White Ceiling & Partial Whitewash on the Walls

Our contractors finished the beadboard on the walls and ceiling in the bathroom for us on Friday so we could prime and paint the bathroom over the weekend. We decided to paint the ceiling white and whitewashed the walls. Think subtle!  It is quite hard to see the whitewash clearly in the photos.

Whitewash applied to Beadboard Walls

Why whitewash? Well we are spending quite a bit of money to give the basement a nice rustic/ Victorian back of house feel with all of the beadboard. It seems like a shame (and lots of work) to cover up all of the pine wood grain with several coats of paint. We did decide on the ceiling we would try and maximize the brightness and go opaque white, but after some testing we decided to go with a whitewash (about 1/2 paint 1/2 water) for the walls. The color is actually a light tan (hard to read in the photos) because we wanted a slightly softer color. I also experimented with a blue, but the blue whitewash looked really strange, so we decided to stick with the neutral wall color and use color elsewhere. This is a pretty big departure from my normal preference of using lots of color on the walls, but given that these are small, short spaces it is probably for the best.

Paint & Primer: For the primer I went with a new product (at least for me), Kilz Clean Start. We used 2 coats for the ceiling to minimize any wood grain and knots. Then we used 1 coat of the Behr Premium Plus Ultra Ceiling Paint. For the walls I used a 50/50mix of Behr Premium Plus Ultra Flat Enamel in White Truffle and water.  The other nice thing is that the primer and paint are low VOC, so no smelly fumes which is great for those of us painting in the space and for our little ones nearby.  For the ceiling I used my favorite painting tool, a small roller (perfect for getting between the low hanging pipes) and a small angled brush for the edges. For the walls we just used a medium size paint brush, and it went on quite quickly which was another bonus.

Curvy Chrysantemum Vase, $28

Speaking of Color I did buy a beautiful vase for the bathroom (now I just need a shelf to put it on).

They are starting to install the tile for the shower today (so far so good). Hopefully  I will have an update tomorrow.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Main Space progress

It is a little crazy around here! We are busy getting ready for Maisie’s birthday and it was picture day today for the kids too. Meanwhile the basement is still chugging along. The guys have been here quite a bit and it is starting to show. I was starting to get impatient while they were busy doing the electric (and not making much progress on the walls), but yesterday they cranked out quite a bit of beadboard and plywood (and a little bit of wallboard). Now they are almost done with all of the electric, except for the lighting/ceiling. It is quite hard to get decent photos right now with the hodgepodge of lights and supplies scattered around.

Looking towards the bathroom

New Shower w/ Light

Utility Sink Area w/ Drywall

Sink/Toilet Wall

The bathroom is almost completely walled out too. The backerboard is in for the shower. They have started blocking the joists above for the ceiling. They have to put our giant exhaust fan in today and then they should be able to put the ceiling in. If all goes well we will be able to paint the bathroom this weekend, which would feel awesome!

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Beadboard Progress (as of yesterday afternoon)

My contractors have been busy downstairs! They are busy installing the beadboard, finishing up some of the electric, and getting further along on the bathroom.

I thought I would give you a recap on all of the process for getting to this point.

It is a little sad that the current state doesn’t look that different from the old walls (at least in the photos). However it feels totally different in person.  Before the details close up always looked patched together (the previous owner really liked to literally nail small pieces of board together). Now it is rock solid and detailed beautifully.

Detail at Window Sill

I let my contractor figure out the best way to detail the connection between the horizontal and vertical beadboard. He went with a simple 45 degreee cut that looks great! He has also been scoping out 3 home depots to find the best pine beadboard pieces for us.

Laundry Alcove

We finally have an actual laundry area (the washer and dryer has always been somewhat randomly placed in the basement). There is enough space to the right for a 2′ wide x 1′-6″ deep shelf which I am super excited about! There will be a soffit installed towards the top of the area and I am planning on painting the ugly PVC piping to match the walls. I think I may leave the metal dryer vent exposed, since I don’t mind a little bit of metal.

I have also started to play with some watered down paint samples. I might try a bigger sample behind the washer and dryer this weekend.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

New Light and Towel Ring & Hooks

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. Mr. S had the day off so we had a nice low key day with the family here! It has already been a busy week here on the basement. Both the plumber and contractor were here yesterday!

