.
But anyway, it was dark. And crusty. With deer guts and stuff. Ew.
The first time we saw the house, we descended into the basement and actually had this thought: How much fun will it be to bring it to life and finish it off? It was so intimidating to walk down those stairs but there has also been something so gratifying about the process.
One of my favorite views in our house now, is sitting on the sofa with a glimpse into the basement when the pocket door is open. So rewarding after all that work; a little glimpse of blue, a preview of those barn doors and the fun wallpaper which brought it all to life.
And today we’re more than thrilled to finally share this big fat reveal with all of you fabulous people.
We absolutely love this space.
We knew that the entire basement needed to work hard for us and grow with us as our family grows, because of the limited space we had upstairs. Here are a few specific needs we had in mind as we planned out the space:
• A space for the kids – and playroom area to send kids downstairs with their friends, when not playing outside.
• A place for sleepovers. We’re super picky about who those happen with, but we also need to be a little realistic when it comes to places for overnight guests and friends.
• A family space – we love movies and gathering downstairs at night where we can spread out. If you remember, we had the tv in our fireplace upstairs, but this serves as a great movie room for all 5 of us {and two giant dogs who are definitely a part of our pack}.
• Storage for video games, books, toys, and much more.
• A side entry with lots of storage, that works hard with all the shoes – game changer for exiting and entering the house since before, it was just the front door.
• We also left a good bit of the space open for plenty of room with all things foot traffic, playing, and space to spread out with toys and legos, since we are in that childhood stage with the kids at ages 12, 10 & 8. Toys are still a thing, but they don’t rule our life.
• In the entire basement area, we also have my studio area, and the laundry area {still to come, but you’ll see glimpses of it in this post}.
• It should also be noted that said basement definitely came with its own set of challenges. Like, the looming HVAC, scary gross pipes, and so much more.
So we went from this…
To this!
But seriously… can you believe how far we’ve come?!
We love the bookshelves and all the storage they offer. They were designed specifically for the space, and we couldn’t be happier with the way they turned out.
Notes added here which are which are a few FAQ’s on where we are with our renovation/why we’ve made the choices we’ve made so far:
The Master addition. Right now, we are waiting to add our master addition on the house. We have no plans to move. But we want to spread out since the younger two kids will still be sharing a space until we can. We know eventually, with a boy and a girl, they will not be happy with that situation as teenagers. The idea is that Emerson will take our current space. Malone will stay in the current room and we’re beginning Aiden’s permanent room very soon. The master addition will take a lot of funds and process down the road, so we’re waiting. There are two different factors that will come into play here. a. sewage may eventually come through. or b. we will be forced to move our utilities because the backup septic field will encroach on them and it’s very complicated.
We’re waiting to see what happens on the sewage side of things in the meantime. Sewage a very sensitive and passionate topic in these here parts. We’ve witnessed a few people get kinda feisty on the topic, since they’ve understandably lived with septic restrictions for years. Imagine making changes to your home, according to the rules, spending thousands on land surveys {raises hand} and odd looking additions, for starters. And all because of their restrictions all based on septic. That being said, sewage will more than likely come through since it’s now on all sides of our neighborhood. Eventually, we’ll be incorporated, and we’re not going anywhere in the meantime. If we’re wrong, we’ll figure something out and get creative.
All that not-so-brief history explained, the idea {and grand vision we had the first day we walked through this house before we knew it would be such an issue} is that the children will have the upper level, and the bottom level will be perfect to have friends over. And hopefully, we will move to the other side of the house with our master bedroom. This + pool = winning on the teenager side of things. We want our house to be the place where the kids hang. That way, we always know what’s going on. That’s the grand plan, anyway. And the thought process behind this basement. Good, long, complicated story.
The garage conundrum. We have quite a few plans left for this house. A lot of you guys have asked us where our garage will be now that we’ve finished the basement. We have plans for an eventual carriage house addition on our property, with a space to house cars. We know that with teens, this will help. The plan is for a carriage house with maybe even a small living space over it. But again, it’s just not our top priority because again, process. I don’t even want to think about that yet, but we’ve made small allowances toward our future in that direction. It’s all currently one big waiting game. And so wait, we will. We’re perfectly happy in the meantime.
God bless you if you’re still reading this. You the real MVP. But as you can see, our thought process has been a complicated one because of future plans and the restrictions they have here. Check out our entire money pit series here and the basement progress play by play for any specific process questions you may have here. It’s been a long story in the making. In short, you can say a lot of things about us. Never say we’re not up for a good challenge. ;}
And these fabulous doors from artisan hardware {see how we installed them and the beautiful details behind their processes, here}
Oh, and we just had to share another view of this wallpaper from the laundry area side of things.
