Could I be cuttin’ it a little closer?
Um. No. The correct answer is I can not. You should know by now that I have no concept of time. I could say “I’ll be there in ten minutes” and then four hours later, I show up not even realizing that I am late. It makes for very awkward conversations at missed doctor’s appointments. Anyhoo…I told ya’ll that today we would be visiting our dream house again for the basement house tour. And here I am cuttin’ it under the wire. (is that a correct saying? because cuttin’ it with a wire just sounds plain redneck)
Let’s first recap – we found a dream house. It had every single little thing (and then some and then some more!) that was on our list but it’s a foreclosure. We offered, they accepted, we were supposed to close Jan 24th (fail!), the power needed fixed, the bank finally fixed it, and that’s as far as we got.
We did talk about the layout…and gave you the tour of the first floor and the second floor…but now we are to the area that really makes this home a WHALE – the basement. The basement is huge. It’s crazy big. And I’m not bragging. I’m actually a little bit intimidated by it’s size. And even though we hope to put it to good use in the future, right now we are probably going to clean it up and close it off. We aren’t gonna bother decorating it or throw any money in it’s general direction. But since we were sharing the entire home, we want to make sure you see it so you won’t be like WHAT BASEMENT? when we reference it in the future.
I showed you the layout and it looked something like this…
yeah. I was wrong. obviously I didn’t take very good notes because the layout is actually something like this:
Maybe a side-by-side comparison will help you pick out the differences. It’s all kinda in the stairway/bedroom areas.
Isn’t it awful that I don’t even know the layout? Maybe it’s because there was no power and it made it hard to see accurately and yeah…let’s say it was that and not the fact that I’m sometimes slightly afraid of the dark and run through lightless rooms screaming and waving my arms above my head like a JAWS victim. let’s say that.
Now imagine you came to visit. You walk down the stairs and the first thing you see is an eating area. (I said imagine because I have no photo).
Turn left. You are now in one of the bedrooms. You can enter through to the next bedroom through the shared door. The colors are gray. Everything. The carpet, the walls, the ten-foot-ceilings. It’s like the designer was channeling inspiration and an elephant walked by.
Head towards the back of the house and there are these longish narrowish connecting rooms. They are what we affectionately call the play area and the mud area. Genius creative I know. The one in the back connects to the bedroom…it’s the play area. I think we’ll throw one of those train tables down here for Will. It’ll be the only piece of furniture down here.
And the mud area – well, you can imagine what that is for…
It’s the little space that has a door to the outside (under the deck) and connects to the unfinished bathroom. Thankfully this area is tiled so it’ll probably be a great space for potty training. Not far to run? check. Easy cleanup? check. Has a hole you can pee in? check.
(sorry about that crazy white balance in the photo above!)
Okay – so that door on the left is to a storage area. The door in the middle is the back entrance to one of the bedrooms and that door on the right is the unfinished bathroom.
And when I say unfinished…I mean totally tiled and plumbed but that’s about all. It has no toilet, no sink, no mirror, no fixtures. Technically speaking, it doesn’t even count as a bathroom…unless you are in one of those third world countries that has a trough you pee in. In that case…we have a hole…it’s small so you are gonna have to have great aim.
Now let’s wrap this thing up. The biggest space in the basement is taken up by this room. It’s the entertainment room. It’s gargantuan.
One day Jeremy dreams of a theater room…
I can totally see this staying empty. Other moms will concur…less to clean that way. Not that I clean.
As you can see – there is a kitchenette area beyond the entertaining room with a weird window to the storage area and totally stripped of it’s ‘stuff’. The previous owners took the cabinets, the countertops, and even the corbels that held up the countertop. That’s okay with us though – we think it was used as a wetbar – and we have bigger and hopefully better plans for it in the far off future.
So that’s the worst post ever touring a basement. And I say that because I want to warn you…this post gets even worse. We have the video tour…que scary music here…please note that it is pitch black half the time…and you can only hear the sound of my voice as I drone on and on about the house…consider yourself warned…
Basement House Tour from Katie Bower on Vimeo.
Dear Katie,
I love your blog, and I enjoy reading about your awesome new house! Sometimes I dream that we live near each other and are best friends, because girl, you are awesome 🙂 I don’t have an awesome blog and I live in an apartment right now so I can’t do all the DIY stuff I dream of, but you are such an inspiration – thanks for letting all of us in on your life & adventures!