I thought it was about time that I show you the light I chose and the coordinating towel ring and hook (by Pegasus that I just happened to find on clearance at Home Depot). I also have the actual shower wall tile and the faux slate flooring. It is nice to see it all together. And at this rate we might even start to see some beadboard walls in the next day. Yeah!

More Stud Walls!

The plumber is done with all of his rough ins, electric is started and the studs are pretty much all in (except for the workroom which we will do after the rest of the basement is finished). It is still hard to imagine the space finished, but we are getting so much closer! Yeah!

New Sconce for above the sink (there will be 2 mounted on either side of the round mirror).

So in the end I went with Option #2 from the bathroom sconces. It is the By Gone Classic Bath Light from Shades of Light. I really liked the “bead” detail around the top and bottom of the glass. I also picked up the round mirror from Ikea over the weekend. I am still pretty indecisive about storage for the bathroom, but I figured that can be figured out after everything else is in. I did pick up an inexpensive shelf from Ikea, which I may try to use.

Paint Swatches

I don’t think I have shown you the paint swatches yet either. I am thinking of the lightest tan (white truffle from Behr) for the main part of the walls with the blue (rain washed) for the bathroom and the top of the walls. I think I may try a halftone of the blue. I like the color but think it might be a tad dark. I am also thinking of doing the baseboard and miscellaneous trim in bright white to contrast the light tan. For the baseboard we are using a plastic product (to avoid moisture issues) so it is already white, so it is very tempting to not paint it.

What do you think? I can’t wait to be able to show you some beadboard!

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Basement Wall w/ Studs and New Beam to help support the Kitchen Floor

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day. I actually got to spend a couple of hours with Mr. S. minus the kids (which was very special)! My little valentines have been busy eating lots of chocolate and lollipops. I think that they are having a little bit of sugar withdrawal today.

New Cold Water Pipes (amongst all of the other stuff that goes on in a basement ceiling)

Sistered Floor Joists w/ new Joist Hangers (for the Living Room Floor)

It is another exciting day in our basement! The plumber is here running the new lines to our basement bath! Meanwhile our contractor has been busy the last couple of days putting up the stud walls and is just starting to run the electric (he will be back on Monday to keep going). The plumber needs about a day and a half to run the new water lines, partially because he is also replacing the main cold line that runs through the basement (it is not in the best of shape). The good news is that it will put us much closer to actually getting the basement walls finished. Our contractors have also been adding some additional structure reinforcing for my first floor as they go. Some of the structure on our old house is a little wonky and bouncy so we have been reinforcing where possible as we go (and with the advice of a structural engineer). It is one of the big advantages of fully demoing the basement. The kids can officially dance in the Living Room now without worrying about shaking the rest of the house!

The bathroom sconces also arrived and I managed to score some coordinating towel ring, hooks and toilet paper holder on clearance at Home Depot (it was pure luck that they coordinated so well). I still need to make a trip over to Ikea to pick up the round mirror and see what they have in the way of shelving for above the toilet, but at least I have a general strategy which is progress.

Fingers crossed next week I will have some exciting photos of  some almost “finished” walls.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Carpet Tile Samples (sitting in our Dining Room)

I hope everyone had a good weekend! We were in birthday party mode, which is great for the kids but not so good for getting much done.  We did manage to put up a little bit more insulation in the basement. We realized where we were storing the extra rigid insulation (2’x’8′ pieces) is in an area that is about to be very difficult to access (at least for giant pieces of foam), due to the shower location. We carefully  feed the 10 pieces through the studs of the shower and out to the large room in the basement. We also went ahead and put up every last bit that we could except for the final wall where we still need to wait on the pvc waste pipe to go in. So for the time being the large pieces are being stored in that area. We have also scheduled our trusty plumber to come by on Wednesday for the rough-ins for the bathroom, which we are almost ready for (a few small things need to go in first).

So anyway, back to my Carpet Tile Story. I decided to order carpet tile from an online store called Carpet USA after scouring the internet and a few local places for a good deal on carpet tile. They offer some INCREDIBLE deals on inexpensive carpet tile. I got to be my own guinea pig in this case and gave them a try. After spending a couple of hours sorting through their selections of $.69 sf carpet tile I decided on the one above. Of course I only had a picture to look at, not a nice sample to check the actual color. So the verdict? It is slightly different hue than the photo online, but definitely close enough that we are okay with it. In person I think the blue-green is a little more green and the gray has a slight hint of purple. The texture is nice (although quite thin since it is designed for office space) and the backing is nice and thick.  So I think it is a winner! The most interesting part besides talking to the very nice southern guy from the store was going to pick it up!

