November 14, 2014

basement hallway & stairs - before & after

Happy Friday wonderful people! The weekend is almost here, so sit back with a nice coffee (or tea) and enjoy another basement update from yours truly.

Today I want to share the rest of the hallway and stairs. This update is mostly cosmetic as it was just a little drywall, a new light fixture, some paint and new trim, along with an update to the stairs I refinished here

But first, a look back to how this area looked when we bought the house:



Doesn't it just look like a basement in that picture? I am so glad it doesn't look like that anymore. Our last renovation included new laminate flooring, paint and trim. Here is the "old" hallway:
 


You have already been shown most of the updates to this area through the office and half bathroom posts that were posted early, which you can see here and here.

The first thing we did was pull out the old laminate flooring and rip out the really old vinyl flooring that was original to the house. As well as rip out the old doors and door jams:



Next, the plaster along the wall with the office was torn down across the whole wall. Can I just say how much plaster sucks? Because it does. Here is a view of the wall after everything was torn down:


Then Luis got to work hanging drywall and insulating the area. We did not have any insulation in the walls down here before and every time the furnace kicked on, or we had laundry running, we heard everything. Here it is looking better already (you can see a peak of the laundry room, as well as the office area to the right):








After all of the taping and mudding was complete, we hung up new door frames and doors. I fought pretty hard for these doors, which I am just smitten with. I think they add so much to the area:



Then the old fluorescent light was ripped out and replaced with an LED light (that you can just see an edge of below) and we painted the walls and ceiling in Behr's Limelight:



After that was the peel and stick flooring that you saw in the half bathroom and the office area (excuse the baby clothes, these things happen):


After the flooring was installed, the trim was installed. It is the same solid wood trim that was used throughout the basement. 

We had a local flooring company come in and install some carpet on our stairs. Oh.My.Gosh. do we ever love the carpet on the stairs! Here you can see the trim and the carpet:


I loved how the stairs looked before, and would have kept them looking like that if it wasn't for our Bernese Mountain dog, Motley. In the three short year that we had those stairs uncovered, he has destroyed them. Here you can see them before the carpet, with a little additional storage that was built:



See all of the scratches and damage? Crazy that one dog can do that. The shelves were installed to stop Braxton from falling beside the stairs, which was a crazy fear of mine (adults have done it in a less than sober state). I think that they will work out great for the odd storage needs that children call for. Here is a better view of the stairs after the carpet:



So much better! I love being able to fully use every inch of a room. Before the shelves that area was just the catch all for clutter and random items left by the cats.

And finally, the best part of the entire renovation:




How wonderful is that french door? We decided that the rec room would be and animal free zone, so we would not need to worry about Braxton with all of the hair that our four animals produce. I know it seems mean, and we do love our animals. But people, the hair! It's just incredible, even after vacuuming ever day.  I don't need to worry about Braxton eating tumbleweeds when I'm not looking.

And the windows make it great for peeking in on kids from outside the room (and teenagers in the future). 

And again the final product:



I am loving the updates to this area so much. It makes the area look more like an addition to our main floor than our basement. Like every other update so far, there are still a few things left to do. But the difference is already amazing.

The list of what's left to do:
- touch up the wall paint
- paint the doors
- touch up the back door trim

Well, that's it for now. Has anyone else had any big changes in their basement? Feel free to share!

Kerby


Linking to:
Thrifty Decor Chick - November Before & After 
I Heart Naptime - Link Party Palooza #67
A Handful of Everything - Great Idea Thursdays #74 
Six Sister's Stuff - Strut Yourself Saturday #173 
A Night Owl - Monday Funday 
Someday Crafts - Whatever Goes Wednesday #248 

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