Love, Brynne
p.s. In my imaginary world where we are bffs your husband teaches my husband how to use power tools, and it’s awesome.
heehee! In your imaginary world, does my husband also teach your husband how to do this?
Because that is way awesomer 🙂
xo – kb
I’m visualizing a trip to a Habitat Restore, I was at one s of ATL thus morning and there was tons of shower doors and fun stuff.
You are right! That basement is HUGE!!! fun though that you as a family can grow in to it someday:) I do love moulding though,and that entertainment room has a lot of it!! Always love reading your blog!
<3,
adri
It’s absolutely gorgeous!!! The whole house is amazing – I cannot wait to see what you do with it. Were you able to find any renters yet?
Have you considered making the basement a rental for a bit so that you don’t have to forego bacon for an extended period of time?
Your basement is nicer AND bigger than most houses! I always wish we had a walk out basement. We have a playroom in our basement and no matter what you do to decorate it, it still feels like a basement! Only a walkout or at least big windows would help! Enjoy yours! How exciting to be moving into such a wonderful house!
You have a whole other house in the basement!! I was surprised to see how finished it really was and that all of the amazing molding from upstairs continues downstairs!
Ever thought of renting it out?
Wow, that basement is huge! and so nice!
Holy Moly! I could totally live in that basement! Nice KB!
WOW! What a fabulous spacious house! So much potential and so much that you can do with you. I love reading all about it.
What year was this house built? I am having trouble deciding if it is an older house or a newer house built to look older. Fill me in!
Wow! So much potential. Love the entire house! Quick question – you don’t clean?! Do you have a maid service? That is what I wanted for Christmas and the hubby said no. 🙁
I love all the elegant details this house has! Such great character for a newer build. I can totally see a family growing into this house. Even elder parents moving in or something. And just think, if someone does moves into the basement, they can clean it and you don’t have to!!
No I don’t have a maid (picture me laughing hysterically here)…we just don’t clean a whole lot. My mother cleans her bathrooms at least once a week…and I’m lucky if it’s once a month. I don’t know why our house doesn’t get dirtier but it just doesn’t. I guess probably because we don’t go anywhere 🙂
xo – kb
It was built in 2003. Which makes it….hmm…math, anyone?!?….hold on while I count….eight years old 🙂
xo – kb
We haven’t only because it is out in the country and we don’t think there is a rental market out there. Plus, it would take some dough to get ready and honestly we think it’s cheaper to just keep it empty than try to finish it and then rent it for practically nothing…
xo – kb
Wow…that house is so spacious!
Saw this: http://www.etsy.com/listing/67194673/you-know-i-love-bacon-card , thought of you.
This house is ginormously HUGE! Love it! You are gonna have so much amazing space. So excited for you!
Ok. You NEED to stop posting adorable pictures and videos. NOW. Every time I watch them I cry. The one of Jeremy dancing with Will made me bawl. Your family is so beautiful.
You’re house is so much more than I could have imagined. It is really beautiful. I’m also surprised by how much space you have, not just in the basement but everywhere! It’s really a mini-mansion. It’ll keep you busy for a long time. Maybe some day you could run a bed and breakfast. I’d be your first customer :).
I think this is the biggest basement I have ever seen! It’s not even really a basement with all of those nice windows, it’s like a whole extra house down there 🙂
Very nice!
I’m loving all that beautiful white trim and paneling. How fun. I’m also loving that the previous owners seemed to think carpeting and wall paint should match exactly…maybe they know something we don’t?
You may have already answered this, but what kind of carrier are you carrying Will in? Looks really handy – although I don’t have kids yet, I’ll keep it in mind for the future!
Love the blog and the house!
Laura
I love the basement. My boyfriend has a giant space for pool tables in a dream house wish list (hence the word dream). There is so much space all over. Probably wise to ignore the space for now but it could be amazing in the future. 🙂
Wow…that’s pretty awesome! …Hm….Does the house have an attic?
I was going to ask about renting out the basement too but it looks like someone already did.
Is it going to be really expensive to get this house up and ready to go? I’m just thinking if it sold for so little then will you have to pay about as much as it would be worth if it sold for full price just to get it to a standard of livable? Which who even knows what that is…it’s like a million dollar home.
So maybe I answered my own question…because that would be crazy expensive. 🙂 Do you think you guys will stay here forever? This is definitely room for lots and lots of kids!
Hi, Can you please post on how to hunt for beautiful foreclosure homes like yours?. I am looking for houses in Duluth/Suwanee/Atlanta area but totally lost on how/where to start looking for houses like yours. Please help
Hey Katie,
Love the dream house tour series! The basement is amazing and has TONS of potential. I love that the ceilings are so high!
