The Beginning
It was a typical basement; concrete walls, unfinished ceiling with exposed pipes and wires going every which way, lots of spiders and a few mice. Really ugly. If I looked past this, though, I could see that it had some advantages:
- It is really big
- The furnace and hot water heater are already in a separate room
- There is good ceiling height (over 7 feet)
My basement was an ugly mess, (I wish I had pictures) but I had a dream to make it beautiful.
Imagine moving into a house and piling all of your boxes into your basement, filling it from floor to ceiling, making it impossible to navigate. This is what we did after a major downsize.
We lived with this situation for several years while we worked on more pressing issues; a new roof, siding, kitchen, deck…. and then my husband died.
The basement was the last thing on our to-do list and I decided to just do it. I was never short on optimism.
My basement dream
This room was going to be for my grandchildren. A room for them to lounge in, watch tv, play their video games, read, nap, whatever. I had a picture in my head which included the following things:
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- Shiplap walls
- Beautiful built-in cabinets, shelves and closets for storage
- A stone corner wall with a built-in fireplace and a TV over it
- A wood floor, or one that at least looked like wood
- A finished ceiling that didn’t look too commercial
- Comfy furniture for the grandkids to lounge or sleep on
- Everything light and bright
In my dream I was going to accomplish all of this by myself on a tiny budget. I had no idea how, but I figured I’d get a little help from Pinterest and YouTube. It was going to be beautiful. At the very least, it was going to keep me busy for a while. I needed a project. Crazy, you say? Stay tuned!
ELLIE!!! You make me wish I had a basement💗
You are the rockingest grandma I know!! I’m in love with that INSOFAST insulation with studs and chases built in!!! Absolutely brilliant product.
Thank you Kathy! You’re right, fabulous product. Gave me the confidence I needed to forge on!