Basement Plans for the TV Area

When Hurricane Ida rolled through, it dumped more rain then the gutters could handle, and therefore dumped rain into a window well and that dumped into our basement. So guess what?! I've got to come up with a plan for the basement ... years before I thought I'd need to. But, here where are. Thanks IDA :/

The basement is pretty chopped up, so let's start with the TV-watching area, as that's the most important to my family and where all of the damage took place. 

And here's the plan:

First, we need to move the 1,000 lb pool table that you can see peeking just around the corner. That's going into the former gym area where I painted the rainbow mural. It's extremely heavy and we're not sure how we're going to move it there. 

So, there's that challenge. 

Second, I should also mention that our basement was professionally dried and no mold or other nastiness is growing behind the walls. So rest assured. They were pretty sure water has gotten in through that water well in the past, so it's nice to have that piece of mind of what's behind the walls. 

Our contractor came out and I walked him through the tasks I needed done. We included: replace the walls here and in the bathroom, come up with a flooring plan that's budget friendly, update the basement stairs and some outdoor work on the gutters to keep it from happening again. We're still waiting for the estimate. 

The Final Vision

But, here's a big lesson I've learned in all this ... have an END VISION. What's the FINAL DESIGN? It took a few weeks to come up with my ideal basement layout, measuring and moving things around in my mind. Thinking about color and how we use the space. But having that END GOAL helps manage expectations and targets your little/big projects so you're always working toward that ending. It might take years, but I now know what I want it to look like. I'll share the layout in my next basement post.

Now that I see it all in my imagination, I can start working toward it. 

The Sofa Drama

One of the big issues for this basement was the SOFA. We brought our brown sofa from our last basement but FRUSTRATINGLY it didn't fit down the stairs. There's an awkward turn/landing. I ended up selling it on Facebook Marketplace and washing my hands of the whole thing. 

But we NEED a sofa for watching movies, playing games, hanging out. 

So I dived into this concept of Modular Sofas. They follow the same idea of a bed mattress rolled up in a box -- but instead, it's a sofa chopped in chair-like sections, in a box. Yes. Let's SKIP the drama of getting it down the stairs. And they're pretty reasonably priced. 

I narrowed down to two options using this informative article (here). Other than looking great and comfortable, I really wanted a tall back, so you could rest your head on the back of the sofa. A lot of the options were more modern and low. 

I liked this one with the chaise and made sustainably, but ultimately went with the KOVA from Albany Park. Dave hates spindle legs, he doesn't think they're sturdy. And we liked how low and comfy this was. And for the price, and the size we're getting (121"!), it's perfect. Plus, it comes in boxes, so no issue maneuvering down the stairs. AND (last "and") it's customizable, so we can move the ottoman, or take out a piece to make it shorter.  

Ideally, we'd have a hang out space in the basement set up for Christmas, so I ordered it this week and it says it will get here in November ... but we'll cross our fingers and see. 

Fun Bathroom

The powder room in the basement was completely ripped up for water remediation, so I've given that space a bit of thought and want to go in this direction. 

Paneling below (there was bead-board originally) and a very fun and crazy wallpaper above. In Jr. High my bestie had a basement bathroom with crazy wallpaper (and maybe slightly pornographic?) but it was fun to be in there and stare at the illustrations. 

Ours is tucked away in the way dark recesses of the basement, so I really want visitors to walk out and be blown away by the design. And maybe delighted! I'm thinking of an over-the-top floral wallpaper and painting the paneling a glossy Kelly green. 

Other Details

Otherwise, all the walls will be grayish, to coordinate with the new sofa. I'm pulling off the chair-rail trim because it's cutting off the wall space, before I paint. We'll replace the super-awful sconces to more modern ones (that I hope to find under $80 each). Swing the treadmill over so we can walk/run and watch TV again (we loved that in the old house). Reuse a few rugs we have to warm up the floors. And put some great art on the walls. 

My current milestone is Christmas -- I'd like to have a semi-attractive/comfy place set up to watch movies with my family. And the bathroom put back together, so we have an extra toilet for all the extra people in my house.

Fingers crossed. 

Related:

See our last basement remodel project 

Visit my Pinterest page for this basement