A White, Bright Office!

So we're plugging away on the basement, and my office is quickly becoming my favorite room in the house :)  It's bright, white and thanks to a little elbow grease from Em and Jocey... CLEAN!

I love these girls. They're always so willing to help out when I need it, especially with home stuff. I hope they alway stay that way.

We took the plunge and went with polished concrete floors in this space and the kitchen area of the basement. I'll have to gather all the info from the company who did the work, but the final look we ended up going with was a white, 3D glaze (2 coats) and then a final satin top coat to seal everything. 

It's definitely raw and modern looking... not everyone's favorite I understand, but for me, I'm LOVING IT! Think how EASY it will be to clean up messes in here! Sweeping and wiping things up will be a breeeeeze.

My old office desk would have worked out okay in this space, but I wanted something bigger and more like a workspace where I could have a computer, but also spread out papers and other things that I'm working on. Plus... I need more room for pretty decor, let's get real here. haha!

While shopping at DownEast the other weekend, Cason and I stumbled across this Parsons kitchen table for only $200 and I literally RAN to the front with the price tag in hand to pay for it. That's a STEAL of a deal people!

Eeep! So pretty!!!

Oh, and see that light dangling above it? That's just waiting for a beautiful chandelier! I have yet to find one that I HAVE to have... and can afford (ha!), so until then, it will keeeeep on danglin'.

My closet to the right was something that I custom designed to fit all of my storage boxes that I have. I want to put a pretty, unique doorknob on it to make it special too.

Maybe something like one of these (?)

We installed this amazing Bazz Glam light from Home Depot in the closet, and I LOVE it! The one pictured here looks a bit like it's oil rubbed bronze, but it's actually chrome, like mine. I just included the pic because it was really hard to take a good one of mine in my closet.

This beautiful light was less than $80 and very easy to install. It's gorgeous and makes the perfect girly, modern statement that I was looking for.

Another thing we did in this space was install a dimmer. 

I have a TON of lighting in here, which I'm super stoked for, but I don't want to be blown away by crazy brightness ALL the time - hence the dimmer. It was about $23 and will be worth every penny.

As far as decor goes, I've got these two fun chairs from Joss & Main coming that will sit somewhere in the space with fun pillows, and also an oversized 4x6ft sheepskin rug from Costco that I think will help soften up the space a bunch!

I'll definitely keep you updated as things progress!!!

xoxo

Shelf Building Bonanza in the Basement

Remember those lingering four carloads full of crap I spoke of in my last post?

No?

Well then let me give you a visual...

A third car garage is SO great! A spot for each car, and then a big ol' open area for all of your CRAP!

ughhhh... (insert eye roll here)

We were cheap and didn't want to invest in a bunch of boxes to pack up our stuff all nice because we knew we were just basically moving across town. Bins were expensive; and really, the majority of this stuff is just items from the rooms in our last houses basement, that we don't have spaces built for yet, but will once the basement in THIS house is finished.

The bins that you DO see are from our storage room. Memory boxes, pictures, keepsakes, etc... Those items (along with a bunch of this, for now anyway) need a new home. I know if I leave everything out here like this for too long it will gather tons of dirt, dust and items are bound to get broken.

We've been calling in contractors to give us bids for finishing off our basement, and it's going pretty well. We really just need to get the basic framing, drywall, paint and flooring installed. We like to DIY, but let's get real, THAT kind of stuff would take us way too much time and energy, so we're leaving it up to the professionals.

For the time being though, we ARE going to start in on a little project with my 'HandyDad', of building some simple shelves in our cold storage room under the front porch of our house.
This area is located inside the furnace room, and will eventually have a big exterior metal door on it, that will keep all the cold air from pouring into our main basement living space.

Chrome Chairs go Gold & A Game Table + How to Spray Paint Metal

Yup... another basement project and update! Are you impressed? I am.

:)

Okay, so we've got a couple of areas we're working on, but right now we are completely focused on the little gaming station that we're trying to create. We looked around at some thrift stores, went to a couple of designer places and then ultimately ended up at Ikea, where we found exactly what we were looking for... sort of. The DOCKSTA table and a couple TOBIAS chairs.

We wanted chairs that were sturdy, but still comfy, and that didn't have arms. It's too hard to jump up and celebrate a big win after playing a good hand of cards, when you've got arms to compete with on your chair. So these chairs were perfect AND stylish!