I have a cheap and easy idea for the random window in your basement kitchenette: put a sheet of plywood there & paint it with chalkboard paint. That was the current window casing & trim acts as a picture frame for the chalkboard! Kids will have fun writing down upcoming `movie night“ movie titles 🙂
Just a thought! Love your blog!
Katie, I am really really happy for you guys. As I was watching the video I would find myself smiling because you are just so happy. And I love to see a happy family!
SO GLAD that someone else is like me!! My Mom very dilligently scrubs her entire house once a week, and mine get’s done maybe once a month. I mean, our house isn’t nasty or anything, I just don’t vacuum, mop, and scrub toilets weekly!
Dear Katie,
Please tell me you are going to hire someone to help you clean this place! It’s a beautiful house, congrats!
So exciting to see what you three are embarking on. Beautiful!
I do have question Katie, and you may have answered this elsewhere, however, what is the really pretty piano piece in the background of your house tours (I think it’s in all of them?) It’s very soothing, and appropriate to showing us the tour and I really like it!
Also, side, funny note, I was reading around different areas on here (newbie), and I notice you say the word “poot” instead of gas/fart/etc. Never heard someone call it that before 😀 Until today – my hubby and I are new to our area, and I am making new friends at school (finishing my degree), one of the girls I’ve been hanging out with used that word! (She people- watches, and noticed not so good faces/remarks coming out of the elevator..”I think someone pooted in there..” she said) Anyways, it makes a “fart” sound cuter, if there ever was such a thing! 😀
Also, your humor is ridiculous! in a good way. lol, very funny. I love reading to my hubby what I laugh at; the last one I read to him was the comment about you wanting a lot of babies from Jeremy b/c of his tush (basically), well, Nick’s face was classic, got to say that much 🙂
Beautiful family! Enjoying the blog! Much love~Jen
I love your entertainment room! My hubby wants to do the same type of “clubhouse, cigar room, loungy (is that a word?)” to our basement. I will be showing him this picture for some inspiration!
There is a ton of potential in the basement too! It’s awesome how the beautiful trim from upstairs is continued in the basement. Are you still planning to close on Feb 14 or have there been any other delays?
I just had to tell you that I laughed out loud when the doorknob fell off! The house is beautiful, and it will be fun to see what y’all do with it. Can’t wait!
We are still on target for closing on V-day! But really anything could happen so we aren’t holding our breath…
xo – kb
I love that I found your blog! Thanks all to the Homies 2011. Your new house is amazing – I can’t wait to see how awesome it will look when you get it all decorated. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Katie! Congrats on the Nate Berkus show – amazing! And a family trip to NYC – priceless 🙂 I’m loving the updates on the dream home… how long till you move in? Are you planning to renovate before you move or after? Is that enough questions for now? 🙂 I finally posted a couple of house updates, and eventually remembered I told you I’d let you know when I did. Better late than never, right? Forgetfulness seems to come with the mommy territory. 🙂 anyway here are the links:
http://scottandsarahbass.blogspot.com/2011/02/house-update.html
http://scottandsarahbass.blogspot.com/2011/02/house-update-continued.html
Love keeping up with you this way. it’s been a looooong time since the good ol’ BC days but you’re just as witty & funny as I remember 🙂
Katie, you made me LOL like ten times while reading this! Funny stuff : ) How exciting is all that space? I mean, I can totally see it as being very intimidating, but if you will be living there when Will reaches his teenage years, I daresay you might be happy for the space. Beautiful home!
SARAH! You must invite us over. Seriously. I might just move in. The house looks amazing. And just so you know, I decided that your barn would be perfect for my wedding…the one I’m planning to my husband all over again just so that I can get married in that barn. Amazing.
xo – kb
It’s all yours! Consider yourself penciled in for your second marriage… to your first husband. 🙂
I re-discovered your blog recently (loved it the first time and then the holidays came up!) and cannot believe how I missed that you live in GA- where the HECK did you find a home in GA with a basement AND ACREAGE!? Please tell me you’re in the boonies or i might cry because your wish list is seriously all i look for in a future home! (And have only been ‘lucky’ in Canton/Cumming area… Milton-but can’t afford!)
Your new house is BEAUTIFUL and i’m so happy for y’all (green with envy but happy!) and cannot wait to see you turn it into a beautiful home!