Basements rarely get top priority when you move into a house. This was the case for us. It was already finished when we bought it a year ago. Finished, but not particularly inviting. Dark gray walls, gray berber carpet, and mismatched furniture. We had other rooms to focus on.
But that all changed on a random August night – hurricane Irene was not kind to us.
But after adding a second sump pump with a battery backup, we fearlessly set out to refinish the finished basement. One catch – most of the furniture and many toys were lost in the great flood of 2011. So we started with a refreshingly clean slate.
We had the walls redone and carpet replaced, then we (meaning us, ourselves) painted the whole darn thing DIY style (whew). We opted for a lighter, neutral palate. While there is good height and many pot lights down there, it’s still a basement with only a few windows.
Below are some before and after pictures. But first, a few things to look for:
- We added a yoga space.
- We moved the TV to the former art nook, and move the art area to a more open space.
- There is remarkably little furniture. But we did reuse the old mirrors we took out of upstairs bathrooms to create a fun dance area. Zumba, anyone?
- Can you pick out the few pieces of furniture that made it?
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My daughter turns 11 today! December birthday’s can be tough, especially now that she’s a tween (or is that pre-teen?). It’s a challenge to separate birthday from Christmas, as documented a couple years ago in the “How to make a December Birthday Special” post. But she’s older now, and I really need to step up my mom-game.
I wanted to surprise her, so I’m tweaking her room while she’s at school. Yes, we recently designed her room when we moved earlier this year, as document in the “A Blue Tween Room for Girls.” Remember this room? –>
Because she loves art and has a passion (understatement) for horses, we found her a lovely horse painting from HomeGoods as inspiration.
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Today’s guest post hits close to home for me as we’re in the process of refinishing our basement after flood damage from Hurricane Irene. Little tip here: spring for the battery back up for your sump pump!
If you are looking to add square footage to your home, the easiest and most affordable way to do it is to finish your basement. There are some tips that can help you do it yourself to save the money you would otherwise spend to hire a contractor.
1. Start with a Plan
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A big thanks to Susie from Design Shuffle for contributing this post today. Great info that I just know you’ll love. And please add your ideas in the comments section!
Sometimes a pink girl’s room or a blue boy’s room just won’t work. Maybe you have siblings sharing a space or need a guest room for visiting kids or grand kids. Creating a gender neutral kid’s room is easier than dividing the space with masking tape into his and hers sides. Here are some of our favorite gender neutral kids room decorating ideas for kids and tweens.
The Design File (via)
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Got a tween girl in the house? Then you know how hard it is to please her. 
“Too old for toys, and too young for boys.”
If you want her to take (some) responsibility for keeping her room manageable, you’ve got to include her in the design process. My daughter’s latest room (yes, there have been many evolutions) was motivated by a move to a new house.
She got the “boys” room. Blue sponge painted walls, blue ceiling, blue carpeting, and blue trim. Notice a trend? But she put her own twist on it, going from boy-blue to girl-blue.
We painted the ceiling and one accent wall Benjamin Moore “Dolphin’s Cove” blue, and the other walls, doors and trim white. We also replace the blue carpet with a lighter neutral carpet (a decision I may later regret).
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