Carpet AT LAST!!!

Last December we started the Renovation of the basement.  Here is the Lovely Mess it was before.  

Notice the flooring, it was painted cement with flex in it, very cold on the toes!

Here is the After:

My husband has claimed this area as his man cave, as to why there are wires hanging everywhere, they are waiting for surround sound!

When we first moved in this basement was in bad shape.  The walls were dinged up and the moldings had seen better days.   We were going to have someone come out and mud and tape the basement again, but that is oh so expensive.  Instead we textured the walls and hung bead board!   I love the texture on the walls, it adds a richness to the room and when my daughters ding it I can just touch it up with a bit of paint and you can't even tell!!  The bead board hid unwanted patched holes on the walls from moving electrical and speakers!

And I LOVE the Bead Board ceiling with the beams and crown molding!  I found a few pictures of us putting up the bead board!  I will have to make a tutorial for all those who want to attempt it.  It is one of those tasks where you are so happy you did it and you love the outcome but the thought of doing it again is kind of tiring!  We had holes in our ceiling as well, and if you have ever tired to patch a hole in the ceiling you know it is very hard to match textures so we decided to give the bead board ceiling an attempt.  The outcome was better than I expected, and the best part is our basement doesn't feel like a basement!

As you can see my daughter is thrilled to have carpet, I love the warmth carpet brings.  We decided to go with a Level 3 Polyester Blend carpet.  I searched and searched for carpet and decided on polyester because it is so soft and they say it is a 8 year carpet, I am sure I will be ready for a change by then.  Nylon carpet lasts longer but it isn't quite as soft and it is quite a bit more expensive.
I went with a level 3 because it is thicker but also holds up a little longer.  I wanted a carpet with a little bit of flex in it (different colors) to help hid crumbs.  Because, I must admit I don't get around to vacuuming everyday!
Right now going up my stairs to the 2nd floor I have a berber carpet (the short stuff) and we are not friends most days, I vacuum and with in hours it appears as though I never vacuumed, it shows everything and with 2 active girls trying to keep up is a full time job.  In  our previous home we had shag carpet and while it hid crumbs well, as soon as you started to walk on it the carpet would lay down which drives me crazy, so I found a carpet in between the 2 and so far I am very happy with it!  

I hope your MONDAY if off to a wonderful start!!

TTFN

Brooke

Update Your Dated Fixtures!

Yes these are the awesome fixtures that were originally in our basement, complete with LOTS of dust.  

New light fixtures are so expensive these days I thought I would give the fixture a little facelift before kicking it to the curb.  I scrubbed the glass and spray painted the base with Rustoleum in Oil Rubbed Bronze.  It really helped wouldn't you agree but they still were not exactly what I was looking for.  

And so I added a lamp shape and some jewels! LOVE!

Here is a little peak from under the lamp shade.  I simply took the glass off pushed the lamp shade over the light bulbs.  I did not alter the light fixture at all.  I have to say in all of my refinishing this was the EASIEST fix ever.

And I can't forget my Chandelier that hangs in the guest room.  

My neighbor was taking this one down and was kind enough to think of me.  

Jackpot, and I love everything about it!

I hope everyone had a wonderful MONDAY! 

TTFN

Brooke

Linking Here:

Dream to Reality

The Dedicated House

A little update on the Basement!

Here is the BEFORE :

See that hole in the ceiling we patched?  That hole was the cause of my bead board ceiling.  To try and match textures on a ceiling is a hard task to do, so I used it as a bargaining tool to get my bead board ceiling.  In my husbands words, "I love the bead board ceiling, but I don't think I would ever do it again."  I guess we can never move!

I am getting so excited as we get closer to completing the basement!  The painting is DONE!!  I painted the bead board ceiling and crown molding with the a white flat ceiling paint.  The walls are painted with Pebbles by Pratt and Lambert in a eggshell.  The bottom bead board I sprayed with Benjamin Moore's White Dove in a satin to help with clean up from little hands.  

Now I need to find my light fixtures, I am dragging my feet as I don't know what I want.  Don't mind all my husbands wires for his surround sound, I just need to find a way to conceal them now aka a big piece of furniture to slide into the nook.  We are waiting on carpet and then the fun or decorating begins!

Happy Weekend Everyone

Brooke

Stuck in the Middle

I have been trying to think of something to blog about, but I seem to be stuck in the middle of so many projects.  Maybe that is my problem, I start too many things (note to self!!)

We are trying to finish up refinishing our basement and it may or may not be taking so long because I keep adding projects to the list.  Like putting bead board up on the ceiling!

You can imagine my husbands excitement when I added this to the list.  Good thing he is awesome and helped me do it anyway!

We are both so pleased with the progress.  I took lots of pics a long the way so there will be tutorials to come!

We also put bead board on the walls.  Bead board over kill?  I think not, I don't believe that is possible with bead board.

All of the holes have been filled and the cracks have been caulked so today is painting day, the real task is picking a color, I always get a little anxiety at this part!

Wish me LUCK

TTFN

Brooke