The time has come! This blog post officially kicks of the 6 week One Room Challenge or ORC as the pros call it, of our basement renovation. What is the One Room Challenge you may ask? ORC features designers who showcase their renovation process in their blogs over the next 6 weeks. There are featured guests who have been invited to participate and post every Wednesday and then there are participants, like me who will post every Thursday. Want to know another cool thin? Better Homes and Gardens is the official media sponsor and they pick designers from this round to be featured in upcoming BHG opportunities! Yeah, kind of a big deal.
But really, this fun challenge is to encourage each other throughout the process, gain new inspiration through the other participants’ projects and get some sh#% done in our homes! Sometimes timelines are just what we need to get a project done.
Now, time for the nitty gritty. Our basement has been relatively unusable and really only served as a place for the boys to kick their balls around (note the hanging drop ceiling tiles in the following pictures) and for my husband’s cat, Lois, to live. It’s a big space and now that the boys are getting older, we realized its time to upgrade this baby.
Note: Drop ceilings do not fair well against boys and balls.
Notice all those water stains? Virginia had the rainiest year in history in 2018 and our basement shows it.
The cat room and also the “shove everything we think we need someday but probably don’t” room
You’ll notice that after our rainy year, our basement was having water issues. Yep, before renovations could even begin we had to put in new sump pumps and French drains. It really hurts to spend a ton of money on something you can’t really see but mold is mold and I’d like to keep my foundation intact for as long as I can' so we tackled that bad boy first and now we can rest easier. Give me all the rain 2019!!!
Now on to the good part! Paul has been waiting for a reeeeeaaaallllly long time to have his own space so this project is mostly for him. The plan for the basement reno was to create a hangout/man cave/music room for Paul complete with a wet bar, surround sound and a large tv because….men. His wish list also included a bathroom and extra guest bedroom. To go from a completely unfinished and really unusable space to an added family room, extra bathroom, bedroom and maybe an exercise room is whoa, like really whoa but you only live once, right? And like I said, it’s time for Paul to have his own space with a little Sara sprinkled throughout. So stay tuned for all the back and forth and struggles as we take this bad boy all the way to the end where you’ll want to stretch out on the sectional with a nice cold beer from the beer fridge while listening to music throughout the whole basement, even in the, God bless, bathroom. I’m going to leave you with some inspo pics Paul picked to start out the planning.
This amazing basement renovation from Amie Freling- Brown of Meme Hill is the very first picture Paul found for inspiration. I love how she added extra table seating behind the sofa. Genius! Paul loves the accent wall behind the tv.
Shockingly Paul loves this color combo for his dream wet bar
I love the idea of adding interest to the basement ceiling to give it less of a basement feel and more of a true living space. This coastal home by Brandon Architects did a truly amazing job with those beams and reclaimed wood!
Last, I want extra sleeping areas because my boys are getting to the point where sleepovers are where its at and I’d love nothing more than to have them all hang in the basement a full level below me. These murphy beds by JW Construction offer the perfect solution for extra guests.
Alright my friends that’s it for now. Tune in every Thursday over the next 6 weeks to see all the progress and don’t forget to go to ORC to see all the other fabulous participants and their renovation plans!