It has a metallic sheen, and we love it so.
Once upon a time, this was another side door.
In the year that we lived in the upper two levels while we waited to begin this one, we never once used said side door. And also, it kinda leaked. And by kinda, I mean definitely. Since the previous owner pointed drainage directly at said door. It was the first thing to go after we properly rerouted the water and sealed our crawlspace. We’re loving the space freeing up the wall allowed us to add. This hall tree to corral all the things, kind of rock our world.
We also loved rehabbing this industrial desk into a family command center. It holds a charging station, school and art supplies, paper, cords, and so much more. We topped it off with this DIY dry erase board with FrogTape®
I gave this piece some new brass pulls, and a fresh coat of paint left over from the hideaway
We added some wallpaper for some personality on sale from anthro – {no longer available from there but found it here} – laundry room and studio wallpaper is also from here
I also decided that though we had originally decided not to add anything to the wall because of all the pattern, it needed something nice to anchor the space a bit.
So I dabbled in a painting project {so therapeutic with a fresh cup of coffee and audio book on a rainy day} and added this.
You may remember this guy from our last house? There was no way I was leaving him behind.
We love the extra space for the family in a downstairs option, where we keep cool drinks and ice cream!
The lights are from the fabulous Kichler lighting and the chandelier can be found here.
We also added a lot of canned lights which keeps the basement light and bright. It’s anything but dark.
Flooring and fabulous tile are from Jeffrey Court and the name is Oakwood Lilly.
We love giving it a modern edge with fun, geometric lines.
We adore this area to bring in all their books.
If you’ve been reading for a while then you know that I have absolutely no problem with hoarding two things: craft supplies + books. One can never have enough of such things. I love the fact that they can come downstairs and choose a book.
Our very own little home library for a rainy day.
This gorgeous rug is from Loloi – and I’m obsessed.
If I were a rug, this would be it.
That probably doesn’t make any sense. Time for more coffee.
This furniture.
Is everything.
We went for their new line of fabulous recliners, from La-Z-Boy with a bit of a twist. They recline with a button, and serve as a nice modern contrast to the softer, classic lines. It even has a space to charge you device. The fabric is so fabulous, it feels like a soft, trustworthy tee and we loved adding some brass nail heads for extra character. D145087 – i-Merino / Flannel
So we definitely went with two queen-sized sleeper sofas from La-Z-Boy, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with them. Super comfy and stylish in one, we went for classic lines and style. This fabric has a fabulous subtle tweed look to it – details on the fabric are here: C140536 – Deauville / Hemp
We’ll have more details coming soon on how we arrange it for sleepovers, and what works in the land of all things children! But we decided to go this route rather than built in bunks or something bulky to take up space. This way the room is always in full use and working hard.
The coffee table may look familiar. It’s one we used in the Ronald McDonald House project a few years ago.
The sitting area {Because of the column we enclosed for support} is long and skinny. So we needed a versatile table to stretch and shrink – literally – with our needs. Thus this nesting table. It has a great contrast of modern lines in cool steel with a warmer top… also from La-A-Boy.
The boys have already claimed it as their lego headquarters.
This space just makes us happy.
Once creepy and quite neglected… it’s a whole new thing.
Paint colors: {We tied them in with the rest of the house}
- PURE WHITE {HGSW4006}: trim, ceilings, and our main cabinets.
- SAND DOLLAR {HGSW3117} on our kitchen island.
- NEBULOUS WHITE {HGSW4057}: On our walls
- DIVERSE BEIGE {HGSW3086}: A few of our doors for a nice deeper grey, and accent colors throughout the home.
- SWIMMING {HGSW1327}: (In case you were wondering) The blue you spy throughout the rest of the home, on the ceilings + some walls!
The paneled ceilings with wainscoting worked out nicely. You can see more of the process in the links above on all things basement timeline, but we love the solution. It’s attractive, without making it a dropdown, while utilizing the height in the basement to it’s highest possible height.
And if there’s ever a problem, one section will be easier to remove than replacing the entire thing. Since all the plumbing and electrical and HVAC are brand new, here’s to hoping that’s not for a very long time, if ever.
We brought in organizing elements in these baskets to hold our endless collection of shoes. It’s already made a huge difference.
These {GAWGEOUS} brass lights are from Kichler and we are absolutely smitten.
