Oh my goodness, it’s been far too long since I’ve shared a proper update about our progress with finishing the basement. I think the last time I checked in with things was back in October when we had our carpets installed. And then the Christmas season rolled in (as it always does the day after Halloween around here) and I got so wrapped up in the holidays that I totally forgot about sharing anything else. I did manage to share a few sneak peeks in my Weekend Reading updates along the way and over on Instagram at least, but with SO much progress down here through the last couple of months, I figured it was about time I share a proper update. It’s not quite finished just yet, so the full reveal will have to wait, but I couldn’t resist sharing some photos of our progress in the mean time.
Probably the biggest change down here is seeing all of our furniture moved in. Brady and I set a goal to get it all moved in and set up before Christmas, which felt really lofty at the time considering we still had the wet bar to install and all of the stereo and TV equipment to wire in, not to mention an entire powder room, from floor to ceiling to install as well. I honestly wasn’t sure we’d be able to make it happen, but we were super motivated to be able to curl up down here for our favourite Christmas movie on Christmas Eve. Brady and I got the TV installed before anything else down here, which made for some great company while we worked on everything else. After a few late nights of building furniture and installing cabinets, we actually managed to get everything finished up a couple of weeks early. We stole the sofa from our family room and moved it down into the basement the day after Brady finished up the powder room and we’ve been enjoying this cozy space every day since.
Behind the sofa area we’ve set up a games table with a ton of toy storage all around it. This beautiful old table lived in Brady’s basement growing up and we can’t help but feel nostalgic as we gather around it to play a board game or work on a puzzle together. We’re planning to reupholster the chairs sometime this year hopefully, though we’ll likely stick with a creamy white fabric again I think. As much as I love the comfy sofa and all of the fancy TV and stereo equipment that Brady put so much research into, gathering around this games table has turned out to be my favourite thing about our new basement.
I haven’t asked Brady yet, but if I had to guess, I’d say his favourite part of the basement would be this wet bar, or more specifically, his “keg-orator”. Building his own keg fridge and installing custom taps to our wet bar was Brady’s little pet project over the holidays. I think having a couple of his favourites on tap down here will be a fun addition, especially when we can start entertaining and hosting friends again.
Now there’s no doubt in my mind that Carson’s favourite part of our new basement is this little mini-fridge. I’m not sure whether it’s because it’s stocked with special drinks or the fact that it’s so easy to grab a cold drink to enjoy while we hang out down here now, but this is little fridge is by far his biggest highlight of finishing our basement.
Did you spot the little powder room tucked in behind it all? This bathroom turned out to be the most difficult part to figure out in terms of design. I struggled for weeks with what to do with the walls – whether I should paint them a deep green or whether we should take a leap of faith and go with that bold wallpaper I’d already ordered but couldn’t bring myself to install. In the end, Brady was the one to push me outside my comfort zone and really go for it with the wallpaper and I’m SO glad he did!
I really think it’s such a fun addition down here! And really, if I’m going to try stepping out of my comfort zone a little more with my designs, this little basement powder room is a great place to start!
It’s pretty incredible how far this space has come these last six months.
There are a few things left to do down here still – the stair railing and some custom shelves in that little column beside our TV, but I’m not clear yet on what exactly I’d like to do just yet, so we’re going to hold off on those for now. I’d also love to do something fun with that space under the stairs – maybe a little reading nook or some custom storage? Do you have any fun ideas? If so, I’d love to hear them in the comments at the end of this post. I’d love to share a round up of ideas with you all, is that something you’d be interested in?
For now, we’re just enjoying having this cozy space to hang out, finding every chance we can to spend time together down here.
Wishing you SUCH a lovely day my friends!ย
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This space is incredible. Love all the room and having the wet bar and bath make it perfect. Great job getting so much done.
Thank you so much Marty! We’re really enjoying having this new cozy space to hang out!