DIY Our 1970's House Makeover: The Basement Makeover is FINALLY Done!

The basement is finally finished!!!!!!!!!

Ya'll. When I firstly showed yous the beginnings of the basement renovation, I had no thought it would take keep us 8 months to complete it. I exactly looked dorsum on the engagement of that first post, as well as lo as well as behold, I pretty much wrote it the 24-hour interval I got pregnant.
Sooooo....that's agency likewise much information, but I experience similar it's my best shot at explaining why I moved at extreme sloth speed on this one.

Let me warn yous on the front end end...this is a long post. I debated on breaking it upward into several smaller posts, but I've made yous hold back long enough. So, today you're getting 8 months of difficult operate crammed into i long post.

Let's start at the beginning. Eight months ago, the basement pretty much looked similar the below picture. I used it equally a hoarding room for projects gone bad, it smelled similar a litter box, as well as it seemed to endure the official countrywide coming together identify for spiders as well as ants.

I avoided it similar the plague.

Once nosotros decided to take keep the plunge on renovating it (worst timing ever), nosotros ripped upward all of the gross truthful cat carpet as well as sometime 1970's trim.

And this is where the problem began. I've been putting off writing this post for weeks because, well....SHAME.

The bottom describe is this: Back inwards Oct I chose the grossest chocolate-brown forest plank tile ever.

In my defense, I was newly pregnant, sick equally hell, as well as I totally allow some relieve store sales guy bulldoze me into a buy I didn't genuinely love. I intend this film of Jesse looking at the tile inwards the store kinda sums it up.

And what's fifty-fifty worse.....once nosotros brought the tile home, one-half of it was damaged as well as muddied (we assumed all of the gunk would come upward off during the dehazing process...and it definitely did NOT), as well as spell the tile looked a picayune to a greater extent than grayness inwards the store, inwards our basement it was a lovely shade of poop brown.

But nosotros pushed forward. Because that's what yous exercise when yous pass $1000 on tile that yous can't return.

Never again, relieve shop. NEVER AGAIN.

Jesse spent almost ii weeks installing this poop tile inwards the entire basement. And spell I tried to encourage him as well as cheer him on (he worked thus difficult as well as did such a skillful job), I was also secretly crying inside.

I knew I hated it from the minute he installed the firstly tile, but I exactly couldn't beak up.

I experience similar it's a life long mission of mine to larn how to trust my instincts. I tend to ever know what I genuinely desire correct from the beginning, but I'm thus bad at listening to my gut. I acquire pressured into things genuinely easily, as well as I'm the worst at speaking my mind. I basically take keep to disaster-ify something as well as thus yell almost it for a duo weeks before I take keep the balls to start over as well as create it. It's a painfully obvious flaw.

So, equally yous tin reckon inwards the below picture, I was genuinely diving headfirst into the 'make the 1970's basement fifty-fifty to a greater extent than of a nighttime pit' strategy. I was testing out nighttime grayness pigment colors on the walls, as well as obviously....poop floors. I intend I felt some sort of self-imposed pressure level to build this into a 'mancave', as well as thus I didn't genuinely take keep into describe of piece of work organisation human relationship what would genuinely hold back the best inwards our house.

Also, after several attempts of dehazing the tile, it withal dried similar this. And the nighttime grayness grout nosotros used dried white.

All inwards all, a totally ideal outcome.

Sarcasm.

So, nosotros decided to pay someone to come upward professionally dehaze the tile, as well as they weren't able to exercise it either.

The disaster exactly kept growing amongst intensity.

So, I spent a few days freaking out as well as feeling similar nosotros were exactly going to take keep to alive amongst this. Because who asks their hubby to rip upward grand foursquare feet of tile he exactly spent ii weeks installing past times himself.

Well, after a few days of soul searching...I do.

It took a picayune convincing, but ultimately Jesse admitted that he genuinely hated the tile, too, as well as that nosotros should exactly suck it upward as well as create it. The infinitesimal nosotros were both on the same page, I felt a huge moving ridge of relief, as well as I knew it was the correct decision.

And I'll endure honest. We decided to pay someone to come upward demo the poop tile as well as install the novel tile of our choice. I was plainly pretty worthless (renovation-wise) at this point, as well as it was exactly i of those times where nosotros knew it would suck to pass the money, but that it would endure coin good spent. And it was.