:)

Since the basement doesn't have tons of light, we wanted a bright white table that was super sleek and simple. We found a few from thrift stores that we could re-purpose, but they were all just too chunky and heavy for the space. We needed a table that wasn't too expensive or big, and something that we could tightly tuck the chairs under, with no problems. That's why we fell in love with the simplicity of the DOCKSTA model at Ikea.

As you can see from above, before we even bought the chairs, we had planned on spray painting the chrome base of the chairs a brushed gold color instead. The chrome is AWESOME and looks great, but when we put it in our basement, it sort of stuck out like a sore thumb. Normally I would be just fine with "metallic-mixing", but in this case, I wasn't feelin' it. 

So...

Say it with your best "game show host" voice impression.

It works with the corny face, promise.

Okay, so actually, before any spray painting happens, a few steps of prep need to take place first.

1. Rough up the metal.

Metal is obviously shiny, so in order to get the best adhesion, you'll want to scuff up the surface you're painting, to cut down on the glossiness.

Same goes for the frame of the chair. We used 100 grit sandpaper, but you could probably go 120 and be okay too, this is just what we had on hand.

Gold Wallpaper & Thoughts on Decorating with a Spouse

I promised I'd be back with a wallpaper reveal, and even though I just snapped these pictures really quick, and they're not the greatest, I still wanted to show you how our funky little accent wall turned out in the basement!

We ordered our wallpaper from Hygge & West. I literally just googled "Gold Wallpaper" and a few images popped up. I followed a couple of links, and about 4 or 5 in I found this little nugget.

I fell in love at first sight, and knew this bold pattern had to make its way into my basement.

Let me stop here and say... this stuff is expensive yo! I prodded around the internet looking for a coupon and finally found one that wasn't expired. I think I got 25% off of my order and free shipping, but still... I definitely had sticker shock when I realized how much wallpaper (in general) really is!  So, that being said, you can only imagine that the two rolls I DID purchase, were definitely being put up by a professional. 

We used Rick, who was referred to us by a designer friend, and he did an AMAZING job. Just glancing at his tools alone, was worth the fee of him coming out to put this gorgeous wallpaper up for us. I'm here to tell ya, Wallpaper'n ain't no joke! There's some serious science behind applying that them there patterned paper (especially the kind that isn't pre-pasted)! There was NO way that we could have done this project on our own. I would have been in a corner, curled in a ball, rocking myself back and forth if I would have tried.

As you can see, it's a little crazy, a lot different... and we LOVE it!

We've already gotten mixed reviews about it from friends and family. Some adore it, and some secretly hate it, saying things like... "Ohhh, that's... nice" or "I'm glad you like it!" haha! But one things for sure, it's a conversation starter!

:)

While we're in the zone of un-staged, not-so-well-lit pictures, I wanted to share our little bookshelf at the bottom of the stairs too! We purchased it from Joss & Main, and we're dedicating this spot to all of our family's memories. Project Life albums, Smash Books, bins of printed Instagram photos... whatever it may be. At Cason's request, we're pulling out all of our memories from the computer and our phones, and we're stashing them in one place so that we can have them readily available to enjoy.

Oh! Also, I wanted to address a comment we got on our last basement update post.

It was this one here:

Project Basement Makeover - Design Plan + Furniture Reveal & Advice

Peacock blue, coral, gold and floral... OH MY!

We've got  a bunch of our basement furniture all settled in and we're jumping for joy!

Before I show you anything more, I have to stop at "the sketch". If you've been reading along on our blog for a while now, then you know that before we start ANYTHING... we always start with a sketch. Cason drafted this one up, when we finally realized that we had saved enough money to start getting serious about making furniture purchases for this space.

While most of this concept stayed in tact, we still wanted a professional designer to draft up an exact idea of what we could feasibly fit into our space. Our goal was to get the MOST seating possible, without crowding the space or making it look too heavy. Even though we have small children now, we're making plans for preteens, that we know will want to invade our space later on.

:)

Like I mentioned in our last post, we used The Black Goose Design to help us with this. When Brooke and Emily came out the first time, to measure for our kitchen nook makeover, they also popped downstairs to gather a few numbers for our basement space as well. Since they already had the measurements on hand, they did a quick sketch of their own, including our ideas, of what they thought would be great for our basement space.

