Basement Progress + Sources!
“We’ll never use a basement” I remember so vividly saying to JD when we were putting an offer on our house. Moving to Greenville, South Carolina from Arizona—the land of very few basements, it was hard for us to understand the appeal of “extra storage space” when we had spent the previous months trying to purge as many things as possible.
Fast forward 2.5 years—a growing family, a year spent at home nearly 24/7, and a busy work from home life we started to ponder the flexibility a little extra space would provide us.
In February, we decided it was time! Our studded and framed basement was ready for some walls.
We hired a contractor and right away started sketching out different layouts. We wanted the space to be open and flexible. We wanted it to grow with us as our kids got older. We wanted it to be a place we could welcome guests and entertain, but also a place we could escape to work, relax or unwind. But most of all, we wanted it to have a little bit of magic. It has been so fun seeing it come to life.
The layout
We went with an open layout and took out some of the walls that were previously framed—this meant adding a hefty support beam and some extra city permits, but it seemed like the best way to use the space. We’re fortunate to have a walkout basement meaning there are windows, light and high ceilings!
Most of our friends have children and we wanted somewhere comfortable we could host them for visits. I was inspired by tiny bunk rooms tucked in small spaces, so we decided to build a mini bunk space into the guest bedroom. We made the entrance into it the size of a standard door. Down the line we would have the option to change it into a large closet if we wanted. The left side of the basement is going to become my work space. Craft supplies have taken over our home, so it will be nice to have a dedicated space to work and create in—and a closet for supplies (that are currently housed in our kitchen cabinets).
We decided to minimize the storage space in the basement. I know that seems counter intuitive, but over the past 2 years, we’ve seen how much junk we accumulate and just toss in the basement—things we didn’t really need. Without a spot to store it, we’re hoping we will be more intentional about what we keep in our home. Rather than using the space under the stairs for a storage closet, we thought it would be fun to make it a mini playhouse. I have no design ideas for it yet, but I’m sure it will be a fun place for the kids to use their imagination and eventually change into a cozy reading nook.
The highlight of the basement is the secret bookcase door we put in. It’s going to lead into a movie room eventually. Our kids are so excited about it!
There is still paint to go up, flooring to go in, and lots of little finishing touches. Our basement is one of those projects that we will work on slowly over the next few years as time and budget allow. There won’t be a fancy reveal and styled spaces—we’ll probably be lounging on inflatable chairs do a while. But I wanted to share some of the progress!
Fixtures
One | Two | Three | Four (bargain!) | Five | Six
We are using a lot of the same light fixtures we use upstairs to try and create some cohesion since the flooring and doors are different than our upstairs. We’re doing this basement on a budget, so keeping the lighting affordable was a big priority for me. These amazon fixtures going down our hall are a bargain and one of my favorite parts.
We’re also pulling in the same sconces we use in our homeschool space and the same chandelier from our kitchen and Luca’s nursery. Our one splurge was the door hardware—we only have 3 interior doors in the whole space and we thought it would be fun to spice them up.
Flooring
Picking out flooring was one of the biggest challenges. We’re on a budget—we wanted to keep the cost with installation under $5/sqft. I’m also crazy picky. That combination was tricky. We knew we wanted to use vinyl plank—I wanted one that did not have lots of knobs or color variations. After ordering dozens of samples, we finally found one we liked at Lowe’s—-Brookside Oak. The best tip I learned through this process was to buy a full box of the one you are leaning towards before committing. The small samples are deceiving. We are using penny tile in the bathroom since it had mixed reviews on usage in bathrooms. It is getting installed as I type this and it is exactly the look I was hoping for!
There’s a little basement update for you! We are starting to see the finish line and it has us all giddy for the fun memories we will make in the new space.
