Our larger than life reveal has finally arrived and it is not a moment too soon! I was literally squirming in my seat in anticipation and I may have had a small fight with my bladder over who is in charge. But don’t let my digestive tract stop you from checking out our juggernaut of a transformation.
The secret project that we have been slaving over (day and night) for the past three weeks takes place down south…in our basement! We decided to get a move on when we learned that Jeremy’s brother was relocating as well as working at the hospital and going back to school. Being the pro-education people that we are (yay for learnedness!), we immediately thought that it would be a fine idea to offer up the plan to little bro about moving in with us. Not only could he save money, but he could focus more on getting his learn on, and help us out a bunch with finishing up a space that was left abandoned back in January. Torrey thought that it was a great idea too – especially since he doesn’t spend a lot of time at home anyway (what with work, the gym, class, and church – not to mention a few hundred friends that vie for his attention). So we were all-engines-go for a new roommate and a new basement makeover.
When we bought our house, the basement was roughed in but with no electrical or vents for air or heat. The floor was a concrete slab and the entire space needed cleaning and insulating. My boyfriend and I had made some progress in the bedroom area of the basement (seen above with the drywall installed) but after doing a little insulation work and watersealing the floor, we got busy with other projects. Needless to say, the basement project got moved to the back burner.
But with a soon-to-be-tenant, a giant bonfire was lit under our arse and we soon got to work picking out flooring, paint swatches, and planning our attack on that vent system that didn’t make any sense. We saw true potential in this space when we bought the house and slowly the possibilities for a comfy bachelor pad became a reality. Afterall, it did have windows and a relatively high ceiling (as basements go).
So we toiled. and toiled. and toiled. Three weeks later, we are so excited to invite you into our basement with pictures of the finished space and some side-by-side before&after’s that will have your toes curled like bacon and a footrub.
The living space of the downstairs was created to be multi-functional. The room needed to contain a living area, a dining area, eventually a work space and storage. Since Torrey had a bunch of basic furniture, the only thing that we had to purchase so far was a rug.
The rug sits on a newly finished floor. And speaking of floor, Jeremy & I decided that enginneered hardwood was the way to go for the basement. And after sealing, cleaning and measuring, we self-installed it to save the cost of hiring a crew. As for the color – we wanted dark. Like a true chocolate lover – the darker the better.
The wall color was actually the first and easiest thing to pick. It is slightly green, slightly blue, slightly gray…100% uber-fabulous. Not only does it play off nicely with the hunka-hunka-burnin lovely floors but the light hue allows the eye to continue up and up and away. This airy effect makes the ceiling look even higher. And you gotta love the low-VOC formula which reduces the off-gassing (heehee!) that could contribute to indoor pollution.
This main living space leads into a bedroom (as seen with the warm tan walls) and a hall way that has the stairs to the first floor. It also has a doorway that opens to our current ‘laundry room’. That room is a project for December 09. Currently, I think that Perez Hilton has some beauty queens tied up in there.
You might notice that we removed some duct work that was pulling air from the upstairs den. Jeremy rerouted it so that this intake was actually gathering air for heating or cooling from this lower level. Eventually we will probably need an additional unit for optimal cooling and heating of the very top floor but for now, our air conditioning time remains the same. We also had to move the doorway to the laundry room over about a foot and a half. This was to allow for the door trim and the ductwork. In the end, it also allowed that doorway to be nice and tall. Giant men thank us when they come over to wash their linens.
The overhead duct that was previously in the basement was quite a tricky task. The boyfriend had to rework it and now the cooled air is quite a relief in this previously hot spot. And when I say hot – I don’t mean lick-your-finger-and-sizzle-it-on-Beyonce-hot. I mean lick-your-finger-and-sizzle-it-in-an-outlet-hot. It was just plain painful.
But now there are two vents that blow deliciously cold air out so that Torrey can enjoy Confessions of a Shopaholic in comfort. Yes, he speaks Prada.
And speaking of comfort, Torrey and his guests won’t be straining their eyes due to poor lighting. No siree bob-erann! My little electrician boyfriend installed eight recessed light fixtures for optimum brightness. Since this is a basement, we felt that it was really important to avoid the notorious ‘dungeon’ feel that is generally associated with subground areas. Goodbye bomb shelter!
