basement remodel :: weeks 12 & 13

Now that we're getting close to the end, it's becoming difficult to post weekly. Mainly because there's barely anything left to do! I'd been waiting [what felt like] forever for the blinds and one last decorative piece.

I'm happy to say... THEY ARRIVED!!!! The office is now 100% complete, I even spent an entire week at work in it. (Which was so much more fun than at the kitchen island.)

Here it is, in all of its colorful splendor:

I've posted bits and pieces along the way and while I'm sure you've caught a good view of the artwork from a distance...

I thought I'd zoom in to show a bit more detail (BTW, the collages you see in this post and HERE are available for ordering by past and present photography clients):

I have a thing for words and wanted the office to reflect that as well.

For those of you who may be interested - the Madison desk and chair are available at Target (online only), the Billy bookcase and bridge are from IKEA, the silver magnetic board is also from IKEA, the client chairs and coffee table also from IKEA, and the Effektiv storage cabinets that house my scrapbook albums (you guessed it)... IKEA [pictured below].

The little "hello" sign was crafted by Minnesota artist William Dohman (his Etsy shop is called "Oh Dier"; you can find it HERE). The small camera painting is from PaintMeAPicture, you can find that Etsy shop HERE.

I am SOOOO happy with the end result :) Until next time...

basement remodel :: week 11

It's official.

The last piece is up; our family room is now DONE!!!

Added a stuffed critter and some old mason jars to the office shelves but am still waiting on a piece (for that empty spot in the middle) to arrive.

And blinds (which will hopefully be soon!) - then I'll post "before" and "after" pics of the office space and bathroom as well. (Laundry room will be last.) Until next time...

basement remodel :: week 10

We hung a few things this week...

And it nearly killed me! (Have I mentioned how much I hate hanging things??) Tony and I love the new artwork in the family room - clearly it was MADE for it :) LOVE the 24x36 client canvas as well, perfect for the office. (We have a television now as well and had our first official night of hanging out in the basement!)

Hung up the last piece in the family room today but won't have those pics to share until later in the week. That room is officially DONE!!!! So close. So very, very close. Until next time...

basement remodel :: week 9

It was a big week.

Very big. We now have a SOFA!

A corner sofa at that. We also have a giant game/scrapbooking/poker table. Any way you look at it, a place for entertaining:

We also added some things that belonged to my father-in-law.

Once the entire wall is complete, I'll show you a full shot of the shelves. (Should be next weekend sometime.) I installed wooden blinds in the family room this week as well. Office is next. Speaking of office...

THE WALL IS DONE! It turned out even better than I expected and again, I'll share the full view once decorating is complete.

We'll be adding artwork to the wall by the game table, a little something by the brown leather chair in our family room, and lots still to the office walls. Looking forward to another fun week of embellishing our space. Until next time...

basement remodel :: week 8

Things slowed down a bit for us this week. We spent a great deal of time assembling IKEA furniture:

Which is still in process. We purchased the television and Tony spent time in the wall, doing things only he could explain.

And adding special touches, such as the magnetic chalkboard wall in the office:

And two photo collages in the family room. The small collage is below:

The large collage is still a work in process (they goofed up my order and didn't send me any of the tween's pics). You can peek at that collage HERE (I'll post final pics when it's really, truly complete).

I fretted and fretted about hanging the collages until I learned an extremely valuable tip that I shared HERE. (You can find the grid wrapping paper at Walgreens or Hallmark.) With several more collages still to hang, this will save my walls from hundreds of unnecessary holes!

We hope to have more furniture next week (we've been waiting on an out-of-stock sofa) and THE WALL in my office will hopefully be complete!!! Until next time...

basement remodel :: week 7

Now that construction is officially over, the decorating process has begun.

My favorite part.

I ordered custom blinds this week (received a great deal, including free shipping, through JCPenney). The family is pretty bummed about not being able to use the bathroom for six more weeks (our neighbors have a view straight inside) - personally, I don't know what the big rush is... because once they start using it, I'll need to CLEAN it.

Throughout the decorating phase, we will be adding pieces that belonged to Tony's father. Little reminders of him. Such as these seashells:

Which we've incorporated into the bathroom.

The office is coming together nicely as well.

We are creating a custom-looking piece behind the desk and are waiting on three pieces before moving forward any further. (Hint: It involves magnetic chalkboard paint!)

Some of the 10x10 prints for the "smaller" collage arrived as well:

Just waiting on the 16x16 prints (for the big collage) and a shipment of frames before making our first official holes in the walls.

Tony added a little bling of his own.

Electronic bling, that is ;)

Until next time...

PS: I almost forgot to share the GAME CLOSET:

We've since added green IKEA boxes to the bottom, filled to the brim with video games. This closet = a dream come true :)

basement remodel :: week 6

In case you've missed my previous postings, it is technically only week 5 of actual work being done. (Work began Monday, May 9, 2011.)

Which is utterly amazing.

AMAZING.

We have a finished basement!!!!!!!!! Both Tony and I highly recommend New Creations and plan to retain their services again for another fun project down the road.

Aside from a few minor punch list items, we are ready to furnish the new space. (I'll continue to post images until we are absolutely done with everything, which includes decorating.) Until next time...