After weeks of planning, and what turned out to be months of construction, our basement is finally ready to occupy. If you’ve been following along on this renovation journey, you know that back in early May we set out to create a family TV and entertaining area. With a few obstacles, combined with summer holiday trade schedules, our timeline seemed to expand. But, as of this week, we are finally able to make use of the space.
Remember what we started with? It was basically an open space to store everything from hockey equipment to Christmas decorations. It was also where my teenage son and his friends would hang out (reluctantly). Definitely not the most welcoming area in the house!
I don’t think we have anything to feel guilty about anymore. Somehow I think the basement may be preferred over our upstairs family room! Here’s a shot of the newly added closet that fit perfectly between those two support posts.
As you may remember, we wanted to fully utilize the area to the left of the stairwell and decided to create a storage room.
We added double doors to allow for easy access to our treadmill and large storage tubs.
We also wanted to optimize the space under the stairwell.
We managed to fit a small snack bar equipped with a beverage fridge and cabinets for glasses, snacks and other entertaining essentials. (As you can see, we still need to add a kick plate to the bottom cabinet.)
Although we decided not to add a bedroom and bathroom at this time, we finished the hallway in case someone decides to in the future. Leaving the hallway open from the media room also helps expand the space.
It also gave us somewhere to add an extra vacuum outlet and hide duct work.
Considering my husband and son’s love of watching sports, as well as enjoying the full movie experience as a family, the media wall was important to get right.
After deciding on a Bose sound system, we opted to have the speakers recessed in small niches, as I didn’t want them protruding. We also integrated all the wiring (since exposed wires are a big eye sore). We chose a dark paint color to help the TV blend in a little better. (As you can see, we need a cabinet below to house all the electronics!)
With only one window in the media room, we tried to expand it as much as possible.
The entire surround and trim were painted out in the same off-white used throughout the basement.
The stairwell really needed some brightening and softening.
After painting the walls and trim soft colors and adding plush rug throughout, it sets a better tone for what’s to come. (I can’t wait to paint out that oak trim!)
Finally, any light fixture would be an improvement to what we had before the renovation.
To bring a touch of nostalgia, we added an antique nickel prism glass fixture which mimics the reeded glass in our cabinet doors. I plan on replacing the current bulb with a vintage reproduction filament bulb.
Remaining on our list is installing the marble mosaic backsplash. It isn’t anything we have done before, but I’m told it’s quite simple. If you have any advice, I welcome it!
Next we will be furnishing and decorating the space. I have gathered a few goodies already and I’ll be updating the process as we go along.
Thanks for all your support and cheerleading through this process!
Linking to: Serenity Now, Thrifty Decor Chick, At the Picket Fence, Practically Functional
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Shauna – it looks AMAZING. I wish we had a basement. Loving that little tile you’re going to be putting up in the bar area.
Thank you, Caryl! It’s a great bonus space, but I think I’d rather live somewhere warm (usually where there aren’t any basements)!
What a gorgeous transformation! I cannot wait to see what you do with furniture and accessories. The bar is so beautiful and functional, and the white trim and doors are so bright and bring so much light to a space that is normally so dark.
Thank you, Erin! I really appreciate your feedback. I’ll be sharing the furniture and decorating process, which I think is the most fun (well, besides using the space!).
Wow Shauna, you guys did a great job! It looks beautiful, right out of a magazine.
Heather
Thank you, Heather! Now I just have to finalize the furniture pieces so we don’t have to sit on the floor! Have a great weekend :)
Awesome, awesome, AWESOME! You thought of everything, and it looks fantastic. I totally love the paint colour you chose for the TV wall What an amazing transformation – what movie will you watch first?
I hope you have a really great weekend, Shauna!
Shauna! It looks great. We are about to finish out basement as well, as suggestions welcome :) I love the back splash!!!!
Shauna, your new basement looks wonderful! I’m so jealous! Love the backsplash tile. Can’t wait to see it up!!
Thanks Lori! I can’t wait to see the backsplash up too.
Just catching up after being away, the basement looks so awesome!! I especially love the color you did on the media wall. Can’t wait to see how you end up decorating it.
I have to chime in as well to say the color of the media wall is great! What is the color, if you don’t mind sharing?
Thank you Jill! You can find out all the basement paint colors here: http://satoridesignforliving.com/2012/06/basement-paint-colors/
Shauna this looks amazing! You guys did a fabulous job, and I love the snackbar under the stairs. Plus that backsplash is going to be awesome! Thanks for sharing at The Fun In Functional!
I love your snack bar…can you tell me what brand of fridge you ended up choosing? Thanks!
Hi Jane,
We ended up going with the Kenmore Elite Beverage Fridge. So far it seems good and it wasn’t as expensive as a lot of the options out there, but not cheap looking either. So many inexpensive wine/beverage fridges aren’t real stainless steel, as I found out with our first Cuisinart choice that I ended up returning. This Kenmore one is mid-range in price and has a higher end look with true stainless. Hope this helps!
Yes, thanks for the info. Did you put the fridge right on the carpet or do you have something else under it? Also, did you leave an opening out the back for air circulation or not? I am wondering because most of these beverage coolers do not seem to be built to be installed in cabinetry. Thanks for any tips you have!
It is sitting right on the carpet with the bottom adjustments up almost all the way. We left a 2″ gap on the left hand side that is hid with a painted strip of wood the same color as the cabinets. There’s also 2″ of space between the top of the fridge and the countertop and 4″ at the back. It seems like this is enough breathing space. Keep in mind that it’s in the basement where it never gets very warm. I would purchase a built-in beverage fridge if it was the kitchen.
Thanks for the info! We are doing a very similar bar/storage area in our basement right now so I am so glad to be able to see yours almost finished as I try to imagine mine being done! I love the doors you chose, where did you get them from? I hope mine turns out as lovely as yours has.
I am curious why the two different carpet colours? The stairs are different from the floor…
We are picking things four our basement right now and this has me curious.
Hi Sherry, It’s just the lighting. All the carpet is the same, but photos don’t always show that the best.
Ok, thanks! :) I thought I was missing some new design trick…haha!