And no bright room is complete without natural light. Fortunately this room already had two fully functional windows that just needed some elbow grease to fix up. Believe me – these windows were disgusting. They probably had more bugs in their crevices than Tila Tequila. After a thorough cleaning and a few coats of white paint, they look brand spankin’ new, don’t they?!
And that isn’t the only thing that is new – the flat ceiling was an added expense but worth every dern penny. Plus we think that the overall finished effect makes the space look WAY more pricey without casting that basement feel that most people hate. Add that to the fact that we installed engineered hardwood flooring that flows into the adjoining rooms and you have a basement that rivals most first floors in our area.
And just in case you missed it – there used to be a VERY narrow doorway where the hall led to the living space. Only ten and under children, female A-list celebrites, and die-hard Atkins dieters could fit through there. When we ridded the area of that daggum duct work, my blue-eyed boyfriend installed a doorway that was enough space for a person with a BMI over 3.
So there you have it – a quick rundown of all the things that makes our space oh-so-beautifully-complete.
Granted, “complete” is a relative term.
We can’t stop here.
Oh no, no, no.
I can’t wait to share with you all the down & dirty details through each step of the way, an explanation of those fun clues that lead to this grand reveal, not to mention updates as we add art and accesories to this space, as well as reveals for the other spaces including the hall/stairway and a bedroom makeover. Oh and you can’t forget the fun giveaway that goes hand-in-hand with this transformation. Here’s a clue to tide you over till tomorrow – “Rain Clouds bring Rainbows”. So stay locked in…this is gonna be a fun couple weeks!
Absolutely gorgeous Katie! I’ll move in when the BIL moves out 🙂
what an awesome room 🙂 the natural lighting is wonderful!! now run to my blog and check out the last picture!
ooooooooooh fabulous!!!! I can’t believe how much you two have gotten done this summer, truly amazing! it looks absolutely wonderful, your bro in law is a lucky man!
PS thanks for not making us wait all day for this post, good to see first thing in the morning! : )
WOW, WOW, WOW – I would love to have a basement like that. Great Job!!!
Unbelieveably uh-MAZING. Those floors are to die for. You guys really outdid yourselves (and added some serious resale value to your humble abode in the process).
BEAUTIFUL!! Love the dark wood floors (da-roool!) – fantastic job and great surprise!!
Stunning 🙂 You guys are awesome!
Wow- your basement transformation looks amazing! What color are your hardwood floors and where did you purchase them? We are in the middle of finishing our basements and those floors are exactly what I have been looking for.
hahaha! “Currently, I think that Perez Hilton has some beauty queens tied up in there.” awesome! 🙂
anyway, what a great transformation!
OMG!! So beautiful, I would have believed it if you told me it was a tour of someone’s house. And I cannot believe that you guys did it all yourselves!!! I bow down.
Wow – that’s amazing! And so fast!
What? That’s the same space?! Holy cow, you guys are insane!!! It looks sooooooooooooooooooo good!!! Totally not like a basement at all. Wow, I can not even contemplate the work and boyfriend hours that went into this. Really well done. I’m such a fan of the dark floors and that yummy wall color. Torrey is so lucky! And I’m sure you just added loads of resale value to the house. How did you get all that done and do all that outside stuff? Hold please while I go bang my head against a wall:)
Wow, what a transformation!! The lights, the flooring, it’s all so beautiful! I especially love the wall color; what is it?
WOW!! that looks GREAT! i looove the dark floors!! not only will this make you guys (and the BIL) happy – it’s got to add a TON of value to your house! woo!
Bower Power! You two totally ROCK! Can’t wait to see and hear more!!
Nicely done Bower! and how generous of you to let Jeremy’s brother stay there.
Seriously, that basement looks better than my whole house. You guys need to knock off the productiveness, you’re making the rest of us look bad! It’s so bright and shiny and new and I love it! And I’d like to eat off of those floors.
And thank you for the Tila Tequila joke, it made my day.
What a gorgeous transformation! Nice work!
I love it! It looks fantastic. I came home in the middle of the clues and my head hurt trying to figure it out. But this is fanfreakingtastic. You guys are amazing.
If you ever watch the show on HGTV called Income Proporty, this reminded me of it! You guys did a great job and it looks so nice!
