Basement Reno, Guest Bathroom Done

Before and During

Finished (for now)

we hope to get a shower door someday...

but it's fully functional and ready for guests!

First Basement Suite Guest

EJ's mom was our first overnight guest in the new basement (2 weeks ago). Nothing like having a guest planned to help check things off the list. She was very gracious and referred to it as her "spa." I suppose compared to sleeping in Owen's twin bed and sharing a bathroom with 4 children it didn't take much;) We've had another guest since then who actually had mini blinds in the window instead of a plastic tablecloth curtain. (There is a reason I haven't posted completed basement photos yet!)

We enjoyed Mim immensely. She treated us to several meals which meant less cooking than normal for me :)

I was not good at taking pictures during her visit. She attended Mason's party and 1 baseball game. I also ran lots of errands by myself in preparation for a BIG party we threw the following weekend. Her visit was perfect timing and it won't be long til we see her again. So glad you like your new guest quarters, Mim.

Spring Break Day 1

I remember from last year, it takes a few days for us to get in the groove of all being together all day. Aside from a dead battery in the van (in our driveway), it was a pretty smooth day. There was some arguing and fighting, but I will choose to remember the good parts ;)

We've been finding excuses to be in the basement even though it's basically bare. I suppose you could say this was our first time "playing" down there.

Mason's lego collection has never had a great home. Since he shares a bedroom with Ryan, and Ryan naps, it hasn't made sense to keep them in their room. Last summer before Avery came home, I had hoped to create him some personal space somewhere. Well, the best we came up with was a card table and one ikea storage frames with boxes (that we already owned).
Now that the basement is done (enough) I figured it was time to reevaluate. This morning was the perfect time to organize/sort his legos. Even the younger two were happy for a long time. Owen was inspired to organize his baseball cards and disappeared to his room.
It's
 not totally done, I will update soon. He LOVES it. Hopefully this will be a sweet place to let his creativity flow.

Basement Reno (week 19)

I finished the stairs this past weekend. Painting the risers was definitely the most tedious painting thus far. I am so glad it's behind me. I have been wanting the risers on our main floor staircase, white, since the day we moved in (9 yrs ago). Now that I am so experienced ;) I am hoping to get to that soon. After all, once the basement is done, what will I do with all my spare time?

 

They are too glossy for my liking, but hopefully more durable.

The flooring went in on Monday. I can't tell you how excited we ALL were. It was like Christmas morning at 5 pm when the crew left. I was giddy all day knowing that progress in the basement was being made and NOT by ME :)

It's a vinyl product (water-proof) and very affordable. It only took the crew 3.5 hrs to do both rooms and the hallway.

It's basically move-in ready. We still need door knobs, shower door and some paint touched-up and the kitchenette counters, but the end is definitely in sight. Praise the Lord!

Basement Reno (week 17)

We thought we were going to hire someone to do the steps b/c I was feeling burnt out. But then the quotes (which took forever) came back and we just couldn't justify the price. Back to the paint brush, I go. EJ sanded and I am staining. A friend suggested 4 coats of polyurethane on top. That should be a lot of fun. Ugh!

First coat almost done

 

The risers will be painted white, ignore the stain drips ;)

 

The staining goes pretty quickly. This part was not so fun.

Good thing I have a fine arts degree ;)

Oh, how will I spend my nap times once this is all over? I can't wait!

Merry Christmas to Me

My Christmas presents are finally installed. 

You know you are getting old when you ask for sconces and wallpaper for Christmas :)

My mom came over to help with the wallpaper b/c I've never ever hung wallpaper. Quite frankly, I was nervous b/c I've read of people giving up and hiring a professional mid project. Mom has hung her fair share (back in the day) and we just kept reminding ourselves it's only ONE wall.

 We did the entire wall during 1 nap time. It really wasn't that bad. 

Trimming at the corners was the worst part. I LOVE the results. 

The jury is still out as to whether I'll do it again.

The vanity arrived today and as soon as EJ recovers from a nasty stomach bug (pray no one else gets it) I will be bugging him to get it in place!

Basement Reno (Week 15)

I had to go back and do the math. 15 weeks is a long time. Most of the painting progress is not exciting so I haven't bothered posting pics. We do however, have a working toilet and shower now. The shower door and vanity will go in soon. We've had a hard time nailing down a painter for the stairs so we've been in a bit of a stand still. I am almost done with the painting. Hooray! Fingers crossed we'll be able to use the space in less than 3 weeks.

The subway tiles and walls are both white. The grout is gray. I was nervous how it would look in real life, but I am so happy with it. The shower niche has a piece of floor tile in it. These pictures are not great color representations but you get the point. The ceiling has to be repainted :(

Painting My Arm Off

Our tile guy broke his wrist two weeks ago at his day job, so the bathroom has been on hold :( This past weekend, despite 3 bball games and 2 bday parties, EJ managed to be the guy's "right" hand, just to get the job done. A little more grout and caulk (by EJ) and we'll be ready for the plumber to reinstall toilet and sink. Hooray!

