Basement: Before & After

Thank you all for the well wishes.  After a great night's sleep and a wonderful three hour nap today, we're ALL feeling much better. 

Since things haven't progressed much around here, I thought I'd take a minute to show you one of my favorite DIY/Before and Afters projects.   


This is what our basement looked like when we bought Seaborn in June 2005.  It was a far cry from the cozy, basement family room that I envisioned. 

Here was my initial assessment of the space...

Disliked

Wood paneling

Concrete floor

Tiled walls

Exposed water meter and plumbing

Old ceiling tiles

Like

Fireplace {not pictured}

Out with the Old

{demolition}

Shortly after starting the demo process, we realized the former owner mastered the theory of reduce, re-use and recycle.  This space was definately his workshop.    

Divided into several small spaces, most of the walls were constructed of scrap wood. Interestingly enough, we found a piece of old wood gutter used to shimmy up the ceiling tile.  We also found a couple old tv cabinets re-purposed into wall cabinets. 

As you can see, all of that resourcefulness amounted to mounds and mounds of nail-ridden debris.  OUCH!!!!

Within days we rented and filled the largest roll-off dumpster we could find. 

 

In with the New

{construction}

I'm sorry I don't have more pictures of the construction process.  But let's be honest, the after is all you really want to see.   

There's Hubby constructing a wall to put in the same

 location of the wall we tore down.  Oh the irony...

The basement is one of my favorite before and after projects in the house.  It has become our guest room, family room, playspace, and home theater. 

Yep, home theater.  Our home theater is the easiest and best DIY project.  It's the scene for many family get togethers. 

Knowing how much we love going to the movies, my mom gave us the best Christmas gift ever when she gifted us a digital projector. 

We experienced a little sticker shock when we started pricing projector screens.  So Hubby set about to build us an affordable alternative. Wanna see it?

The picture quality of the projector is better than this.

 It's the photographer's fault this picture is so blurry. 

The screen measures 4' H by 8' W.  Here's another picture where you can see the prominence of the screen within the room.  The wall has been painted black and the screen now covers the ugly exposed plumbing.

Affordable velvet curtains found at Ikea flank the movie screen {and hide additional storage}. 

We added a couple sconces {on a dimmer} to give the room a theater-like feel.  The ceiling has also been painted black. 

We saved money by doing all the demolition, electric and construction ourselves.  Approximate costs are as follows:

Construction materials        $850

Carpet installation                800

Movie screen                        100

Hope you enjoyed this post as much as I enjoy this space! 

Sincerely, Lisa

Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Thrifty Thursday at Tales from Bloggeritaville

Frugalicious Friday at Finding Fabulous

Saturday Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch
Before and After Party at Thrifty Decor Chick

DIY Day at A Soft Place to Land
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday at Coastal Charm