living it up {down} in Basement-ville.

Twelve weeks + many decisions, subcontractors, noisy days (oh, and some dollars) later, the basement is finished!

True story: I am completely smitten with the space. The first few days after it was all done, I found myself wandering downstairs just to sit on the new carpet and take in the sights.

Some people have asked to see pictures of the basement, so I thought I'd share them here. I don't know how those real estate photographers do it because it is really hard to capture the essence of a space on camera. Ideally, you should come on over for coffee, and I'll give you the grand tour myself!

Approximately one half of the space is a long room pictured here (above and below) which we will use as a TV area and play area. The door seen in the picture below opens up to a large walk-in closet perfect for storing toys, games, and the components for the TV.

I really, really love the sconces (which were a bit of a last minute decision as the electrician explained to me that there was no place to fit lighting into the bulkhead on account of the duct work).

The second main area, to the right of the stairs, is an open square-ish room that we will use as dedicated office space. I am grateful for a great work-at-home gig, but I'll be glad to get out of a corner of the dining room and be able to spread out a bit.

The blueprint really maximized the space down here and allowed for three really great closets. The one above will be near the desk area and will hold office, crafting, and scrapbooking supplies.

One last view looking from the office area back over to the family room area. I was worried about the basement feeling dark -- there are four windows but one is in the bathroom under the deck and one looks out under the back addition -- but I think all the white down here along with the recessed lighting keeps things bright.

Paint colors: Benjamin Moore White Dove & Galveston Gray. 

Carpet: Signature Gravel Path, Century Flooring. Doors: Masonite. Sconces: The Lighting Corner.

The third area is the bathroom. Because it was already plumbed for a shower and because Dylan will eventually reach the point in life when he doesn't really want to share the hall bathroom with his sisters, we went ahead and added a shower to the space.

There were a lot of decisions to be made in here and it probably caused me the most stress, but in the end, I love the way everything turned out. Our main floors tend to be a bit more traditional and down here I wanted to have a little fun.

I really love the floors down here. It might sound crazy but I don't really like ceramic tile. We ended up going with a vinyl tile. The texture is great and it doesn't feel cold under our feet.

Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Amsterdam. Vanity & Mirror: allen + roth Palencia, Williams Kitchen & Bath. Granite: Santa Cecelia, Williams Kitchen & Bath. Shower Curtain, Towels & Accessories: Target. 

Fixtures: Moen Brandtford, Ferguson. Flooring: Mannington Vibe in Flax {Century Flooring}.

We worked with a great builder {local peeps, we highly recommend Chet Glass Builders}, and while we can't take credit for the awesome workmanship, it was still a major undertaking for our family, and I'm proud of the way it all turned out.

Next up: bringing down some furniture so I don't have to keep sitting on the floor ;)

a mudroom for the masses

We moved into this house a little over five years ago, and it's a great family home - two stories, four bedrooms, in a quiet neighborhood we love. It was built in 1996 so not an old house by any means, but definitely built in the era before people discovered the art of the mudroom locker.

We've lived without and made do and it's definitely not been a terrible hardship in a world where many go without clean water and other basic necessities.

{A quick glance at the before.}

But now with three kids (two school aged) and bigger and bulkier gear, it was time to find a place to put the shoes. and the snowpants. and the backpacks, lunch boxes, and sports gear. and the coats.

Don't forget the boots.

We tried really hard to contain the scope of the basement project to the, errr, basement, but adding lockers to our home was one project we really wanted to tack on.

I'm so glad we did.

We took an existing closet from the laundry room (which is near the door to the garage) and had our builder take out the closet frame and existing wire shelving. He then built into the 60 inch opening a boot box with a hinged lid, lockers with hooks, open cubbies for baskets, and some cabinet space up top.

I had an idea of what we wanted and he had some pictures of what he's done in the past, and we were able to come up with something that I think will work for us for a good, long time.

Thankful for a lovely, warm home filled with the people I love most in this world.

And thankful that we finally have a place to rest our shoes at night.

{And mothers all over the land breathed Amen}

Builder: Chet Glass Builders // Paint: Benajamin Moore Dove White // Rug: World Market 
Baskets: Sturbridge Yankee Workshop {no longer available, but similar to these} 

a {basement} in progress

Thanks to a great builder and a relatively straightforward project, the basement is humming along. I know it's much more interesting to me {I can't stop dreaming about the extra space for the children to roam free}, but here's a quick peak at the recent progress.

Don't mind the excessive use of exclamation points. Sue me. I'm excited.

We have walls! (but you already knew that)

...and permits!
(yeah, not even an exclamation point can make that sound exciting)

But pipes, how 'bout them pipes?!

...and ductwork to boot!

As well as lights...

...and the corresponding switches.

The insulation is in place...

...and the drywall is ready to go!

All of the progress has been fun to watch, but my favorite thing so far was watching the electrical go in. I was unprepared for how happy a well-lit basement would make me. Buh-bye basement eyestrain.

I think I made a decision on flooring and paint this week too. Here's to progress!

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.

insta.life {leap list, part II}

My apologies if you're not into the Instagram-ing thing, but right now, it seems to be the easiest way for me to catch the daily details. We are in the beginning stages of camera shopping (our first SLR might be on the horizon!) and then perhaps I will be excited to snap pictures with something other than my iPhone.

Until then..hang tight.

Here is the second half of my {mini} leap list, first mentioned about 2 1/2 weeks ago (first half here). I was hoping to have all nine items done by Leap Day and I came pretty darn close. Eight of the nine were completed in time, and I just finished up #9 today.

