| |

Construction is Finally Done! Our Basement Reveal

Our basement reveal is finally here after months of renovating! See how we transformed a blank space into a cozy and welcoming family room that’s perfect for entertaining and relaxing!

After weeks of planning and what turned out to be months of construction, our basement reveal is finally here! If you’ve been following this renovation journey, you know that back in early May we set out to create a cozy and welcoming family room made for TV watching and entertaining. With a few obstacles, combined with summer holiday trade schedules, our timeline seemed to expand. As of this week, we were officially able to make use of this fantastic space.

Remember what we started with? It was basically an open space that stored everything from hockey equipment to Christmas decorations to old furniture. It was also where our teenage son and his friends would hang out. Definitely not the most welcoming area in the house, but it served well as a place for mini stick tournaments and all of the other craziness young boys tend to bring to the household. Then, they start to grow up and needs change.

Developing the Basement - Closet Area BEFORE

I don’t think we have anything to feel guilty about regarding the basement anymore. Somehow I think our new family room will be preferred over our upstairs bonus room!

Basement Reveal

I’m loving how everything is stored behind closed doors (unlike before). Here’s a shot of the newly added closet that fit perfectly between those two support posts.

Basement Closet Addition with White Painted Shaker Style Door

As you may remember, we wanted to fully utilize the area to the left of the stairwell and decided to create a storage room.

Finishing Our Basement - Under the Stairs BEFORE

We added double shaker style doors to allow for easy access to our treadmill and large storage tubs. Pulling out seasonal items like our Christmas decorations will be a breeze.

Basement Storage Room with Double Shaker Style Doors - Utilizing the Space Under the Stairs to Build a Snack Bar with Beverage Fridge

We also wanted to optimize the wasted space under the stairwell.

Finishing Our Basement - Area Under Basement Stairs BEFORE

We managed to fit a small basement snack bar (aka dry bar or mini kitchen) 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.)

Basement Snack Bar with Stainless Steel Beverage Fridge - Utilizing the Space Under the Stairs

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.

Finishing Our Basement - Hallway BEFORE

It also gave us somewhere to add an extra vacuum outlet and hide duct work.

Finishing the Basement - Hallway with Schoolhouse Light Fixture and Shaker Style Trim

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.

Finishing Our Basement - Media Room BEFORE

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 of the wiring (since exposed wires are a big eye sore).

We chose a dark grey paint color (sometimes blue, sometimes green depending on the lighting) to help the TV blend in a little better. (As you can see, we still need a cabinet below to house all of the electronics!

Basement Family Room with Built-in Speaker System and Wall-mounted Flatscreen TV

With only one window in the media room, we tried to expand it as much as possible. Love that shaker style trim!

Basement Makeover - Window BEFORE

The entire surround and trim were painted out in the same off-white used throughout the basement.

Basement Window with Shaker Style Trim

The stairwell really needed some brightening and softening.

Basement Makeover - Stairwell BEFORE

Painting the walls and trim in soft colors, as well as installing plush carpet with good underlay throughout, definitely set a better tone.

Basement Stairwell with Tan Carpet and White Shaker Style Trim

Finally, any light fixture would have be an improvement to what we had prior to the basement renovation.

Finishing Our Basement - Stairwell Lighting BEFORE

To bring in a touch of nostalgia, we added an antique nickel prism glass pendant that mimics the reeded glass in our snack bar cabinet doors.

Basement Stairwell with Antique Nickel Archie Pendant by Progress Lighting - Prism Glass Pendant
Basement Stairwell with Antique Nickel Prism Glass Archie Pendant by Progress Lighting

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!

Tumbled Marble Mosaic Tile Backsplash for Basement Snack Bar

So there’s our basement renovation before and after! Next we will be furnishing and decorating the space. I have gathered a few goodies already, so look for progress updates as we go along.

Miss a basement post? You can see the entire renovation series below.

And, here’s a little peek at what we’ve done to make the space cozy and welcoming (backsplash installed too). It was fun decorating our basement family room, and we truly enjoy hanging out in this space!

Neutral Basement Family Room with Grey Sectional Sofa

A big thank you to all of you for your support and cheerleading throughout this basement renovation process. It was great to have your input. We make a great team, don’t we?

Want more home improvement projects like these sent directly to your inbox? Be sure to SUBSCRIBE.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shauna at Satori Design for Living Blog - Home Decor, DIY, Vintage Finds, Recipes

31 Comments

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

    1. 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!).

  3. 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!

  4. Shauna! It looks great. We are about to finish out basement as well, as suggestions welcome :) I love the back splash!!!!

  5. Shauna, your new basement looks wonderful!  I’m so jealous!  Love the backsplash tile.  Can’t wait to see it up!!

  6. 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.

  7. 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?

  8. 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!

    1. 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!

      1. 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!

        1. 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.

          1. 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.

  9. 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.

  10. Hi Shauna, do you have any manufacturer/model info on the antique nickel prism glass fixture you used over the stair? A client saw it in your post and is looking for something similar. Thanks, and nice work!

      1. Thanks for such a quick response! Now to look through the rest of your site for inspiration…

  11. Hello,

    I’m having a painter come this week to paint our basement and I was wondering the color behind your tele? It’s manly yet not to dark so when I decide to hang with boys I don’t feel like I’m in a man cave. Can you tell me the brand and color.

    Thanks Lisa

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *