Basement Bathroom Bonanza

The basement is framed and now it's time to make some decisions. The plumber is next to come, but before he can come start on the rough-in, we need to decide on a shower valve along with a vanity (so the plumbing for the sink and the toilet can be properly placed). 

I've spent the past week (in between post-vacation laundry and Halloween parties) running around and I think we're getting close. I believe it's in my best interest to limit my options, so I'm only visiting one place for the plumbing, one place for the vanity, and so on (as recommended by our builder). One of the great American curses, in my opinion, is too many choices!

My remodeling headquarters. It's a hot mess.

I have been thoroughly educated on the differences between single-handle, center-set and widespread. I know that maple java, smart coffee, and vanilla bean describe vanities, not coffee. And I now know my position on a standard overlay versus a full overlay (I'm a full overlay sort of girl).

It's been a big week.

I fell in love with a vanity (as hysterical remodeling women are prone to do) and then wrestled with whether it was worth the extra cost over the more basic one. 

And then while researching mirrors, I stumbled upon the same vanity at a big box store at a lower price. The local company I am working with is now working on getting me that same price. (I still want to buy from them even if it costs a little bit more...I believe in customer service and as a wife of a guy in sales I know how frustrating it is to spend time with a customer only to have them buy somewhere else to save a few bucks.)

1. shower curtain 2. vanity 3. faucet & fixtures 4. mirror 5. light fixture 6. towels 
7. wastebasket 8. organizer 9. paint 10. countertops

I put together a little mood board tonight a) because it was fun, and b) because I wanted to see if I could pull everything together. The only (semi) definite decisions right now are the faucet and shower fixtures and the vanity + mirror. I'm quite certain on the light fixture as well just because it's what we have in our other bathrooms and I'm easy to please like that. The rest is still up in the air but I wanted to pull in some hypothetical accessories.

This is my first attempt at putting together a mood board and if I had a fancier program (I used Picmonkey, tutorial here) or more time and patience (this represents 15 minutes on a Fried Friday night) and if I wasn't actively working to kick my perfectionism to the curb... well, than it would be closer to perfect. This, however, my friends, is my new perfect, what I like to call good enough.

I want the basement to flow with the rest of our house but I also want it to be fun and filled with pops of colors - neutral (grey?) walls with white batten board and trim, punched up with saucy stripes, chipper chevrons, punchy polkas. I want it to feel personal with lots of pictures, filled with items we love...a place to kick up your feet and relax...a cozy little retreat away from it all to spend time as a family and with friends.

First basement decor purchase?

P.S. If you aren't from Michigan can you weigh in on basements? Do you have them? What do you use them for? I know people in places like Florida and California don't and they sometimes turn their garages into rec rooms. But what about people in Indiana? Or out East? Or in the Great Plains states? What then? I was always told we had them in Michigan because of tornadoes, so we'd have a place to go, but I believe other places get tornadoes...but have no basements. I have so many questions and so few answers...please chime in.