Holy crap!!! Seriously, your basement looks far superior to any room in my house. That’s an amazing transformation. You two are ridiculously talented.
This is an amazing renovation! I’m in awe of you and your boyfriend! It looks fabulous!
This looks awesome Katie! I love love love the
floors and the wall color!!! Can’t wait to see
more as you go along – and hopefully we still get
to see some “Photoshopped Fun” today too…
Phew! I’ve been starved for a really good before and after lately, so this definitely will “fill me up” – for awhile at least! Looks fabulous. Can’t wait to see the bedroom and the rest of the basement!
This is by far the most fan-freakin-little bit a tinkle in the pants-fantastical basement reno that I have ever seen. Good work! The yard looks A+ too.
Beautiful-is all I can say!!
you guys did such a fabulous job! I especially love the super dark wood flooring – swoon. can’t wait to see the other details!
I LOVE IT! This is so similar to the color scheme we’re going with at our house, I’m literally just drooling over these pictures. And if it turns out that installing your own hardwood floors wasn’t so bad (and we can save $4000 installing them ourselves, whoop whoop!) then I guess that would make you my next best friend. Hi bestie 🙂
Hi Jenn – our floors are actually Thomasville brand (available at Home Depot)engineered hardwood 5″ wide walnut planks. Here is the link.
Hey there Sarah – actually we wanted to bang our heads at moments too! We really felt that there were times that we gotten ourselves overcommitted but in the end having a deadline was very helpfull in making us feel like ‘the end is near’.
Brenna darling – the wall color is Olympic’s paint – called Rain Cloud. It’s awesome that it is low-odor and no-VOC formula. Gotta love a girl with beauty inside and out 🙂
XO – Katie
Beautiful job! And thanks for commenting with the paint info.
looks seriously great!!!!
holy moly! this post is going to find its way to my husband’s email at work STAT! we have only been trying to finish the basement, oh…for the past year…..
he decided to lay tiles instead of hardwood, just in case there’s a flood and he’s thinking of having a drop ceiling, in case any of the duct works/ pipes need to be worked on…gah
I L.O.V.E. IT! Great, fantabulous job (& I’m so thrilled that I guessed it – yes, I may have lost countless hours of sleep – but I was right afterall & I got Bower Power points (I think) – and that is priceless – and a run-on sentence)!!!! A hardwood installation tutorial is a MUST, you know, b/c we’re getting ready to tackle that in the upcoming months (little does the DH know).
katie it looks great! i guessed correctly!
That’s gorgeous! I love it.
HOLY shnykies (for real – is there a right/wrong way to spell that?! If only Chris Farley were still here to enlighten us…)!! Seriously, though. You’re amazing! And I must say, your hubs knows a thing or two about what he’s doing, eh?
PS: I need to add that I too have a Pastor Dad! Only he’s my dad, not McStudly’s. And is it like a biblical requirement for Pastor Dad’s to know a caca-load about do-it-yourself home improvement?! For REALS!!
holy batmobile! that is one gorgeous basement.
Beautiful! I love how you decided to make the basement look as if it belongs with the rest of your house instead of just going with the typical rec room look most seem to do.
WOW!
Fan-freaking-tastic! What a great before & after reveal. I can’t wait to read all about the dirty details.
You are gonna spill the paint brand and color so I can be as cool as you, right?!?
Is that really the same basement where we cut that umbrella just a few short months ago? Amazing job girl! Of course I’m not surprised. And that wall color is to die for. Love love love everything you chose.
xo,
s
Trying to figure out those clues were worth this transformation! Katie you guys did an awesome job. You are the next design star!! (had to say it)!
This looks awesome!! Great job!
WOW! How do you get your man to fix the yard, drywall your basement and lay hardwood floors down? Please, share your secret with your readers. =)
Wow, this looks amazing! You guys did a great job 🙂
This is absolutely beautiful!! The floors are gorgeous!
What an impressive transformation! We’re in the process of remodeling our basement too, so this post was especially motivating for me. Also did your brother-in-law really already have all that furniture? He has some nice stuff for a single guy! When I met my husband, he and his roommates had some of the ugliest, mis-matched furniture I’ve ever seen. You are lucky you had some good stuff to work with. 🙂
Stellar job. So funny, my brother (or possibly brothers!) will be moving into our basement in a few months as well. Like you said, it really gives us a deadline to work with!
