Our Little Man, Rocking Out in the Mancave
I hope everyone had a lovely weekend! We managed to get some work done in the basement and find time to hang out outside. : )
Two weekends ago we took a break from some of the more boring basement tasks and hung up the guitars on the wall. Is it really a mancave? More of a boy cave? Mr. S. has been waiting patiently for the last 11 3/4 years to find a space for his guitar, bass and amp. Well we finally have the perfect spot! The boys had been rocking out up in the dining room/study area, but it was really too tight and not suited for an amp. So now they can REALLY rock out down here. Sam and Maisie have also formed a band called the ‘Weirdo Fish’. There are a couple of song in the works but no record deal yet. Maisie has been joining in on drums on occasion (which are a set of old stools). There is already talk of a drum set. There is still much to do in the space, but fortunately the kids are happy.
Mechanical Closet Door: Maybe chalkboard paint?
This door is opposite the guitar wall. I was planning on finishing it off with beadboard, similar to the back door. But while I was down there this weekend I was thinking that maybe I would use chalkboard paint instead. I thought it could be a good place for the kids to draw and work on their song list.
Workroom w/Drywall
Workroom w/ Painted Walls
Workroom w/ Shelves
This past weekend we rolled up our sleeves and got to work on some of the outstanding projects left. We primed and painted the Workroom, moved the shelves and built a workbench.
I think this is the most boring color I have ever chosen! We went with the same warm off-white that we used as a whitewash for the beadboard walls. I considered lots of colors, but in the end it is a dark basement room, that we will be using for lots of projects, so I thought I would keep it neutral. I am still planning on painting the pegboard a fun color as an accent. I am also considering painting the center of the concrete floor, to give it a little more contrast and even out the very rough look (old paint mixed with old adhesive). Please excuse the messy state of the room. Believe it or not a lot of stuff is in the right general spot, but it needs lots of tweaking (never mind making it pretty)!
New Workbench
We also managed to make and install a new workbench for the bay area. We have had the kit for a couple of years, but never got around to putting it together. It is by 2×4 Basics and it consists of the heavy duty plastic legs and screws, then you buy the 2x4s and plywood to make the bench to whatever size you need. Given the final size we needed, we only used 2-2x4s, 2 2x3s, 1 piece of plywood and an old hollow core door cut down to size. It has space for a shelf in the middle but we decided against it, to give us room for larger storage. It went together in under an hour, once we had all the parts, although it is definitely a 2 person job (to help hold everything together as you screw). I would definitely recommend it! It is super sturdy and quite affordable!
Future Counter & Pantry Area
A good chunk of our basement work has involved moving stuff from one corner to another, to make way for all of the work. Now that most of the walls are complete, we can finally begin putting things in the right space! We are far from done with prettying the space up, but it is big step forward to actually put most of the stuff in the right general vicinity, which means that we finally managed to clear out the pantry area. There will be a wood counter in this area with an under counter fridge and freezer. In addition there should be space for a small cabinet or roll out for extra pantry storage. I have been waiting to buy the fridge and freezer until after we had space, so I am excited about filling out this space!
Winecork Backsplash via Pinterest
Bottlecap Backsplash via Pinterest
I haven’t decided on a backsplash yet. I am considering wine corks or bottlecaps (or maybe both). Definitely something fun! We decided to use our old upper cabinets in the workroom, so I need to also decide on what we want to do with upper storage. I could do open shelves, but I am a little worried about dust collecting. I also have to contend with the pipes in the ceiling. I would also like to have a fair amount of wine storage above. I’ve been looking at old wooden crates as well.
What do you think?
