One Room Challenge Reveal – Fall 2017: A Multi-Purpose Basement

Yippee! I have never been so happy to write a blog post as I am today.  The basement is finished. Exhale. Thank you Linda for that extra week as it was a little dicey as to whether things would be finished in time. This One Room Challenge was actually four spaces in all – living room, kitchenette, home gym and storage.  It involved taking a space without walls, a floor or a ceiling and creating a multi purpose space that my daughter and I can not only relax and entertain in, but also practice dance (her), practice yoga (me, and hopefully her) and exercise (both of us.) You may or may not know, that my husband and Maya’s dad passed away last year so having a space where we can not only connect/relax but also practice yoga and meditation is going to be beneficial to our overall health and wellness. (I’m thinking of making the basement a no cell phone space but haven’t run that by my daughter yet. Pretty sure that won’t go over well.) I can’t wait to share it with you!

In previous posts, I have shared the Before photos, inspiration photos, the floor plan, design concept and progress. You can catch up on those posts here:

Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

Let’s flash back to seven weeks ago when the basement looked like this. I can’t tell you how good it feels to have cleared out the space and donated so many things that I was holding on to for “some day.”:

But it feels even better knowing that we have added an additional 550 sq’ of finished space to our home (yes, that is all that was added and that includes the storage area.)  So, without further ado, come on down to my new living and wellness space.

A stair runner was a must with aging parents and a puppy who doesn’t like stairs.  I had been impressed with how so many bloggers had DIY’d their stair runner using Annie Selke Dash & Albert rugs.  There are so many fabulous patterns and colours. The one I chose is the Herringbone Shale Indoor/Outdoor rug– perfect for high traffic areas like stairs.  Come on Ellie, you can do it girl!

Everything (walls, trim, ceiling) was painted Benjamin Moore Simply White OC-117 to make my low ceiling seem taller and to mask all of the ductwork and ceiling height changes. The handrail is painted Benjamin Moore Black HC-190 and was made by my contractor. (It was originally on the other wall.)

This beautiful Rosé etching by Toronto artist Darlene Cole is the first thing that you see when you come down the stairs. I am still amazed and honoured that this incredibly talented artist gifted me this piece and I will treasure it always. The blush and black tones couldn’t be more perfect for the basement. You can see her work in person – “Kissing Trees” from Dec 2-16, 2017 at Bau-Xi Gallery in Toronto. She shares her work on her Instagram account which I have linked to. Thank you again Darlene for your kind and generous gesture and for adding beauty to the world!

I was so happy that there was enough wallpaper to paper above the Ikea cabinetry. The gorgeous pulls are these ones in honey bronze from my go-to supplier, Top Knobs. I specifically ordered them wide enough to hold a tea towel. The oversize brass candle holders are vintage.

I call the abstract painting “Forlorn Indian Princess with Floral Crown.” 🙂 It felt good to pick up the paint brushes again. How gorgeous is the floral arrangement from my go to florist, Fiori Oakville? Their selection and customer service never ceases to amaze me.

There will be a Kitchen Aid undercounter fridge where the cabinet on the right is. It just wasn’t available for delivery before the shoot. Stay tuned for more photos when it is installed.

The photo below really shows the beauty of the Korlok by Karndean vinyl plank floor in Warm Ash. I love the colour, the grain and how it mimics wood so realistically. Read this post to find out more about the beneficial properties of Korlok. Aesthetics aside, I chose it because it is waterproof making it ideal for a basement.

Removing part of the wall on the stairs really opened up the space. I already had the authentic bentwood chairs and they look lovely paired with this table.

And here’s how this area looked a few weeks ago:

The Masonite Logan two panel interior door by Metrie is painted in Benjamin Moore Balboa Mist OC-27. Yes, black may have seemed an obvious choice to paint them but you will see why I didn’t in a minute.

The area (below) is where I envisioned the living room with a sectional running along the back wall and the TV on the right wall:

And here it is now. Don’t you just want to sink into the sectional? It is the Chelsea and I ordered the longest one that could fit in the space and measured painstakingly so that the media console would be positioned right after it – not an inch to spare. It has a worry free Crypton fabric by JF Fabrics. It is so, so comfortable and I have already had a nap on it – all in the name of testing it out of course.

The wool rug is also from Dash & Albert and is this one – absolutely love it!

The coffee table and floor lamp are from West Elm and I love the modern edge they bring to the space especially with the fairly traditional wallpaper. All of the pillow fabrics are also from JF Fabrics except for the cream pom pom one.

Bamboo tray, brass bell,brass planter, lavender.

Can we talk about the Dimplex wall mount fireplace for a moment? It was a last minute decision to add it as I really didn’t think I had the space but I am so glad I did. It really adds so much ambience and warmth (literally and figuratively) to the space.

I debated at length whether to hang something over the fireplace but if you remember the inspiration photo, it didn’t have anything and I loved the minimal aesthetic. I really wanted to have only a few key pieces of art in the space. The wallpaper makes a bold statement on its own and doesn’t need anything competing with it. In case you were wondering I was considering: a white juju headdress, African baskets (I actually have 3 that I bought and borrowed the day before the shoot) or a large canvas painted a creamy white and pale pink. I actually put it on my Instagram story that I was going to paint. But in the end, I deferred to my less is more approach. What are your thoughts? Would love to hear what if anything you would hang over the fireplace. Let me know in the comments.

Doesn’t the space look so much better with Ellie in it?