First up:

Mady's Pinterest-inspired, Ikea-hack, spice racks turned bookshelves.

I love this new little reading nook 

(it's in the corner of her room beneath two windows). 

Great light, comfy pillows, and toddler-appropriate reading material.

What's not to love?

Next up: conquering a new picture wall for Mady.
This Expedit shelf is new too, and it would have looked better staged if my two-year-old assistant hadn't walked off with the cute toy that usually resides in cubby #1.
I'm a recovering perfectionist, however, so I'm letting it go.

Again, like with Ella's collage wall, the frames were all re-purposed, the printables were free {owl, birds, love, child of God}, 

the tree is from Hobby Lobby, 

the newborn photo is courtesy of the fabulous Mindy Leigh, 

and the 'M' was handmade with love by yours truly.

It's a work in progress, but finished is better than perfect.

My {actual} Leap Day project was this bucket of cute, girly fabric-wrapped balls (first attempted here). I love how they bring an extra pop of color and personality into the room.

Truthfully, it seemed like a lot of effort at the time for a five-year-old's room, but it only took me a couple of hours to whip them up and after taking a step back, I realize that I do really love them. 

Also, being the mom to little girls is an honor and a privilege, and I'm going to take full advantage of my right to do frivolous, pink (!) things on their behalf.

Lastly, here is the final member of my {mini} leap list.

D & E are at the age where we need to start teaching them a little bit more about money and how to handle it. I was looking for a simple way to help them be more intentional about their spending habits. I first spotted this idea at Lil Light O' Mine. 

I found this DIY version (dollar store jars!) and went to work. 

I made more homemade chalkboard labels and Mod Podged strips of paper to pretty them up.

* * * * *

Long story short, this has been quite the spurt of crafting for me. The key (for me) has been to pick simple crafts with lots of meaning. It's been extra fun doing projects for the kids because they are eating it up.

Time to rest up. Craft Night {Make It For Them March} is right around the corner!

{Linking up}

 How To Nest For Less

insta.life {leap list edition}

I've been working my tail off this week trying to finish up some projects around the house. 

Due to a freak-ish burst of energy, I am happy to report that I can cross off five of the nine items on my {mini} leap list.

Three things you should know before we get started:

1) If you're looking for a little push to get started on some to-do's, post the list in a public place, i.e. your blog. Works like a charm.

2) This is not a normal level of productivity for me. The other 51 weeks of the year, you can either find me curled up with a good book or pinning furiously to my 50-some pinboards.

3) These projects were E-A-S-Y. Like only-requires-a-hot-glue-gun easy. As in your-five-year-old-can-be-your-assistant easy.

First up: adding names to my homemade chalkboard labels.

I cut the contact paper first, rounded the corners, and then sprayed them with 2-3 coats of chalkboard paint. I borrowed T's trusty chalk marker (because there is not one to be found in the greater Grand Rapids area.), slapped them on my fabulous new OXO containers and called it a day. Literally. 

I headed up to bed shortly after this photo was taken.

The next morning, while still in my PJ's, I screwed the legs onto an IKEA LACK side table ($7.99 and no tools required, thank you very much) and started lining up four blue Lego plates in a square. I added some blocks to ensure proper plate spacing and then went to town with a bottle of Gorilla glue. Remember: measure twice, glue once. 

Mid-morning, some friends joined us to work on a little winter break project: prayer pails. So often our kids either aren't sure who or what to pray for or they end up praying for the same things every night. To help spark their little minds, I thought this was a cute and functional activity. On the sticks, D & E wrote the names of friends, family and other people and things that are dear to their hearts. 

So far, they love pulling a stick or two out at bed time to focus on during prayer time. (Last night, Ella prayed for Caden and Dylan prayed for Nana Jen. So sweet).

Next up: a new collage wall for Ella. I realized as I worked on the Lego table for Dylan and re-organized Mady's room that my sweet middle child might start suffering from a teensy case of Middle Child Syndrome if I didn't send some attention her way too! We ended up moving her furniture around and as we did that, I realized she had outgrown the animal flashcards-turned-"art" that have been hanging in her room since she was a baby.

I am in love with how this turned out and the especially exciting part is that it was basically free. The printables I found on Pinterest here and here. The frames were sitting unused in my basement. The fabric came from my scrap pile (I feel so crafty being able to say that I have a scrap pile), and the 'E' was homemade by me at a previous craft night. 

The only real {kind-of} work was spray painting the three smaller frames Blue Ocean Breeze.  Voilà!

The new table is a big hit with our boy. Thank you, Pinterest. 

I am a better mother because of you.

One last project to round out the week. I had originally planned to wrap this letter in yarn too, but when I started to spot the fabric wrapped ones on Pinterest I knew I wanted to try it. 

Mady's new 'M' required hot glue-ing batting to the front and trimming off the excess. Then I cut a piece of fabric slightly bigger then my overall letter shape (leaving enough to tuck around to the back). I started gluing my way around the letter, folding around the corners the best I could, kind of like wrapped a present. 

Because of the angles of the 'M', I also needed to cover the sides somehow. I ended up creating a one inch strip of fabric by folding and ironing the edges under. I then did my best to carefully hot glue that strip around the edge. I am happy to report, it was a successful venture (with only one minor hot glue burn to report).

* * * * *
There you have it! I'm still a bit of reluctant/closet crafter but I think I need to step up and start owning it. This is fun!

{Linking up to}

InstaFriday @ Life Rearranged

Finding the Lovely @ Jeanne Oliver

Monday Link Up @ a {little} dash of ash