And I never captured a film of the flooring guys demo-ing as well as installing the novel floors (because it's thus awkward to tell contractors that you're a blogger as well as thus take keep pictures of them). But, here's a reminder of what the floors looked similar after the poop tile was removed.

After the tile was removed, I spent a lot of fourth dimension going to dissimilar domicile improvement stores as well as flooring stores as well as weighing my options. I was determined to build the correct flooring determination this fourth dimension (and honestly terrified that I was exactly gonna build a mess of it all over again).

But luckily, I did terminate upward making a slap-up decision.

I chose the Leonia Silver forest plank tile from Lowe's inwards the 6x24 inch. And I exactly chose a grout to gibe the tile because I didn't desire likewise much contrast.

Lowe's didn't render me amongst tile or pay me to tell yous almost this. I bought this tile amongst my ain coin similar a normal individual as well as I'm telling yous almost it because I similar it.

So, after the novel tile was installed (and I felt similar I could breathe again), I decided to follow my pump as well as exactly build this entire infinite low-cal as well as brilliant as well as basically the contrary of my master awful plan. Our describe of piece of work solid is from the 1970's as well as it exactly looks amend when it's low-cal as well as bright.

You'd intend I would've learned this lesson when I stained the upstairs floors nighttime chocolate-brown as well as had to redo them.

YOU WOULD THINK.

AND YOU WOULD WOULD BE WRONG.

So, Jesse painted all of the nighttime beige walls white. I used Sherwin Williams Simply White similar nosotros did upstairs.

And then, fresh off the publish energy high of finally choosing the correct tile, I decided to exercise something that I've wanted to exercise since the 24-hour interval nosotros moved into this house.

I had Jesse pigment the fireplace.

For those of yous who take keep been next the weblog for awhile, yous know I've debated paradigm the upstairs fireplace for years. And when I mentioned it a few times on the blog, I got a massive moving ridge of emails from yous guys. Half of yous wanted me to pigment it so bad, as well as one-half of yous were absolutely freaking out almost me ruining it. It totally got inwards my head, as well as I never painted it.

So, since the basement fireplace is much smaller, easier to paint, as well as well, inwards the basement, I decided to take keep a boundary of organized faith as well as exactly exercise it.

I tested out a picayune nighttime grayness pigment firstly as well as decided it looked awful, as well as ultimately went amongst the same exactly white pigment nosotros used on the walls. The goal inwards the terminate was to exactly acquire far blend inwards amongst the walls as well as ultimately build the infinite experience larger.

And it totally worked.

Here are a few before as well as after shots thus yous tin reckon how much it brightened upward the space.

Before...looking into the living room.

And after....

Before...looking towards the fireplace.

And after.

And here's the room equally it looks today. We painted the within of the fireplace box amongst dark high-heat pigment as well as it genuinely exactly added the perfect finishing touch. I mightiness add together a mantle similar I did upstairs, but I'll acquire to that later.

And here's how it looks from the other direction. We're making some major changes upstairs (which I programme on showing yous inwards my next post) as well as thus the upstairs slice of furniture has been moved downstairs. And all I genuinely added was a Homegoods ottoman. Because where else tin yous uncovering an ottoman for $100.

I know painted fireplaces aren't for everyone, but in the end, we're both genuinely happy amongst the agency it turned out as well as the entire room exactly feels bigger as well as to a greater extent than modern. And Jesse was really apprehensive almost doing this as well as past times the fourth dimension it was finished, he wouldn't nigh upward almost how awesome it looked. So, it was genuinely a slap-up learning lesson inwards trusting my vision.

And for the record, since the 24-hour interval nosotros moved into this house, Jesse has basically allow me plough our describe of piece of work solid into a frilly dollhouse as well as he's never i time batted an eye. But every fourth dimension I mentioned paradigm the fireplace at that spot was a tiny hold back of terror on his face. So, a huge give thank yous you to Jesse for trusting my sentence (even after the chocolate-brown tile disaster).
He's a skillful one. :)

We also updated all of the low-cal fixtures inwards the basement. The worst offenders were the nighttime chocolate-brown boob lights inwards the living room area. Always a fave.

