Basement Refinish

I happened to be thinking about the house we left behind almost six months ago (!) and I realized that I never posted about our basement refinish. We enjoyed the completed space for two of the seven years we lived there; not nearly long enough.

I think part of the reason I didn't post is because it never felt "finished." I meant to do so much more, but then two babies in a year and a half and a major move got in the way.

It was fascinating to watch the space transform from this:

To this:

To this:

For months, our counters were covered with tile and grout and paint and carpet samples. Troy and I surprisingly made a good decision making team despite our very different styles.

I had big plans to transform the open office space into something sleek and modern, where I could go to feel inspired to design. What actually happened was our black clunky desk got shoved into the corner and stayed that way for two years. However, I loved having a big closet to shelve our printer, kids' crafts, project supplies, etc. The closet wasn't in our original blueprint and I'm so happy we added it in as an afterthought.

One of the main reasons for the refinish was to add in some extra bedrooms. Our contractor was racing the clock to get it all finished by the time Crew was born. We literally moved Blake's bed downstairs and shuffled all of the sleeping arrangements two days before Crew's arrival.

I built Blake's headboard in our garage on one of the hottest days of the summer.

The string art map followed much later, shortly before we moved away.

We also added a guest room which all of the grandparents sorely miss now that we drastically cut our living space.

We added in a full bathroom as well. If we were to do it again, we would make some different styling decisions. We got to the point at the end where we just wanted it done and we didn't have time to hum and haw over every little decision. And now that we don't live there any more, I guess those little decisions don't matter one bit.

I have to admit, I'm getting a little torn up looking through all these photos of our old house. Every room has a hundred memories. I can picture Blake building machines in the open office area. I can see Nash jumping from the highest stair possible onto the beanbag. I can picture Crew tugging at the cords under the desk. I can see Troy relaxing on the guest room bed with his Kindle because it was the coolest room in the house. And I can picture Finn learning to roll over into the boxes as I packed it all up.

Don't get me wrong, we adore our new home and everything our new neighborhood has to offer. But we sure are missing that extra basement square footage.

More Home Updates

I hosted book club at the end of May and it became my deadline for some home improvement projects. My friends had of course seen our house in its pre-makeover state, but having a deadline gave me the drive to finish three huge projects by the end of the school year (not the most ideal timing).

I went gung ho on refinishing our banisters, and while I was at it, I tackled the dining room and half bath as well.

Most of our house is dated and long overdue for a makeover, but these two areas in particular were driving me nuts.

The dining room was the only room we left white after painting the rest of our main floor gray last spring, so it was time to add a fresh coat of paint of Sherwin Williams Argos.

Especially because this is what it looked like before.

Of course, after I painted the walls, I had to design some new prints to hang as well. I put together a collection of some of our family's meaningful locations, songs, numbers and memories.

I couldn't stop there. I made some new curtains too. I painted stripes on long white curtains to match the ones I did in our living room a year ago and added small curtains on the opposite wall with fabric from Tonic Living.

Before:

After:

So much better. Since I was on a roll, I tackled the room that needed the most work as well; the half bath.

Looking at the before pictures makes me cringe a little bit. Apparently, maroon walls were in six plus years ago. And those brass knobs have long since been replaced.

It was no picnic to prime and paint over those dark walls. And to have to repaint the entire ceiling because there were maroon marks everywhere.

But the end result was more than worth it.

I searched high and low for billy button flowers and finally found them on Etsy.

The before vanity look was not pretty.

I framed the builder grade mirror by cutting molding into four pieces at 45 degree angles. I glued them right on the mirror and puttied/sanded the corners. After sufficiently taping the frame to the wall and letting the glue dry for a few days, I painted it white. 

And of course, those orange oak cabinets desperately needed a coat of white. With the final additions of an updated light fixture and a replacement faucet, it all came together.

I was still ripping off tape and putting everything back together the day before I hosted book club, but I made that deadline just in the nick of time.

Goodbye Orange Oak

I officially reached the "nesting" point in my pregnancy. As per tradition, once I made it a few weeks past the midway point and finally felt human again, I tackled a few massive projects with my newfound energy.

I have done this with every pregnancy. When the sickness subsided with Crew, I burlap-ified our Christmas decorations and prepped our basement for a major addition. I built a headboard, a play kitchen and revamped all of the bedrooms when I was pregnant with Nash. And with Blake, I went gung ho on the nursery while teaching full-time. 

I knew exactly what to take on with this pregnancy.

The dated orange oak handrails that I have detested for years.

I have held off on updating them because each year we've thought we might move. But since our three year home has turned into our six year and beyond home, I decided enough was enough.

