Bathroom tile is ready for grout. Our final light (the bathroom vanity) arrived on our doorstep yesterday. AND I just ordered a new dining room chandelier for good measure. I know this has nothing to do with our basement, but now that our 100-year-old wiring has been updated, we feel more confident about upgrading things like this...so we don't get shocked even after we turn off the breaker...which happened when we updated the kitchen light.
Anyway, the most challenging decision for me to make in this whole basement project has been paint color. I had all these ideas in mind, and my head was spinning from the stress of it. To top it off, we could only afford two color choices, which totally doesn't jive with my paint-your-house-as-many-shades-as-possible ways! Shades of gray seem to be the most fetch trend right now, so I tried finding a shade that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside, and that coordinated with the spa color we chose for the bathroom. Oh, and it also had to match our bedding. However, every shade I tried seemed too cold, too beige, too purple, or too dingy for the space. I love the gray look, but what looked great with the bedding made the laundry room feel like a dungeon. I had visions of us re-painting everything in 6 months if it wasn't perfectly perfect.
After losing sleep for 2 nights, I decided to start from scratch.
- How can I make the basement a cohesive space?
- What would I be using this space for?
- What shades make me feel warm and fuzzy inside?
To answer the first question, I made an executive decision: the bedroom and bathroom were going to be the same color, and everything else would be painted the coordinating shade. I loved the idea of laying in bed, looking through the bathroom door, and seeing the same shade of wall color in a different room (like this and this). Bedroom/bathroom color choice took precedence! Otherwise, we would be spending another few hundred dollars on new bedding - not what we wanted. So we picked a color! (Reveal to come soon.)
Next, I had to develop a long-term plan for the living space. I stood in the empty, white living room imagining what I would spend most of my time doing there besides watching TV. The answer was laundry. Then, I had to ask what color I wanted my laundry room to be. It certainly wasn't a variation on the theme of gray. I needed a bright, happy, and clean color that would inspire me to actually fold my clothes.
My next largest activity in this space will hopefully be knitting and sewing. There isn't a great place to sew in our house while watching TV, so I am very excited to make a little station for myself, with the Ikea Fintorp system to hold some of my crafting supplies. We were getting closer to narrowing down our choice when I decided that colors I associate with crafts, and that give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, AND that I had Pinned most frequently - are shades of greens and blues! And sometimes these shades were disguised as "grays" on Pinterest.
So there you have it! We picked out a few paint samples that matched our criteria, painted them on paper and hung the paper around the basement. The minute I saw Benjamin Moore's Silver Sage paint hung in the laundry room doorway, I knew it was THE ONE. It still shades a little gray, but has a happy, relaxing tint. And I love it.
Color: Benjamin Moore Silver Sage - it shades a soft gray-green/silver-sage (haha! duh!) on the actual walls
Light: Ikea
Washer/Dryer: Samsung - not what I would choose if I had to do it again, but that's what we have
Laundry Print: Etsy
Storage: Ikea
Sewing Machine: Brother
Flooring: Vinyl PVC (resistant to wear, moisture, and extremely durable - perfect for basement spaces)
We still need to find a couch for the space, so I am keeping my eyes peeled for good deals. I also need to pick out carpeting for the staircase, as wood flooring is out of our budget for now. I cannot wait to share actual pictures when it is all put together!
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