Basement Renovation: Progress Update

I’m happy to report that I’ve made some wonderful progress with my basement renovation. In this post, I’m showing you everything that’s been completed and how what’s coming next!

Basement Renovation: Progress Update

For those of you that may have missed it, I’m working on a little mini makeover in my basement. This area was basically a rough and unused space that had become a catch-all for things that didn’t have a place. (It was also pretty gross and dirty.)

I decided I wanted to infuse new life into this basement with a fresh coat of paint and new purpose. The goal is to take this area from dingy and dirty to bright and inspired. If you want a full recap of my plans and a look at the space before, you can check out this post HERE.

Now that you’re all caught up, let me walk you through where I’m at today.

Basement Renovation: What’s Been Completed

Demo: Removed Damaged Paneling and Bar
The first big project I completed was the large built-in bar I no longer wanted. I also took down the paneling along the one wall as it had significant water damage.

As with any demolition in an older home, I discovered more water damage than what I had assumed. I also discovered that I had some termite friends doing some damage behind the wall. Not fun! Thankfully I was able to remove all the damage without too much fuss.

My original plan was to replace the planning on this wall, but until I completely resolve the water issue, I’m just going to work with what I have so this wall will be staying cinderblock. I have coated it with some Dry Lock paint to help with some of the moisture and then it will be painted the same color as the walls.

Lighting Updated
The overhead lighting was terrible in this space. I think I had a total of four overhead lights before. Not ideal.

My electrician came, worked his magic, and installed 18 brand new lights complete with dimmer switchs. I can’t get over what a difference this makes. The space feels so much brighter and cleaner.

New Floors Installed
While all of these changes have been big, I think the most impactful is the new flooring. I am obsessed!

If you ever looked at new flooring you might be aware that there are hundreds, if not thousands of options. I considered dozens of them, but ultimately decided to stick with linoleum flooring which was previously on the floor. I felt that this would be the best option incase there was any issues with water or moisture down the road, plus it gave me the opportunity to have some fun!

I ultimately decided on three different colored linoleum tiles: polar bear, warm gray, and black. The goal was to create a variation on a buffalo check pattern and I achieved just that!

If you’re wondering this product is actually called Marmoleum and is from Forbo Flooring Systems. So far, I’ve been really pleased with it/

Switching out the flooring instantly gave this space new life, a fresh clean look, and actually makes the space look bigger.

Along with the new floors, the crew that installed new baseboards. They look a bit big and garish at the moment, but once the whole room is painted, they will blend right in. I went with a 6-inch pine board for the trim to hide a lot of the issues at the base of the paneling. It worked perfectly. Everything is so crisp and tidy now.

The crew did not install baseboards on the cinderblock wall, but I may decide to do that once more of the room comes together. It just looks a bit odd without it, but I know that installing baseboard on an uneven surface will be a tricky endeavor. Wish me luck!

What About The French Doors?

In my previous post I mentioned that I wanted to install a set of French doors where the windows are located. Well, unfortunately that can not happen.

While I was doing some work in my backyard we discovered that the footer of the house sits just below where the bottom of the doors would need to be. To prevent the footer from cracking due to frost (which would cause major structural issues to my home_ the footer needs to be covered by 3ft of dirt. It’s a bit complicated, but all that to say, my dreams of French doors won’t be happening. I was obviously bummed about it at first, but I’m feeling positive about it now. I will however replace the windows and door in the near future.

Okay, I think that’s all the progress and updates. What’s next?

Basement Renovations: Next Steps

Painting
For this space, I decided to hiring out the painting. I typically don’t mind doing the work, but the amount of prep work and patching that needs down is more than what I want to handle. (It’s my least favorite part of the painting process.) I feel so lucky and happy to be able to hire this job out.

The painters are tentatively scheduled to start in two weeks. I have a feeling it’s going to take them a couple weeks to finish. Fingers crossed I will be able to get back into this space sometime in December. With that being said, December is typically my busiest time of the year, so I think finishing this space will be a 2022 project.

That’s kind of a bummer, but everything happens for a reason and this timing makes sense.

Plumber
I also need to get my plumber here to install a new laundry sink as well as a sink for the studio space. Unfortunately, since my laundry room is in my basement which means I will be without a functioning washer and dryer until this space gets painted and the plumber works his magic. Whomp. Whomp.

In good news however I did find the coolest vintage piece that I’m going to turn into my studio sink. Do you want a sneak peek?

Here it is:

This piece will go in this area, but will be shifted all the way to the right. (I just can’t put it there now because there are pipes in the way). The plan is to install this vessel sink on top of this cabinet and then have a faucet come up behind it. Unless my plumber tells me otherwise, I think this should work out really well!

I’m also excited because I should be able to keep and use that little cubby which will be centered right above the sink. (Fingers crossed it all works out.)

Basement Renovations: That’s a Wrap for Now

And then once all of those things are done, I can finally move back into this space and officially have my little Creative Studio! It’s going to be such a blessing.

I’m also working on finding some furniture pieces for this space and may do a couple piece of built-in cabinetry. I need all the storage I can get. I’ll be sure to update you on all of those things when the time comes. If you are curious about some of my thoughts and plans, I do have a Pinterest board set up HERE with some of my ideas. (You can find the full Pinterest board for my whole home HERE.)

And that’s a wrap for now. I hope you enjoyed this little basement renovation update and are as excited as I am for what’s to come!