Part of the good deal on shipping ($99) is due to having it either delivered to a work address or picking it up at the shipping terminal/warehouse. Since we live only a few miles from the shipping warehouse I went that route.  The warehouse is in a strange area filled with lots of truck bays, semis and unmarked doors (right near the Philly airport)! I was over in the same area a long time ago picking something up. You definitely feel out of place. The first trouble I had was the address. The address covers 2 giant buildings. I had the name of what I thought was the shipping company so I drove slowly past all of the doors 3 times looking for it (while trying to stay out of the way of a bunch of trucks). I was driving our old Explorer which the kids have affectionately named “The Mommy Truck”, so at least I didn’t feel extremely tiny. After that I called the 800 number, which forwarded me to the local company. They assured me that I was at the right address and they were “in the middle”. So I drove around again without luck. I called again. This time she told me that the name on the door was a different name then the one I had been previously given. hmmm…isn’t that something that would be important to mention earlier? So I finally found the right door and parked. I walk in and they stared at me. The lady I talked to on the phone was confused because she assumed I was coming in a commercial truck. Interesting! Fortunately after I stood there for a minute another guy came out and said that he had my slip and to pull around to the loading dock. So me in my “little” explorer backed up into the semi sized loading dock and a guy with a fork lift brought out my tiles. It was a pretty funny sight! Fortunately when I had ordered the tile I had asked the guy about getting it into my car. He said that the carpet tile would be on a palette wrapped in plastic wrap and to just ask them to remove the plastic wrap and load it in (part of the deal is that they won’t help you put it in your vehicle). Fortunately the guy with the forklift gladly cut the plastic wrap for me and even helped me load it into the back of the truck. I had brought my work gloves and worn my old coat and in the end it took about 2 minutes once I backed up. I think next time I will opt for the business delivery!

Now I have to store the carpet tiles until we need them (probably about a month). For now they are still in the back of the mommy truck, but they may need to move into the garage depending on how everything goes in the next month.

Kolja Mirror from Ikea, $14.99

In other exciting basement news, I ordered the sconces for the bathroom. They should arrive today (stay tuned for pictures)! I am also rethinking the mirror above the sink. I realized that the old mirror may not fit comfortably with the sconces (and I don’t want it to look like I squeezed them in just for the sake of reusing the mirror). I am thinking of using a round mirror. I found this one at Ikea for $14.99 and the sconces should fit comfortably and it is even designed for wet spaces! I would also like to put a small glass shelf below, but I haven’t picked one out yet. I have also been looking at storage options for above the toilet, but haven’t found a clear winner yet. I think I might see what is at Ikea next week. I might go with a simple shelf and some metal wire locker baskets, which are quite popular right now.

Adjustable Glass Shower Door from Overstock, $584.50

We are also still unsure about what we are going to go about the shower door. I would like a pivoting glass door, but given the cost we may go with a shower curtain for now (since it would be easy enough to add later). My mom did find this one, the Dreamline Allure Adjustable 36-43″ shower door at Overstock. I also looked at some standard ones at Home Depot. The standard ones at Home Depot are all quite short, which I don’t like. I think we will need to see where the budget is when we get a little further along.

Anyone have any good leads on glass shower doors?

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Our New Bathroom! And look it will even have a regular size door on it!

Our contractors were busy yesterday putting up the studs for our basement bathroom! It was a very exciting day here. I squealing in delight at them (fortunately they know me pretty well by now) and after they were gone I did a little dance in our “petite” bathroom (and by petite I mean larger than our upstairs bathroom) .

Sink and Toilet Wall

For our bathroom is using a mix of new and old things. We are reusing our old small sink from our upstairs bathroom. It has been patiently waiting up on the third floor for the last 10 years. Yeah Free! And yeah one more thing out of the 3rd floor! It is cute and vintage (probably from the 20s-30s)  but not particularly practical for the main bath (lack of flat space). We are also reusing the mirror from the old basement bathroom. The frame is an unfinished wood. I haven’t decided what color I am going to paint it yet, but the glass is nice and thick and sturdy, so it should hold up just fine. I am going to buy some kind of shelving for above the toilet. I have started looking but haven’t found anything that I like and is inexpensive yet. For the toilet we are buying a new dual flush. We could have reused the old toilet, but it was NOT efficient so the decision was made to upgrade to new one. One added benefit of the dual flush is that the tank is very small, so the toilet itself is a couple of inches shallower than a typical toilet (very helpful for a small bathroom).