We upgraded them amongst some beautiful chrome as well as drinking glass even out mounts from Lamps Plus.

And I haven't hung whatever wall fine art downwards hither (or fifty-fifty upstairs) as well as am withal feeling really minimalist inwards my approach to the walls. There's something almost spending the amend component division of a twelvemonth renovating a infinite as well as thus feeling really 'iffy' almost poking a bunch of holes inwards the wall.

So, that's the living room!

Now let's motility on to the residue of the basement.

Remember the bedroom? This is how it looked before nosotros renovated it. We had ripped upward the carpet years before (CATS!) as well as it was exactly a disgusting box of carpet gum as well as dust.

And this is what it looks similar amongst the novel flooring, freshly painted walls, as well as build novel chunky trim.

We're currently using this room equally the novel invitee chamber as well as domicile office. It's a massive room as well as gets tons of daylight, as well as it's been thus overnice to come upward downwards hither as well as relax from fourth dimension to time.

We replaced the low-cal fixture inwards hither amongst the same even out mountain that nosotros used inwards the living room, as well as nosotros added an amazing novel carpeting from Rugs USA. (It's the Satara Edison inwards Nickel.)

The upholstered bed was a craigslist uncovering as well as the bedside tables are the Ikea Rast dressers I stained grayness inwards this post.

And exactly yesterday, I changed out the hardware on the dressers amongst these super affordable chrome loving cup pulls.

You tin reckon inwards the higher upward pic that they withal had the aureate hardware, as well as I intend the chrome industrial plant thus much amend inwards this space. It's the picayune things.

The bedding is exactly materials I had exactly about the house. The pinkish velvet pillow is from Etsy as well as the patterned pillows are from Target
(I intend they're withal there.).

And this is exactly all the materials from the upstairs office, styled equally minimally equally possible, because who wants to add together a bunch of trinkets to a room that Tootie spends 3/4 of her 24-hour interval in.

Not this truthful cat mama.

And straightaway let's motility on to i of my favorite parts of the basement: the bathroom. I'll preface past times proverb that it likely won't blow your mind. My photography is pretty bad as well as it's a pretty minimally styled space. But, it makes me thus happy to take keep this picayune bath finished as well as overnice as well as new, as well as so, exactly exercise me a favor as well as pretend similar I pulled off the best bath makeover of all time.

Here's the before. So gross.

Nothing worked. Everything smelled.

And here's the after. So clean. So new.

Makes me wanna waddle all the agency downstairs exactly to take keep a shower.

The vanity is from Lowe's (the alone i I could uncovering that looked skillful as well as didn't build me acquire broke), as well as the shower drapery is from Target.

The low-cal fixture is from Lamps Plus (my absolute favorite...I honey the picayune crystal globes.). And the mirror is a thrift store uncovering that I painted silver.

And thus the finally picayune expanse of the basement...the hallway. It's non genuinely all that exciting, but I intend it's a slap-up illustration of what a large departure pigment tin make.

This is the 'before' view, looking towards the invitee chamber as well as bathroom.

And here's the after. All nosotros did was pigment the panelled walls amongst Simply White, supervene upon the doors, as well as pigment the cut back as well as doors Ultra Pure White. And thus nosotros replaced the low-cal fixture amongst this modern chrome sconce from Lamps Plus.

Here's the 'before' persuasion looking the contrary way, towards the door that leads to the garage. (That's how the tile looked before it was grouted.)

And here's how the hallway looks today. For now, nosotros exactly painted the door to the garage, because Tootie enjoys her truthful cat door, as well as frankly, nosotros ran out of steam to supervene upon some other door (exterior doors aren't cheap, ya'll).

But still, how much amend is that hallway?!

And that's the entire basement makeover inwards i big, long, brutally honest post. Thanks thus much for beingness here, ya'll. And give thank yous you for allowing me to exactly endure a existent individual almost all of it.

I'll endure dorsum presently to portion some genuinely fun materials almost the upstairs, but firstly I'm going to take keep a picayune fourth dimension to hang out amongst Mathias who is domicile from the Navy for a duo of weeks. It's the firstly fourth dimension I've seen him since I've been pregnant...and I'm tardily adjusting to errrrrbody grabbing my belly the infinitesimal they reckon me.

I'll endure 33 weeks on Sunday...still truckin' along! :)