My Lowe’s Basement Renovation Reveal!

We completed the renovation of our basement the week before Henry was born, but it’s taken me until now to get it really ready to show you- obviously I’ve had a lot on my plate! We are SO, so happy with how this turned out- aesthetically and functionally! Andrew is no longer working from home as of next week, but having a home office is so wonderful as is creating a little playroom/ den for Henry. He’s not using it much now, but I know he will! And if Andrew wants to watch a football game with friends (and I don’t), this space is awesome. A big thanks to Lowes and DM Painting & Carpentry for doing the dirty work with a smile (they are GREAT).

You might notice a similar color scheme as our living room upstairs- and this is because I re-homed our pillows from the sofa down here as I prepare a little update to that space (going with blues!) But for down here we needed to be budget friendly so we re-used items we had in other rooms/ storage and got the rest at IKEA, Target and Etsy mainly!

So here it is!

rug // coffee table // sofa // wall color- Sherwin Williams for Lowes-Modernist Gray

And as a reminder, here is what it looked like before – eeegads!  The biggest structural changes were tearing down the textured walls and ceiling, removing the heavy non-working fireplace and adding recessed lighting and a new floor.

In the back left corner we placed the bar- houses snacks, water, soda and yes, wine and beer too. :) (pardon my crappy shot- we forgot to snap this angle during our shoot!)

cabinets // pulls // wine fridge

I found these adorable prints on Etsy and put them in Ikea frames in between the fab sconces from Lowes.  We had to use a sofa that came in pieces from IKEA because a standard sofa could not make the turn at the bottom of the stairs- including the green velvet one I wanted to use SO badly from my concept board! ARGH! This one is actually comfy and the linen-looking fabric is great!

sofa // wood & brass tray // prints // side table- similar // sconces // pillows- custom

I was so excited to use this Cole & Sons wallpaper on the back wall to give the space a slightly “manly” vibe for Andrew and Henry.  I found these reclaimed wood floating shelves on Etsy and turned this area into a bar.  The stone top is honed Jet Black granite that looks a lot like soapstone!

counter & cabinets– Lowes // shelves // glasses & ice bucket // brass bull // terrarium

These DWR bookshelves have moved with us our past four homes- and we still love them (proof if you buy what you love you’ll never tire of it!)  These will have to go once Henry is mobile, clearly, but we can always find a place for them elsewhere.

Looking into the room before. Again, yikes.

After- this is the “office wall” and the AWESOME barn door we had made for the space from Rustic Roo Designs, a local Etsy vendor (who made it in a week for us- highly recommend!) You also can see where we have Henry’s book and toy storage with a TV above.

desk // chair // filing cabinet // lamp (love this one too) // bulletin board

Another big part of the project was installing this egress window- which involved big concrete saws and such to cut a large hole in our foundation.  But legally, in order for this to be usable “living space” you need two means of egress so it was necessary (and bonus, way more light!). I decided to do a pressure treated wood well because I like the look way better than plastic or corrugated metal wells.  In the spring I think I will use wall planters and put succulents in them on either side of the ladder.

The door hardware works awesome and this is not only decorative, but provides another sound barrier (mirror found on clearance at Homegoods).  You can also see the AWESOME vinyl plank flooring we used that I LOVE for a basement or hard wearing space.   It looks so much like wood and is nearly indestructible (also incredibly thin which is great for spaces with low ceilings like this- every millimeter counts!

Looking down the basement stairs before gave me the creeps…

And now with new walls, a new railing and some great wool broadloom carpeting on the stairs (from Landry & Arcari– found on sale) it looks so, so much better!

A huge thank you to Lowe’s for spearheading this project.  It has made such a big difference in our home and I am SO delighted with everything we used from Lowes and the way everything turned out!

Photos by Sarah Winchester Studios