Next Project: Finishing the Basement

We are ready to move ahead with our next big renovation project: turning our unfinished basement into a family room. Because we love having family and friends stay with us, we're starting to realize we're going to need more space. The current kitchen, dining, and living areas are all open concept--which I love, but sometimes it would be nice to have someplace else for watching TV and playing games. We also need more sleeping space for overnight guests.

The basement is a big blank canvas right now--cement walls and floors, no natural light. But it's dry and spacious. We're planning to finish half of it--an area that's 32' x 14'. That's an extra 450 square feet of living space. It's like getting an addition without, you know, putting on an addition.The other half, which will remain unfinished, will be used for storage, laundry, and mechanics. I'm so excited this is getting underway.

So let me show you my plans. By the way, I used a free online program called Homestyler to draw up this floor plan. It's a little tricky to use, but it does help to get an idea of how everything will fit together. There will be three areas: a table for games and puzzles, a TV and lounging area, and a day bed built into a nook for extra sleeping space. 

I want it to look as light and bright as possible. The walls will be painted BM White Dove. For the floors I'm going with vinyl planks. These are TrafficMaster Allure flooring in Country Pine. They look great and they are waterproof. Believe me, once you've been through a flood waterproof sounds really really good.

For the game table area I'm going to use my Ballard knock off table with the faux zinc finish that used to be our dining table before we got the larger farmhouse table. It will be perfect for playing games and working on puzzles.

This pendant from Ikea will hang over the table.

The TV area will have a sleeper sofa for more guest space. There's a story behind the sofa. A month before Hurricane Sandy dumped two feet of water in our house, I bought new furniture. Timing is everything, right? I bought the Ikea Ektorp sleeper sofa with beautiful blue striped slipcovers. Although the sofa itself was a total loss, we were able to rescue the slipcover and have it cleaned. My plan was that when we moved into a new house, I would buy another sleeper sofa and reuse the slipcover. Great plan, except that when I went to buy a new sleeper sofa, I found out that Ikea had discontinued the Ektorp sleeper (you can't make this stuff up). However, diligent searching on Craig's List eventually turned up an almost new Ektorp sleeper. So, I am finally back in business. I just love this slipcover.

The far end of the room will have a built in day bed. In addition to sleeping space, I think it will be a great space to curl up with a good book or just lounge while watching TV. I'm using another Ikea item, the Hemnes daybed. On each side, I'm going to install the same RH Baby & Child Mariner sconces that I used in the downstairs bathroom. 

So that's the basic plan. In my next post I'm going to be sharing some ideas I have for decorating this new space.