house #5: before/after basement

before:

when we bought this house, the basement was totally unfinished.

the bathroom had been stubbed in a very unfortunate location, so we had plan our spaces around where the bathroom would have to be located.  we also had to move several doors in the space, to make the floor plan flow better for us....and there were some pipes and ducts in CRAZY places.

after:

we never got to furnish or decorate it...

boo. hoo.

but we did get to watch a few of movies on the movie screen...

this room was going to be used as a game room...

a place for a pool table or a gaming area for a tv and video games.

we had to do some "tricky" thinks with the ceiling height to disguise some duct work.

both main rooms have trey ceilings to hide some funky cutouts and pipes and ductwork.

this area was going to be the hangout space/home theater.

there was a wet bar area, and we had a space cut out for a fridge, and (behind those larger doors on the right) a microwave. i was planning on tiling the wall in between the cabinets in small glass subway tiles.

the ceiling in this room is painted black.

the movie screen.

all walls and trim are painted sea pine, and the doors and

ceiling in the theater room are painted onyx black.

behind the curtain, to the right of the movie screen

is a secret door....

see how well it blends in with the wall?

it leads to this room.

it is a shop/storage space with doors that leads outside.

we wanted a guest bedroom down here, but wanted to be able to use the space most of the time for entertaining. so, we decided to make a large, sliding "barn door" to make the space feel really open.

and then, if guest did come, we could simply close it off...

to give them privacy.

(there is also a very large walk-in closet in the room)

here is the bathroom.

i really wanted this space to feel different from the basement.

i wanted to have a little fun in here.

i originally ordered a vanity  online, but it got"lost" in the mail

(a long and really frustrating story that involves dozens of phone calls,

lots of lies and a very frustrated me)

SO, we ran to lowes and picked up this one.

the mirror, sconces and towel bar are from west elm.

the floor is slate. we got it for cheap.

the tile company that we always used had some leftovers from a large job they did,

and gave it to us for around $4 a square foot.

the shower curtain is from cb2.

the wall color is called jalapeno pepper 

with a glaze of eminent bronze on top.

the exercise room.

that never got exercised in.

at least not by us.

:)

there is another storage room behind the door on the right.

i love the houndstooth carpet!

i really took a few design risks down here...well, risky compared to what i had done before.

the carpet guys about choked when i told them i wanted dark charcoal grey carpeting.

 but i think it is perfect for his space because it really grounds the rooms down here.

this was meant to be a fun space... a space to hang-out and entertain.

i wanted something clean and warm and yet modern at the same time.

another "new" thing to me on this basement was using the same color on the walls and all trim. i wanted a continuity to the space. i wanted the walls to read as a singular unit...i didn't want the planes being broken up by a color change from the wall to the trim.

we ended up really loving the barn door, and would love to do something similar in another house we remodel. overall, i really like the way this basement turned out.