I saved up my meager design income to have the handrails replaced. But then Christmas, Troy's broken leg, and a surprise pregnancy happened and there were extra bills to be paid. So, I started saving again. I was all ready to hire out the job when I realized the quotes carpenters were giving us didn't even include the paint.

We decided we'd rather go to New York and Michigan this summer than spend a fortune on replacing the handrails, so I decided to take on the project myself.

Instead of having them completely ripped out and replaced, I resorted to plan B.

Paint.

Let me remind you of what the handrails looked like when we moved in.

It was definitely time to say goodbye.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I began this project.

I mean, how hard could it be to add some paint to each spindle?

It took over a week to add two coats of primer and two coats of paint. Having young children around made it more challenging, of course, so I took advantage of every single one of Crew's naps and the bedtime hour. It also happened to be the last week of school which was probably the worst timing for such a massive undertaking.

But one morning I woke up and decided I couldn't stand that orange oak one more day, and once I get an idea in my head, you can't stop me.

It was completely worth it. I smile every time I see the finished product.

After wiping down the entire surface with rags dipped in TSP solution, I used two coats of Bulls Eye 1-2-3 primer from Zinsser. I love that it dried within thirty minutes since I had little ones around who would inevitably brush up against my work. I also loved that it was water based and low-VOC. I was a little worried at first when some yellow wood spots were showing through the primer, but when I added the second coat, I had complete coverage.

I grossly underestimated the amount of time it would take to prime each and every spindle, twice. But sanding every groove was completely out of the question. 

I did minimal sanding except on the inevitable drips that resulted from painting on vertical spindles. I tried to be as careful as I could, but drips still happened. Light sanding was one thing I could do while Crew was awake, and he became my chief sanding assistant. 

After everything was primed, I painted two coats of Sherwin Williams ProClassic Interior Acrylic Latex in semi-gloss. It was an expensive finishing paint, but since the handrails are in a high traffic area of our home, I wanted to make sure to invest in a product that looked professional and would last. I couldn't be happier with the end result.

Now, to do something about those floors. Even after tons of updates, the projects in our home still seem never ending. But I think I'll be satisfied for at least a while with this major improvement. It makes a world of difference.

I'm Dreaming of a White Kitchen

We've held off on making a lot of changes to our early 90's home because we've always thought we were just here temporarily. But fast forward five years, and we're still here. We decided it was time to start updating some rooms to look a little more 21st century (I started with the brass doorknobs back here).

Back in November, we had our friend who does custom cabinets come and give us an estimate on an entire kitchen remodel. Troy was gung-ho on the idea until he saw the dollar signs start adding up. We decided that the money would be put to better use finishing our basement. Adding two bedrooms and a bathroom would certainly raise the value of our home more than a kitchen remodel. And with our growing family, we could use the extra living space.

We settled on finishing the basement (more on that later) which I agreed made more sense and that was that.

But once the idea of updating our kitchen was planted, we didn't want to let it go altogether. So, we settled for plan B. Instead of a complete demolition including ripping out walls and adding custom cabinets and granite countertops, we decided to spruce up what we already had with some paint. Not only did we paint almost our entire main floor a dreamy shade of gray (Argos by Sherwin Williams), but my dream of a white kitchen finally came true.

Here is what it looked like before with our cabinets in all of their orange-y oak glory:

We started out thinking we would tackle this project ourselves. I'm not afraid of a little DIY, but I had heard too many nightmare stories about painting and sanding oak and it taking weeks to finish and the oak still showing through. Since I was also nine months pregnant when the ideas starting rolling, we decided to leave it to the pros. Our kitchen was out of commission for a week, but they did such a great job making sure the cabinet fronts were smooth and sprayed evenly.

I was literally hunting in the basement for the right type of screws for the painter to hang the hardware in between contractions. Crew was born a few hours later so the kitchen was finished in the nick of time.

A few things that I think really make a difference are the molding on the top of the cabinets and the subway tile backsplash. Both were super inexpensive and quick little additions to give the kitchen a more custom look.

The new appliances were a splurge but they make a huge difference as well. And I'm so happy to have a functioning ice maker! I craved crushed ice constantly during my last few months of pregnancy.

The kitchen always looks better (and smells divine) with some fresh lilacs from the tree right outside the kitchen window.

Eventually, we'd like to replace the countertops and sink, but our remodel funds are officially exhausted until I start working again after taking a good long maternity leave. I actually don't mind the laminate tops that much. At least they are gray and don't stick out like a sore thumb.

I love this reminder that I have hanging over our pantry to simplify. Oh how I need that reminder daily. I'm so glad that we decided to simplify the kitchen remodel project just enough to get a satisfying end result.

Next on the list: figuring out what to do with our dated oak banisters. And painting that dining room behind the kitchen. And adding wainscoting. And maybe new flooring. And trim. And actually decorating our newly finished basement. Okay, it never ends.