I have always wanted a home gym – a place to do some cardio, weights and of course, yoga and meditation. But who wants to see the gym when you are in the living area? Enter Metrie with their Pretty Simple doors.

How amazing do the three doors look joined together and painted in Benjamin Moore Black? The brass handles and rail were handmade by the talented husband and wife duo over at 1925 Workbench.

The photo is one I took in Oahu this past summer – one of my favourite beaches on the east shore. It is an enlarged acrylic print from Posterjack. Love, love, love it in the simple white frame. And with Christmas just around the corner, how perfect would a photo like this (well maybe not this large) be as a gift? The colours are so vivid and every time I look at it, it reminds me of our magical time spent in Hawaii.

Love my new bike and Tacx interactive trainer which you hook up to an ipad, phone or laptop. Can’t wait to get in shape and start using it. If you would like to take your riding indoors during the winter, contact John (my brother in law) at Bicycles Plus to order one. Then we can compete online against each other – so cool!

As I shared on Instagram, Tiffany Leigh penned these words I wrote for my teenage daughter for those days when she’s not quite herself. I want her to know she is beautiful, to be kind to herself and that she is pretty amazing!  The photo below shows a close up of the beautiful brass track made by 1925 Workbench. It’s placed in a channel caused by two bulkheads so you don’t really see it unless you’re up close, unfortunately. It’s so beautiful that it needs to be seen!

I needed storage for all of the “stuff” that we decorators tend to accumulate. So, I dreamt this up and my contractor built it out of inexpensive MDF and pine. The cabinet at the ceiling is actually an Ikea Besta cabinet that I had bought in error for the media console (I ended up purchasinge another one that was less wide for the media console.) It was the perfect width for this wall and holds vases etc.

And I love that we now have a space where Maya (who is 15) and her friends can hang out. We downsized to this smaller home which only has a living room on the main floor so it was tricky when Maya’s friends were over. I would usually retreat to the 3rd bedroom. And so happy that the Crypton fabric mentioned above is on the sectional because I’m sure the popcorn will be flying in no time!

All photos by Stephani Buchman Photography

So there you have it! My four room challenge. To say that my daughter and I (and Ellie) are ecstatic about this space would be an understatement. We are feeling grateful that we have a space so pretty and uniquely us and can’t wait to share it with those we love.

A big thank you to my contractor Andrew Burke and his team for their beautiful work and for agreeing to changes and additions on the fly without batting an eye.

A special thank you to stylist extraordinaire  Margot Austin who provided her expertise and keen eye (via Face Time) during the styling phase and right up to a few minutes before the photographer arrived. It’s always good to get another design expert’s opinion when you work solo, just to ensure you’re on the right track and haven’t missed anything.

This basement wouldn’t have been completed to the level it was without the support of some amazing brands. I received product or discounts but as always all opinions are my own and I only work with brands and products that I love. (I turned down a brand that I love because I couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for in their product range. It would have saved me a few thousand dollars but I didn’t want to compromise the vision I had.) Their generosity is not lost on me for one minute and I am grateful for these partnerships and the people who took a chance on little, ‘ole me.

Sectional: Whittington & Co.

Rosé etching: Darlene Cole

Fireplace: Dimplex Canada

Doors and trim: Metrie

Fabric on sectional and pillows: Jf Fabrics

Area rug and stair runner: Annie Selke | Dash & Albert

 Under counter refrigerator: Kitchen Aid Canada (to be installed)

Vinyl plank flooring: Korlok by Karndean

Paint: Benjamin Moore

Brass rail and handles for black doors: 1925Workbench

Bike and Tacx system:  Bicycles Plus

Hunter Douglas Provenance woven wood shades in White Wicker, black bench, pink basket, small basket, pink votives, wood stool: Decorative Dreams

Floral arrangement and greenery: Fiori Oakville

Framed photography on Acrylic:  Posterjack

Cabinet Pulls:  TopKnobs

Cushion Sewing: Switch Studio

Buddha in gym area: Bouclair

So many pretty and functional spaces have been completed. You must check them out when you have time. House Beautiful is once again a media partner and they are choosing two designers/bloggers to be part of the 20 featured designers next Spring. The Editor in Chief herself, Sophie Donelson and Interiors Editor, Doretta Sperduto will be going through all of the linked spaces and selecting 20 finalists first and then the final two. And if that wasn’t exciting enough, Candis and Andy from the Home Love Network will be selecting one fortunate design blogger to be a part of their show. They will fly out with their crew and tape a special episode with one of us. I hope coming up to Canada is an option – we’re not that far north of the border. So cool! Love their work.

You can read the posts of the 20 featured bloggers here and the rest of the guest participants here. And as always, thank you for following along and leaving a comment. And thank you for making it to the end of this long post. 🙂 If I have missed something, or you have any questions, please let me know in the comments.

Check out my former One Room Challenge Reveals here:

Prettying Up a Builder Kitchen (former home)  – Fall 2014

Teen Daughter’s Bathroom (former home) – Spring 2015

My Parisian Bedroom (former home) – Fall 2015

Teen Daughter’s Bedroom (former home) – Spring 2016

My Charming Kitchen – Fall 2016

My Functional and Pretty Office – Spring 2017

Feel free to connect here:

Instagram | Pinterest | Facebook | Twitter

Happy decorating,

{Please feel free to email me at decorhappy@gmail.com if you are interested in a design consultation. I am not taking on any projects at the moment – two to three hour consultations only and I have a few spots open in December. So if you need a fresh pair of eyes and ideas for your space, or advice on a kitchen or bath reno, please reach out.}

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