This runner from Loloi is the perfect entryway piece.
We scored number hooks 1-5 from here.
We love our windows from Window World, and the character it brought to the space.
We decided to break it up visually, rather than using two giant windows, with smaller ones instead, so that they fell in seamlessly with the space. We added black out blinds for movie days, and can’t wait to show you how it looks on the outside, since spring is here! Definitely one of our favorite changes on the entire house. The change really is amazing.
The pillows are quite the assortment – upcycles from the house, new tasseled additions, and these from anthro, too. {And these we shared last week from napkins at Target!}
Thanks so much for stopping by. We’ve definitely come a long way.
If I left off anything, be sure to let me know. We’d love to help point you in the right direction.
PSSST, did you know you can see our “How to install our Barn door” and “How we spray foamed our basement” videos here?
And just to update it a little… here’s what the outside once looked like…
What’s your fave element? We’d love to hear!
Have an inspired day!
Amy says
It’s absolutely gorgeous! Doesn’t look like a basement at all- so light and bright! I can’t pick a favorite part cuz it’s all my favorite!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thank you so much! We’re just thrilled to have it all done. It was a doozy! 😀
Jenna says
Stunning. This is real talent guys.
Bets says
Wow. Wowowowowowow. Wow.
That is all.
Ellen V says
Do the sofas come without sleepers? I love them including fabric. The whole area is perfect. You are great space planners.
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thank you so much, Ellen. I think planning is one of our favorite parts, because a space can be pretty but if it doesn’t make sense, there’s just no point. We’re all about the highly functional! I do believe that the sofa without the sleeper, can be found here https://www.la-z-boy.com/p/sofas/madeline-premier-sofa/_/R-610809 – I hope that helps!
michelle says
Those floors! Those are ridiculously awesome!
Sue says
This basement is awesome, the barn doors are my favorite with the bookcases a close second.
Rita Grisetti says
Oh my goodness, I a so inpired by your basement. Just this weekend I was down in ours cleaning and throwing away books that had mold on them. I collect books and it nearly toppled me over to do away with them, but I was afreaid of the mold. I want a basement like yours! Our basement has flooded twice and we think we have it all fixed now, but I’m still hesitant to fix it up. Any ideas? You have amazing ideas and I so appreciate you! Thanks. Rita
ashley @ the handmade home says
If you think you’ve had it all taken care of, I’d wait for the next big rain before beginning anything. Truly. Without saying too much here, to avoid future problems and to make sure it was done correctly, we had our own crawlspace professionally sealed, and waterproofed, along with trenches dug around our house on the outside to reroute the water flow. We also dug up the outside of our house at the base, and waterproofed that as well. It was no small task and it wasn’t cheap. But peace of mind every time those torrential downpours come through is amazing. ;} We’ve now officially tested it time and time again since Nashville is the new Seattle. I hope that helps give you some direction! #aintnobodygottimeforthat
Carrie says
I know you must be so happy with this space. Blood, sweat and tears (maybe sometimes all at once?)! I remember the original plan having a space for the dog crates. Where did those wind up? Always good to see how others hide the necessary objects!
ashley @ the handmade home says
YES to the all at once! HAHA!
Oh! Good question! Our not-so-little ladies are slowly learning to behave themselves for shorter stints of time. We have learned that if we usually leave them in smaller areas of the house – like one room instead of giving them free roam, they actually behave themselves.
We found this to be true with Chloe, our first dog, until she was older and we could trust her all the time. Rigby and Fitz are getting there. They only use their crates when we are gone for long periods of time, {or for travel} which isn’t often. Sometimes they still chew things so it’s a hard call. We do find that they’re better behaved and happier when we get home because they haven’t been so cooped up.
Short story long, because of valuable real estate we couldn’t justify the use of a built in dog crate for two situation – even though we debated a few locations. Instead, we keep their old crates folded up on our back porch until we need them. Eventually, they will probably go in our storage shed for storage until we need them for occasional use. Two 70 lb. dogs and two crates use up a LOT of space. ;} So we like these options a lot more. And they’re slowly but surely becoming a lot more trustworthy, which can be hard with two ;D I hope that helps!
Patricia Wieczorek says
Aren’t some of those pictures the garage?
ashley @ the handmade home says
We explained all that in the post above. ;}
Kathleen says
WOW It is simply stunning !! This gives me some awesome ideas for my basement. I am sure you and your family will enjoy this space for many years to come.
