This past winter, we bit the bullet and decided to finish our basement. We talked about a “big” remodel project for awhile, but couldn’t decide between our master bathroom, kitchen or the basement. In the end, we settled on an basement remodel for a number of reasons:
- Overnight Guest Space. My in-laws live in South Carolina, but come back to visit several times a year. We only have 3-bedrooms in our house, so when they visit, they end up staying in our front room. This offers limited privacy for them and us.
- Chicago Winters. I don’t need to expand much more on this one, but we ultimately wanted a place to hang-out, play, and let the kids run around when we’re all cooped up during long, cold winters.
- Entertainment Space. We always wanted more entertaining space, and that was solidified after our New Year’s Eve Party. Ten adults and ten kids basically on top of one another and our house was a complete disaster.
- Teenage Years. Our kids are still young, but I know the teenage years will come fast. We wanted to give them space that was not their bedrooms where they could spend time with their friends.
The Process
The process began in late December/early January when we prepped the basement. We knew it was going to be a big project and a significant financial investment. As a result, we wanted to make sure our investment was protected if something ever happened (e.g., sump pump going out). Our very first step was to have someone fix any cracks we had and install a back-up sump pump. While this was a hefty investment, I know it will pay off in the long run.
Next, and my least favorite part of the process, THE CLEANUP. Our basement was a complete dumping ground of toys the kids grew out of and clothes that we’re waiting for them to grow into. Additionally, when our in-laws downsized and moved to South Carolina, they pretty much downsized into our basement. We now are proud owners of three separate sets of china, newspaper clippings from every major sports event since the 70’s, and glasses they couldn’t bare to throw away. We spent two solid weeks in the basement on the weekends and during the week after the kids were in bed organizing, purging and setting items aside for donation.
Meanwhile, we researched contractors in our area that were highly regarded with excellent reviews. We found one that we really liked and had him over to talk through our vision. We immediately liked him as he took our ideas and gave us options on how to make our vision of having an Industrial Farmhouse Basement come to life! Once we let him know we were in, the process of selecting materials, getting our final quotes was a little over two weeks.
Inspiration
Here are a few pictures we used as inspiration for our project!
Ceiling – Our basement ceilings are pretty low, so we asked our contractor about our options. He suggested spray painting the ceiling and to add a lot of lighting and the low ceilings would disappear! After looking at a few examples, I loved the idea!
Kids Playspace – There are so many great examples of how to use the space under your staircase. I went back and forth with a bed area or a playspace for the kids and ultimately decided on the playspace. In our final contract, our contractor added windows for “Nerf Gun Wars”. Seriously, he was the BEST.
Bathroom – When we were considering a master bath remodel, I fell in love with the below tile style, but was too chicken to try it out in our master bathroom. Putting it in the basement bathroom seemed like the perfect solution.
Finishing Touches – We want this space to be somewhere we can hang out, play games, watch movies/tv/sports and just have fun. I can’t wait to start decorating the finished space!
Check out my Basement Remodel Pinterest board for more of our inspiration.
In our next post, Industrial Farmhouse Basement Remodel – Before and After, I’ll share pictures throughout the process and the final results!
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