For those who asked before, designers from The Black Goose Design CAN help anyone in their retail store free of charge. You can bring photos of your space and they can help offer some general design tips and ideas, just for YOU! Then, if it turns out you need more help and live here locally in Utah, they're happy to come out to your home for a small fee. They will measure, give you more furniture position suggestions and even show you how to work with what you already have.

(pricing can vary by where you live and what you need help with)

Once we had all our measurements nailed down, it was time to pick out the fun fabrics, colors and decor I wanted to add. You can read about our design process in the last post, but here's how it all turned out with everything gathered together!!!

Who knew that those faux animal print ottomans Cason wanted so badly, would really work totally awesome in here? They're that perfect mix of eclectic and funky all at once! These ran about $300 each, because we opted for a larger, sturdier cube design, so that children and adults alike could sit on them. Plus, I loved the option to be able to choose form over 100 different fabric... yes, faux animal print being one of them. LOL

And the rug?... ***swoon*** It's perfect!

I was initially going to go with a coral color, but Brooke suggested this deep peacock blue, and I'm so happy with it! It definitely anchors the space and adds lots of movement. I know a bunch of you have expressed the concern with putting rugs on top of carpet; WHY?

Project Basement Makeover - Decor Plan & Stepping out of my Comfort Zone

You know when you get going on a project, get REALLY excited, make huge strides and then... quit? Yeah, well, that's sort of what happened to our basement makeover these past couple of months.

We have a bunch of ideas that we want to implement down in this space, but feel like we don't want to commit to anything quite yet, until we have our furniture in place.

Aubrielle: "Hey friends, wanna come watch a movie at MY house? You can sit on a broken camping chair, a bouncy ball or even an old storage container!"

:(

Sadly, this scene above has been the norm for the past couple of months while we've been deciding on furniture styles and colors for this space. Typically, when it comes to big purchases we take a LOT of time deciding, finding exactly what we need/love, saving our money... and only THEN do we jump in with both feet.

As I mentioned before, Cason has been really opinionated (in a good way), with this basement makeover and he's challenged me to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new.

Typically I would go for lighter, airier colors, (whites, light blues and yellows) like in our living room upstairs, but we both thought that it would be fun to dip our toe into a completely different color scheme that we think could be really fun, for this movie watchin', game playin' space! I mean, it's just color, right!? And as long as our couch stays neutral, changing up everything else is a cinch and a lot less expensive.

Since we wanted our textiles to be really unique and custom, we chose to work with The Black Goose Design again. We loved working with them for our kitchen redesign, so it was a no-brainer when we were deciding where to purchase the bigger pieces for our basement.

The good (and sometimes bad) thing about an actual design shop, like The Black Goose, is that they have EVERY fabric, rug and furniture style under the sun! Good, because you don't have to run around town (or the internet) looking for each individual piece of your design plan, but bad, because if you DON'T have some sort of plan in mind, you can get overwhelmed with choices really fast.

...eehhhmm...

This may or may not have happened to me.

***blush***

Luckily, between Cason and Brooke (who is the manager and one of many design consultants at the store), we were able to reign in my indecisive decorating ways pretty quickly. Once we decided on a definite color scheme, things moved really fast! I'll admit that I was hesitant and unsure about our choices as we flipped through the bold, rich, fabrics one by one; but once everything was laid out on the table, I started to get really excited!!! 

The thing I love about a really good design shop/consultant, is that they're not there to tell you how you should decorate, or exactly what they think you should choose; they're just onlookers with lots of resources who standby and help make suggestions that you may not have considered, once they see what direction you start gravitating towards in your design decisions.

Project Basement Makeover - THE TV + Metal Sideboard

There's really no good way to start a post out for me, when this is the first picture.

Just in case you're wondering, that look on my husbands face is:

"Oh my GOSH, she let me do it, I'm seriously rollin' out of this Costco with 65 inches of high definition, smart TV goodness! How did I win this one?... okay, if I don't smile or make eye contact with her then she won't change her mind... just get to the checkout stand as fast as possible, go, go, GO!"

I don't wanna talk about it.

What's done is done.

Yeah, so this basement makeover is turning into a bit of a tug-o-war with Cason and I. Normally we don't have many issues deciding on what goes where, how a wall should be finished or where our budget should be spent... but this time, it's different. I'm not sure if it's because the basement is the closest thing that Cason will probably get to a "Man Cave", or if he just feels like being extra opinionated about everything... nonetheless, a lot of choices in this basement makeover have been his.

