You know that dream where you suddenly discover an extra room in your house that you never knew existed? The excitement builds and builds as you ponder the potential for your new space.
Could I finally have a craft room all to myself?
What amazing storage potential!
Maybe I'll make it into a beautiful guest room with a roll-top desk and little comment cards so guests can tell us how much they loved staying over...
And then the alarm sounds, reality hits and you realize no such bonus room ever existed.
(sigh)
Before you say I'm the only weirdo ever to have this dream, just know that is not true. A friend of mind confessed to having this dream a few years back. Needless to say, I was elated to know that I am not the only one. Granted, this friend and I are both Type A, must-have-an-organized-space-to-function-properly people. I suppose to us, the idea of having even more space in which to keep things organized is indeed a thrill. To others, not so much.
If I'm really honest with myself, this dream could be a sign that I have too much stuff - so much, in fact, that I am subconsciously creating more space in which to store my items rather than dispose of them.
Whoa.
Okay, I know it to be true. I have too much stuff. Fortunately, I'm a work in progress. I even took two loads to my local thrift store this week. Woop woop!
Here is the great thing: that bonus room I've been dreaming about is longer just a dream. We actually have one!
Since I've been a little MIA lately and this bonus room project actually stemmed from an even bigger initial project, I'll give you a little photographic refresher.
Once upon a time (up until about 2.5 years ago), we had a carport...
...which we turned into this:
{Note: the two photos above are old, hence the 4 year old Kendry. We've done quite a bit around the exterior and inside since these photos were taken; I just couldn't find updated photos at the time this post went to print.}
This was essentially our bonus room, for awhile. A great space for playing and a nice new laundry area for me. Loved it! And then we thought "Why stop there?"
When we told people we were finally building a room in our basement, many responded with "I didn't even know you had a basement!" Hmmm... let's just say its not a room we show people very often. Remember how I said we have too much stuff? Follow me down the dark stairs.
There you have it. Our basement - about 1000 square feet of space and stuff. A fireplace, a semi-plumbed bathroom (not shown), spare freezer and fridge, a punching bag, and lots of tools and totes.
You know what else it has?
Potential, baby!
With three active boys we were in serious need of a good playroom.
So we got to work. And by 'we' I mean Justin, except for when he recruited me to help hang drywall on the ceiling.
Have I mentioned how I dislike lifting heavy, awkward objects? It wasn't a pretty sight, but we managed.
Once the carpet was installed in early April, the toys began their migration downstairs, as did a hand-me-down couch and our TV. We still have some trim work to do, as well as some furniture selection and decor for the walls, but even in its unfinished state we are loving it.
A whole 238 square feet of bonus space!
The drywall is painted Sherwin Williams St. Bart's.
Instead of trying to disguise the cinder block we opted to accentuate it by first coating it with Sherwin Williams Irish Cream and then lining the individual grout lines with a charcoal hue. Yes, painting individual grout lines with a small paint brush is indeed tedious work, but that's what audio books are for. And I really do love how the walls turned out.
We're unable to do an egress window at this point because the window is enclosed in the concrete walkway that runs along the front of our house. We settled for just installing a new window.
A few weeks ago I found myself in Seattle by myself(!) and had the joy of visiting IKEA for some toy storage.
See what I mean about my love for organizing?
Did I mention it stays several degrees cooler down here too?
Bonus!