Hi Kristi – it is funny that a bachelor has some nice pieces, huh? I was glad too because now we have a good idea of how the space lays out with furniture actually in it. I will be sorry to see him (and his stuff) go when the time comes (sniffle sniffle).
XO – Katie
This looks wonderful! I’ve never seen such a happy basement. I LURVE the color of the hardwood, thank you for posting a link.
Wow – your DIY skills are unmatched! I can’t believe you did it in three weeks. Do you people sleep? Your color choices are, as always, impeccable. Wish I lived closer – I’d rent your boyfriend to come to my house to install recessed lighting!
Love It! Do you guys ever sleep? hehe Can’t wait to see more!
Wow – your DIY skills are unmatched! I can’t believe you did it in three weeks. Do you people sleep? Your color choices are, as always, impeccable. Wish I lived closer – I’d rent your boyfriend to come to my house to install recessed lighting!
P.S.: Forgot to say good post!
Wow. WOW! Seriously, wow. If I were the BIL, I’d never leave. I’m so jealous right now!
Can’t wait to see the bedroom, staircase, and giant man’s laundry room. This is an awesome transformation and I’m awed at you and your bf’s initiative to get this and your yard done in one summer. My bf and I just moved in together and still don’t have all of the boxes unpacked/organized after a month!
WOWSERS!!!!
This looks so hot! Really I mean that is a sexy basement! I LOVE the wall and floor colors and I too am impressed at your BIL furniture. I am so glad though cause if he put a plaid orange hand-me down couch in there!!…shudder to think! It looks so good!
Wow, you basically just created my dream basement! The floors and paint are beautiful. I have been looking for a silmilar rug. Where did you buy yours?
WOW it turned out great…it doesn’t even look like a basement – I mean that as a huge compliment!!
🙂 T
WOW! I’m totally amazed. It doesn’t even look like a basement. The floors and ceiling were awesome choices. I’m just totally stunned at the transformation. And the wall color? Perfection.
You would never know it was a basement! If I may ask where is the ottoman from? We have been searching for a reasonable leather ottoman like the Sullivan from PB, but haven’t found anything yet. It looks great with the light tans. Can’t wait to see the rest.
Oooh, ahhh! Your basement looks better than my main floor living room! What a complete transformation and oh soo gorgeous!
Hi Maggie – The rug was one of our luckiest finds…we got it at the Pottery Barn Outlet for $160. We felt that was a great price for a rug of that size.
Hola Holly – Isn’t that ottoman fabulous? He scored it at Rooms to Go last year.
Good Luck ya’ll and happy shopping!
XO – Katie
Delurking to say what an amazing transformation! Your boyfriend is awesome. Too bad my husband is better at safety and security (he’s a cop) than home reno. I would LOVE a basement like that! Congrats on the wonderful redo!
Gorgeous! Now come to my house and work your magic!
The unfinished to finished basement transformation always makes me smile. You start with such a blank slate.. a skeleton of walls, slab floor, exposed pipes, and you turn it into a beautiful living space. You all have done such an impressive job with your basement! Even down making room for the laundry room door trim, it is creative, fresh, and gorgeous! Thank you for sharing!
All I can say is WOW!! Looks GREAT!! 🙂
Holy crap. That is an amazing transformation.
Wow it looks awesome!!!! I would love to redo our old dark basement HOw much did it end up costing you?
Hi Suzanne,
We haven’t added it all up yet but we estimate that the cost for finishing the space down here so far which included the living space, the bedroom and the hall/stairway cost approximately $4,000. Since the addition of only a bedroom would cost upwards of $7K to hire a builder to complete (per costhelper.com) we felt that this was well worth the time and energy to make this investment into our home. Plus the ability to help out a family member is priceless 🙂
Let me know if you have any other questions!
XO – Katie
hi! this looks so beautiful, but i’m going to leave that aside and ask an incredible menial question. where did you get your tv stand? it’s beautiful and i happen to be looking for one just like it
Hi Caitie,
Actually the tv stand is from Ikea. I believe it is their Markor collection.
Happy shopping!
XO – Katie
where did you get the couch?
Where is the couch from?