While at times I've rolled my eyes or raised an eyebrow at a few of our his "final decisions"... I have to say that it's sort of fun to have a little more opposition this go-around. Sounds weird, I know, but typically Cason is SO easygoing and agreeable, that it's fun to watch him get all worked up about very specific things in this space; like a SIXTY FIVE INCH TV or even Faux animal print ottomans from The Black Goose Design that he just KNOWS will totally "make the space." haha! I love this guy.

PS: Don't get the wrong idea, I'm definitely in love with these funky ottomans too.

:)

Once we had that ridiculous monstrosity TV up on the wall downstairs, I realized that I'd have to find the Mother-of-all sideboards to go under it. We searched for about 3 weeks looking for the perfect piece, when we finally saw this one at a big furniture store nearby. 

At first I was hesitant, because it looked sort of Medieval to me with all the metal and exposed studs, but then the more I looked at it... it grew on me. We don't have ANYTHING like this in the rest of our home, so I thought it would be fun to try something new and different for a change. Cason of course loved it right off the bat.  

5 Tips for a Stress-Free Restyle - Decorating One Space at a Time

Lately we've been trying to address questions that we get asked over and over again, in post form, and one that we get frequently is:

"Where should I start if I'm trying to change the look of my entire house!?"

yes, we have white cabinets now, but I don't have a pic of them yet. ack! need to do that!

First, let me just say... I am NOT an interior designer; just a girl who loves to decorate and got lucky when I married a guy who actually has a passion for transforming spaces as well!

:)

So when I get questions like the one above, please know that I'm right there with you! I STILL feel just as overwhelmed with room restyles sometimes, and even though it may look as if we're all smiles and projects... there are definitely meltdowns and second third fourth thoughts being had around here about almost everything we do! (hence the reason that each project/room/space takes us so long!)

 Now, as true as this is, we've also redone our fair share of spaces at this point and embarked upon more than a few "scary/risky" projects... and just like anything that you practice at over and over again, you get better the more you work at it! I'm not going to lie and say that we're "pro's" by any stretch of the imagination, but the fear and doubt about what paint color to choose or even wall to knock down (hee, hee) has subsided quite a bit.

For this reason, I thought it would be helpful for us to share a few quick steps that we usually go through, when approaching a new space. Hopefully these tips will be helpful for some of you!

Did you hear that? I said SPACE. Not house, not even room... just space. For one person that could be as simple as a shelf, a table top, a corner or yes... if you're ready, an entire room. Really, just whatever YOU feel comfortable with taking on and what your budget, time (and patience) will allow.

Don't let the fun part of restyling your home become something you dread!
START SMALL AND TAKE YOUR TIME.

We're working on our basement, and while the huge, blank, empty room seems a bit overwhelming, given how much we want to integrate into this space... for now, this corner seems a lot more obtainable

:)

Project Basement Makeover - Hiding our Water Shut Off Valve

Aaaand we're back!

Project basement makeover is still underway; although we've gotten to the point where we're now trying to decide on colors, finishes and what to do down here that will really make a statement.

A few weeks ago we finally faced one of our biggest challenges... the totally random placement of our water shutoff valve. Yup, as you can see, it's awkwardly placed right there, basically in the middle of the largest blank wall that we have in this space.

The crummy part about this problem, is that you can't just drywall over the pipes and call it a day. You have to leave them exposed  in case there's an emergency and need to get to them. So really, our only option in the end was to create some sort of door or removable cover to hide the pipe.

Last year my Dad built a storage tower for my brother and had an extra door left over from his project that he ended up not using (yeah, my Dad builds doors from scratch... what?) so, he asked if I wanted to use it. Since it was unfinished and ready to paint, I quickly snatched it up! (thanks Dad!)

Making a cabinet door is a labor of love, but if you want to attempt it or even just see how it can be done, then EPBOT has an awesome tutorial on her site for DIY cabinet doors.

Even though we couldn't sheet rock the entire hole, we could at least close up a good portion of it. This started by installing a few support boards for screwing drywall into. We had to notch out a small spot for one of the pipe fixtures, but that only took a few seconds with our multipurpose oscillating tool. After that we used long screws to secure the new support board in place by drilling them in at a diagonal angle.