I have been painting and painting and painting. Two weeks ago, I started loosing track of the # of coats on things. Most surfaces are requiring 3 coats. Starting from new construction is intense. I had avoided a "To-Do" list until then, fearing I'd be overwhelmed and avoid the basement all together. It eventually became necessary.At first, it was rewarding to cross something off. Then, it became apparent that each time I crossed something off, I was adding something new. I will spare you the list, but it's still very long :(

Last week, I decided I'd never be done painting. I spent almost every nap and evening painting and the list was still daunting. I have no reason to complain, we will (eventually) have an awesome space to welcome friends and family, BUT it's getting old!

Today, a painter is coming over to give us a quote for staining and painting the stairs. I can't even fathom that at my (slow) speed.

My hope has returned this week, and I am getting glimpses of the bottoms of my 9 paint cans. I may likely never want to paint again. Too bad when you paint 1 floor, you notice how bad the rest of the house (after 8 yrs) is looking. Oh, well!

Basement Reno (Week 12)

Sadly, the blue still needs a second coat and so does the base molding. Last week, I gave it all I had during nap times and in the evenings and then my body HATED me and I had to rest over the weekend. We were busy enough with activities plus had the tile guy working, that I wouldn't have been able to do much anyway. It just seems backwards that I'd be most productive during the week.

My mom came over Friday to allow me extra work time.

The bathroom floor will hopefully be started this afternoon. The guy is working for us on the side, so he mainly works on the weekends and some afternoons. Thankfully we don't have a deadline!

My new best friends...well, at least until my arms hurt so bad that I didn't want to go near them.

When I wrote my post about "connecting" I had know I idea it'd be with a paintbrush and putty. Not exactly what I had in mind. Thankfully it has given me a lot of quiet space to think and pray more.

Yes, there is SO MUCH more to do. And NO, we do not have a "end date." That bothers some folks, including one of my children :)

Basement Reno (Week 10 and 11)

 

Slowly but surely, progress has been made.

Basement Reno (Week 9)

A lot of progress made this week and it was also the most stressful (yet) as far as last minute decision making. Doors went up, the lights came back on, the stairs were rebuilt, the molding installed and the mantle built.
If TONS of painting wasn't looming over us, we would have been dancing in the streets.

The day after we painted the guest room, it looked like this. I wanted to cry. Fortunately, the walls still look ok. The big guns arrived for all the carpentry work.

A shot revealing our infamous coat closet wallpaper.

 I LOVE the wainscoting!!

I am keep the mantel a surprise ;)

In real time, we are now starting week 11. Week 10, I should have been painting, but the kids were home ALL WEEK and are off again tomorrow for a teacher work day. If only I could trust them with paint brushes ;)

Basement Reno (Week 8)

After the drywall was completed, it was "our turn" to get to work. We opted to save some bucks and prime the walls. We will also do all the painting and staining (stairs). Thankfully our friend, Cary has a heavy duty paint sprayer. Not only did he let us borrow it, he also volunteered to help EJ! They primed all the walls and ceiling and painted the ceilings with ceiling paint in 4 hours! It was incredible and such a blessing b/c we figured it would take us forever without Cary's sprayer and help. Not to mention his wife, Leah (who designed our basement layout) giving up her man for a large portion of a Saturday.

Afterwards, they even posed for a picture. 

I didn't dare go down there while they were actually spraying.

 

Apparently when EJ puts on a white suit and mask he stands like this for photos ;)

Photo on the right was taken right before my c-sections with Ryan in 4/10.

We also managed to paint the guest room that weekend. Keep in mind, we had no over head lights.

Basement (Week 4-7)

The dry wall stage took a LONG time. And it was EXTREMELY dusty. The initial electrical work went in before the drywall.

 

Then the tape and mud went on.

We lost the stairs on New Years Eve for 15 days! I didn't take a picture of them missing completely. This is after reconstruction began.

That door leads into our 1 car garage which is presently storing a big portion of basement items.

A look into the bathroom through the empty stairwell. 

The bathroom is nearly impossible to photograph b/c of its narrow (5'x13') shape.

It was definitely exciting to finally have a "feel" for the size of each room.

Basement (Week 2)

Don't worry I won't give an update about each week. Especially since we are already on week NINE (!). I have only taken pictures at large milestones.
The demolition and framing began the week before Thanksgiving. Then began the framing. These pictures were taken around the 2 week mark. We were thrilled how the layout looked/felt. A dear and talented friend created the plans for FREE in her spare time (ya right, she has 3 SMALL children). We are SO thankful and love the design.

Below is our future den/man cave/toy room. Depends who you ask ;)

 

This is a portion of the new guest room 

Across the hall will be the bathroom. Same spot as old one, just bigger to make room for a shower.

Shower base installed

 Plumbing for bathroom vanity

It was stressful to be making so many decisions when I should have been preparing for Christmas. I am glad that part is behind us!