the basement ( playroom )

Welcome to our basement..it's the girls playroom ( with a little spot for mom and dad to sit ), a space we developed from scratch oh, 7 months ago, that hasn't been getting much use.

It's a budget space. Tight budget :) There's alot of ikea, and alot of toys ( wish there was a tighter budget there ;) We added the trim this weekend, painted and arranged for the umteenth time. Let's see if we start using it now....

basement background

I feel like a little background is needed :)

This is the space originally you are seeing in the pictures below. We developed about 400 sq. feet of our basement, basically so all the toys in our house had a home. We did this all on a budget of $4000, including all the supplies from framing to drywall to flooring and storage. So the little space you see is what I'm dubbing my space - but truth be told.. it's the girls :)

Oh, and I will fill the empty frames, as soon as I have some more time!

the befores + a sneak peak

Welcome to my basement. This is how it has sat for the last year + a half. Pile a bunch of everything in it and you have a not very useful space.



With just a few weekends of drywalling by Kevin, my dad + Kev's dad, we were ready for our friend Kris to come in to do the mudding and taping.

Fast forward to today and here we are. We still have the baseboards and trim to put up in the next few days, so until that's up + finished, you get little views of the room! The TV is on the little wall you see in the image above -

with my side of the road find, after some major cleaning and a little sanding, fits perfectly.

Inspired by my friend Paula at Two Ellie + her gorgeous console, a few little ferns brighten up the space. I found some little planters for them today- ( not shown :)

Gallery wall.. a collection of frames gathered through the years at PB.. some still needing photos or art- I don't mind waiting to fill them with the right pieces!

our kijiji sofa purchase - it's perfect + I couldn't be happier. It's so satisfying to save money. I've already washed the slipcovers and they wash like a dream!

So there it is so far.. I'm working on a little desk area and will share that soon!

play room gallery

I just ordered this little charmer to add to the girls play room gallery -

it's coming along.. a few thrift store finds, etsy prints + girls art work

I love the casualness of the mix :)

our work continues

A long weekend spent painting + laying flooring-

has gotten these two very excited about their new space-

and a quick trip to walmart to pick up toys for grandma's house..yielded this cute and inexpensive outdoor rug -

We are off from work this week ( yay! ) and the basement work will continue-

Oh, I finished my side of the road project.. it just may be my favorite piece in the new basement!

Pictures soon!

3 basic elements

Please bear with me. I'm back to the basement. ( planning the outcome of the basement )
BUT FIRST.. I cannot thank you all enough for your thoughts, opinions and detailed comments about the marble. It turned out to be simple, I'm going with my gut.. I'm getting the marble :)

Now my thoughts keep drifting back to the basement. I've started with three basic things that make a space for me.

1. white

2. rustic elements

3. black + white

I'm so excited to see how my little budget friendly space turns out-

Now, I'm giving Roy a call to tell him it's marble! xoxo

images. inspiration bubble, unknown, home decor center, unknown, the lennoxx , apartment therapy, lonny

a little shabby

By now you know how much I adore a mix of old and new. It adds so much character and personality. In our basement, the white washed flooring is going in on Saturday and I'm thinking with the slip covered sofa we bought ( pictured last ) I want a little bit of shabby chic injected into the space-

Warm, inviting and casual. Exactly what I want. Ohh, this should be fun.

images. eras of elegance, nytimes + coastal living

the flooring debate

It's not a huge space in the basement that we are developing. 430 sq.feet + stairs. We originally had planned to get carpet - until we priced it. Yikes, for the cheapest ugliest carpet, it would cost $1700 for carpet + install. You can only imagine how our day started Saturday when we realized this. Enter our very quick trip to Ikea, the girls don't have the patience for the whole store.. so believe me, we were quick. Enter Ikeas TUNDRA flooring. Whitewashed, 8" planks, and Kevin and dad can install it. Now I'm smiling -

Getting this whole space done on a tight budget is challenging. But that's when I'm at my best-

space planning

I was just over at Alice Lane's blog and was thrilled to find this image which shows exactly what I want to achieve with furniture placement in our newly almost developed basement. We have chosen a narrow spot for a seating area, and I found a great comfy ikea love seat on kijiji for a steal. I'm thrilled with it because I want a slip covered, casual maybe shabby space. But I need to show my dear Kevin what I'm thinking - keep it simple, a small bench as a table and a console behind. We can have a sweet little space and devote the rest to the girls + their toys. After all, it is all about them!

basement planning

oh dear. all I can think about is basement planning. I am hoping I can convince Kevin this will be perfect in our cozy new room.

Delboy @ lonny.

Patrick Cline

project: basement

I have never really been a fan of the whole basement rec room- or whatever you want to call it. Which is why after a year I surprised Kevin by finally being on board with finishing our basement. Here's why. It will give us the opportunity to give the girls a ( pardon my language) kick ass play room + a cozy tv room, and a spot for a desk/ office/ storage for all my paper & stuff. It will take some of the clutter out of all my cupboards, free up an immense amount of space by taking 85% of toys down there, and overall will make me happy because it's a new project! Did I mention the sectional from the living room is going down there..so I get to go sofa shopping. :)

great basement design by peter fallico