basement remodel :: preliminary stuff

In case you haven't been following my Tweets, Tony and I are on the verge of a basement remodel. We are super excited about our contractor (New Creations of Minnesota) and are looking forward to getting started within the next couple of weeks. We've already ironed out many of the details with NC owner Steve Tuttle and met most of his team last week. The biggest hurdle for Tony and I so far has been trying to find a home for everything that occupied our third level! When the project is complete we will have a finished living area (which will include a landing on the fourth level), office/bedroom, 3/4 bath, and laundry room.

I am SO TOTALLY EXCITED about finally having an office, a place for not only all of my gear (scrapbooking and photography) but a place to meet with potential clients. I'm incorporating a special family heirloom into the space and have lots of grand ideas for decorating.

I'll be incorporating client session images into the office and A TON of personal images into our living area.

I'll continue to document the process here so you can watch it all come together.

There will be lots of color and lots of IKEA stuff by the time all is said and done... sometime later this summer!! (I'll keep you updated on the process weekly so as not to overload you with details.) Until next time...

basement remodel :: week 2

It's amazing how much things can change in a week. Here's how the basementscape progressed:

We also made our final selections for flooring and fixtures this week as well. Here's a sampling:

When we built our home in 2004, I would "sneak" over to the property after church adn plaster the unfinished house with scripture... the floor, doors and window frames, in the children's rooms, by my favorite chair (of course, we'd mapped out rooms then as well), by our beds - pretty much every "wall" was tagged. I didn't come clean about my graffit-ways until I scrapbooked about it several months later:

I wanted to do the same with our basement remodel. But this time, I enlisted help:

And the verse that was my inspiration:

Write these commandments that I've given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street, talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them to your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your home and on your city gates. Deuteronomy 6:6-9 (MSG)

It's been less than a week of work so far and the framing is complete, plumbing and electrical are well under way, and HVAC is moving through as well. Tony and I so are very pleased with everything so far, even parts we had trouble visualizing from the start of the project. Steve (of New Creations) told us at the beginning we were meant to enjoy the process, something we both needed to hear (our initial build was EXTREMELY STRESSFUL). I can honestly say, we are enjoying every second of it so far :)

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...

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 :: 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 3

While technically it's only our second week of work, we actually signed our contract three weeks ago.

I am amazed at the progress in such a short period of time.

We have WALLS people!!!!!

And lots and lots and lots of dust.

Now the REAL fun begins :))) 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...