Shower Alcove

I’ve already shown you all of the exciting things for the new shower. Now just try and imagine! 🙂

Now it is time for the plumber to come in and do all of the rough ins for the plumbing. This also involves redoing the main hot and cold lines and the lines and the connections to the upstairs bath (we will be connecting to them at the back wall of the bathroom behind the shower). This should clear out quite a bit in the bathroom ceiling. The existing gas line and radiator line, will be painted and left below the beadboard ceiling.

I also picked up the carpet tile yesterday which was a whole other adventure involving me driving around in our old explorer (aka “the Mommy Truck”) in between big semi-trucks (so stay tuned for that on Monday!).

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

New Concrete Floor!

It might look like a baby step, but having a concrete floor again is very exciting (except for the fact that we will be without a washer and dryer for another day or so while it dries)! Yesterday our contractors moved the drain for the shower pan which required removing some more concrete and dirt and adding to the pvc waste line (we decided to shift it over to avoid the main beam and give ourselves a couple more inches of headroom). They also had to dig out some more dirt so that they could get a thick enough slab for the floor. Then they poured it yesterday afternoon so it could start curing over night.

Shower Pan Drain Pipe

Bottom of Shower Pan

My favorite move on their part is using the styrofoam block as a form to keep the concrete away from the drain for the shower pan (which sticks down a couple of inches). When they set the shower pan they will use a sandy grout mix to keep the floor feeling solid.

So next up is actual setting the shower pan, so that they can start framing the walls for the bathroom up. The bathroom down there use to be open to front room (really weird I know!) so I am really excited at the concept of having an actual bathroom with 4 walls! We aren’t adding very many walls in the basement (except for framing out all of the exterior walls) so hopefully it will start feeling more like a finished space soon.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.

Tile Layout for the Shower: 8"x10" white tile w/ 2"x 2" accent tile stripes

We made some final decisions on the tile for our shower over the weekend. We were planning on using white subway tile but because they were slightly off-white I had been a little unsure of how we were going to deal with that mixed with the bright white shower pan. Well on Friday my mom stopped by their local tile place to see what they had. It turns out that they had some bright white tile in 8″x10″ format (an exact match for the leftover tile she had already given to us) that had been returned and they were looking to unload. So I had her pick up enough for the rest of the shower. They were $10 for a box of 20 tiles. That works out to $.90 sf and because we can use her leftover field and trim tile, we will save even more! The tile store was anxious to get rid of the tile so they even threw in a few extra pieces. So basically we are looking at about $80 worth of tile for the entire shower. Not bad! Of course this meant I had to lay out the tile pattern again, to make sure we would have enough! Fortunately we should be fine, although the marble mosaic accent tile is VERY tight (fingers crossed it will cut okay on a wet saw). There is definitely going to be a LOT of cutting of the tile because of the large format of the tile, but it should look nice.

Swanstone Shower Pan: 34"x42" Veritek

We also finally got around to moving the shower pan to the basement (it had been in a box on the front porch for the last week and a half). The texture on the bottom is not quite as nice as I had hoped (you couldn’t make it out in the photos online) but it should provide good slip resistance (and it means I don’t have to clean the grout on the floor).  The front threshold is about 2 1/2″ wide which should allow us to install a shower door (haven’t decided what we are going to do yet) and the side lips go behind the finished wall so it should minimize the chance of a leak in the future. This will be mortared into the floor to help make it rigid, which is ideal for our basement condition (but might be problematic in another condition).

I have also narrowed down the sconce choices for either side of the mirror over the sink. Since the ceiling is quite short, I was looking for something petite but stylish. Here are my choices:

Sconce 1, $69

Sconce #2, $69

Sconce #3, $85

Sconce #4, $139 for 2 ($69)

Sconce #1: Turn of the Century Bath Sconce from Shades of Light
Sconce #2: By Gone Classic Bath Light from Shades of Light
Sconce #3: Trumpet Glass Bath Sconce from Shades of Light
Sconce #4: Mercer Single Sconce from Pottery Barn

Let me know if you have a preference! I am leaning towards one, but am not 100% sold yet. I am also stopping by Home Depot today to pick up the faux slate, so I am going to double check what they have as well.

* To see all of the posts about our basement click here.