Anna says
Not sure what happened, but as I was reaching the end of the post (maybe 3/4 through it), 90% of it is no longer there! I’ll check again later to finish it. But I wanted to say that this has to be one of the most extreme turn-arounds in existence! Maybe other people know of such things, but I’ve never seen it to this degree. Absolutely amazing!
Jenny says
Please come to my house and bring your built in book cases. Maybe we could just borrow them…? We are just down the road, in Spring Hill. 🙂
It all looks amazing and we may seriously be contacting you soon! So many projects to tackle!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Haha! Sounds like a plan! 😊
mary says
Can’t view the pix – wah!! Will check back later : )
mary says
As soon as I commented the pictures came in! So nevermind. And so gorgeous an exciting and inspiring : )
mary says
As soon as I commented the pictures came in! Go figure. Gorgeous and inspiring and exciting!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey! Thanks for letting us know. I think that the post just takes a while because of its high photo content. Please let us know if it happens again!
K says
Also not seeing anything but the first picture (when it was still crusty!) I’ve checked back several times, but the whole post just isn’t there.
K says
It took a comment for the pics to show up for me, too. Strange!
ashley @ the handmade home says
That is weird. We’ve had our tech team check it out, and they’re checking again. Thank you for your patience!
Michelle Mathis says
It’s absikutely gorgeous!! I love everything. single. thing. From the flooring to wallpaper, to colors, decor… it’s just magic. Pure magic. I will be praying about your septic situation!!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Awe thank you Michelle. You are too sweet.
kirsten says
Would love to do something similar to my house! Gorgeous!
Marian@CMShawStudios says
WOW! What a makeover! And just for the record, I LOVE the floral and striped painting you made. So fab. What a fun space for your family. I am so glad you showed the “looking down the stairs” picture from your family room. That really highlights how much light is going on down there and what an enormous difference the colors you chose made. And Artisan Hardware is the bomb. I used them as well, and cannot recommend them enough. Killer quality and great prices. So happy for you guys!
All the best,
The Other Marian
Brenda says
Oh my gosh, I don’t know where to begin! What an absolutely beautiful makeover. I would never have thought you could have started with what you did and it turn out the way it has. It is truly inspiring! My favorite element is truly EVERYTHING! How long did it take to do all this? I’m remodeling my house room by room and it seems to take forever!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thanks so much for your sweet words! It took the upper level of our home about 6 months – with the basement and codes, it took 1.5 years. We waited about a year for permission for the basement. We went for the all-at-once full on gut out, and it still took a long time.
Mills says
OH MY GAWD! I’m twisting around like Aunty Em in the tornado (ok, it was the witch, but whatever). Your make-over is gorgeous – I got SOOOO many ideas from it. I stumbled onto your site from Thistlewood Farms, and added your site as a favorite. I need to go get a hanky now, to sop up some of this drool…
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hahaha thank you so much! ❤️❤️❤️
Christine says
wonderful remodel, is the outside door color the same paint color both inside the finished basement and outside? Thanks in advance for answering, Christine
Chris says
Wow! GREAT makeover! Can’t even believe it was once a basement!
Jessica says
Hi I actually just bought the same hexagon tiles to redo my sunroom. I came across your blog while looking for pictures of them. Do you happen to remember what color grout you went with? I love the way yours looks!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey! We went with Tech brand Dove Gray – I hope that helps! We love this tile. It’s our favorite. See it in our pool room addition, here. ;}
Kristen says
This room looks amazing! I love the built ins! We need something like that to hide the toys! Are you still loving your sleeper sofa? Did you get the standard mattress or the memory foam?
ashley @ the handmade home says
Thanks so much Kristen! We love the shelving too because it definitely grows with them. We’re out of toy stage now, and it’s just been the best for all the things. It feels like our little library in that area. The sleeper sofas from La-Z-Boy are hands down everyone’s favorite. The kids use them all the time for sleepovers, and beg to have them out when no one is here just to lay on them. They beg to sleep on them downstairs just because, and they’re perfection for movie nights. Memory foam all the way! They’re so comfy. You won’t regret it. By far our most practical room in the house.
Kelly S says
Hi, there – love this. What color are the built-ins? I saw you listed paint colors, but it doesn’t look like pure white. Can you please confirm? Thank you!
ashley @ the handmade home says
Hey! Sorry if that reads as incorrect – I’ll have to go back and check. It’s close to HGTV Sherwin Williams Bungalow Beige. Here are all our paint colors in our home, shared here. https://www.thehandmadehome.net/paint-colors-in-our-home/