It has been a busy summer, working and trying to fit in getting in the most of the warm weather. I have finished a few projects and some I even remembered to take before and after photos of....one day I will find the time to get this right!
So one of my favorite holidays quickly approaches...hallowe'en!! I love decorating almost as I like to scare! And that is where this scary undertaking begins....the basement!! Half of our basement is builder finished the 2nd half not. And of course this is where our office is, our workshop is, storage is, furnace is, and lastly and most important kids/teens hangout is. This unfinished space has seen alot of uses over the last 13 yrs so time to make it truly useful
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| Ugly ! |
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| The Inspiration |
It was suggested that our 14 yr old daughter have her first house party for Hallowe'en...by me no less what was I thinking! Over the last 2 yrs the space had become a dumping ground for all our "stuff" . Exposed floor joists, water pipes, wire, duct work, concrete floors....ugly ugly ugly so I challenged myself....lets see what I can do with the least amount of money possible to make a comfortable place for my teens and their friends to want to hang out in. So this is what I started with...Apart from a mess and too much stuff...the lime green was on one wall from 4 yrs ago so that was to stay so I googled ideas for what to possibly do with an overly bright lime green wall and came across this amazing wall sticker company in France ACTE . The inspiration was set! Existing wall unit was moved to sit as divider between work shop teen area. Short wall was painted mixing a quart of demin blue paint with some other blue paint I found tucked away. Lime green paint was found in our stash and opposing wall painted. Now for the inspiration....sand colour.....yuck!
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| First Attempt///Yuck! |
It got lost so I called a friend who had just painted her sons room purple...with a 1/4 gallon left!!!Now that is what I was looking for!
Next was the ugly concrete floor...with only 9 days (and not 5 full time days either) to accomplish this make over start to finish, it was decided to paint it. This would allow area rug and dance space for the party and still keep costs down. Painted with Behr 1 part epoxy paint~it went on great but the drying time between coats and furniture placement put a huge time constraint on us but I think I was worth it! Leather couch and love seat were found for free on Kijiji from the nicest man moving out of the country. Coffee table was given to me years ago by a friend also moving although had I had time and weather been on my side I would have painted it! Lamp was found in the garbage and it got a new shade from a lamp long gone and a quick paint job. Bar fridge was purchased by us off of Kijiji a few years ago to help out a friend whose fridge died and needed one quick. Ceiling lights were from other parts of the house when lights had been updated. Dimmer switch was on clearance at the local HD was an extra bonus. Floor joists were covered with drapery scarf and duct work was painted over with some Whisper White paint left over from yet another job. So at the end of the day my actual cost were $83.04 and my kids love it! Just goes to prove that by being resourceful and taking items from other places in your home you can do a room makeover for under $100. Next Up our office/workshop space!
