The beginning of the new year is a great time to plan projects for your home. One project on our list is to finally finish up the basement.
We started finishing the basement with the main family room in 2017. It was a great way to give our family more usable space.
You may remember the toy storage we created with sliding barn doors.
It was a pretty great transformation from the starting place. And it’s wonderful to have a space to hang out as a family, spread out all the toys, and relax.
Ryan added wood flooring as shiplap to the walls and ceilings. And then he trimmed out the windows and doors and added DIY sliding barn doors.
This space has been awesome. But, the more we use it, the more we realize it would be nice to finish everything in the basement – starting with the stairway. With kiddos going up and down, it would be great to make it safer – and look a little better.
So, Ryan started working over the holiday break on the stairs by plastering and planking the walls. We still have lots to finish, but it has made such a big difference already. And he has almost regained movement of his arms (plastering is pretty physically demanding).
I love the look of the shiplap with the plastered walls. I think we are going to oil this to keep the wood tones. Eventually, we’ll also finish the stairs and carpet them.
The bottom of the stairs includes the doorway to the utility room.
But on the other side, it’s just a wall ‘o boxes. Which, ideally, would be covered up. So, we are planning floor-to-ceiling curtains to block this area but make it easily accessible. All in good time.
The other space we are working on finishing is the downstairs bathroom. SURPRISE! It already has a toilet! Ryan has worked so hard to get this in working order.
Originally, we planned to install a bathtub. But we don’t need another tub (we don’t even use all those we have). And since the basement doesn’t have a bedroom (our guest space is in the barn), it’s just not something we think we would use.
So instead of a tub, we are going to install closet space along the wall where the tub would have been. It seems sort of random, but it works better for us. And it saves us money for a tub or bathtub we never would have used. If we decide to install a shower down the road, it’s an easy fix.
So, that’s our biggest project we are working on. We haven’t quite got to the fancy after photos – but having a bathroom in the basement is already such an improvement!
What’s the biggest home project on your list this year?
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Gretchen says
I’m going to be referring back to this for ideas and motivation whenever we finally get going on our basement; doing a lot of it ourselves (but not the plumbing. Dave would be grumpy for a year!) is the only way it will be in the budget anytime in the next decade or two, I think 🙂
Sara says
I think I remember reading that the bathroom floor is vinyl, right? It’s amazing! I wish I could bust out our old ceramic tile in our basement bath. Someday!
Kayla AKA Kilo Bravo says
Finishing off the basement is going to be a great feeling for you guys – the progress already has got to feel good! I am insanely jealous of the surprise bathroom. We have a semi-finished basement and we love it but my biggest complaint is having to all the way upstairs (and basically cross the entire first floor floor plan) to get to a bathroom. Not fun during movie night and your kids won’t let you hit pause!
Can’t wait to see the progress as you go.