I’m so excited to fill you in on where we are with the basement. Truth be told, this project has gone untouched for so long it’s hard to even imagine making progress. But alas, we are and it feels really good. I’ll take baby steps over stagnation any day. Today I am sharing why things have been on pause, the paint color we chose, and the direction we are headed. Plus a practical tip that helps me with planning.
BASEMENT ON PAUSE
The main reason all of this has been on hold was because we wanted to be fully present during the last part of our daughter’s senior year. The college send off and prep is no joke and we just didn’t want to put house projects before all of that. Now that we are back and everyone is settled, it’s a great time to get this going. Our goal is to be done by the end of October. That may seem a bit aggressive, but we really hope to be able to enjoy this new space for the holidays.
We also have been slow going because removing the tile from the kitchen area and mudroom was a huge task. It was a ton of labor because of what was used to adhere it. My husband is my hero because he was willing to tackle it all. Back breaking for sure and he is so happy it’s done. The bid we received to have it done by someone else was 7k! Can you believe it? So while it was about 3 weekends of hard work, that 7K can go towards flooring and cabinets. And that’s a huge win.
THE PAINT COLOR WE CHOSE . . .
I ordered quite a few samples so I could see how these all looked in our basement. Because it’s a walk out basement, the space gets plenty of natural light but paint colors read so different in every space. These samples can peel from the backing and stick to your wall or you can just put them up with painter’s tape (I find that easier). The easiest part is eliminating colors. For example, the one I am holding reads way too purple so it was an easy no. In the end, I fell in love with one and can’t wait to see in on our walls.
Ashwood Moss by Benjamin Moore is the winner. It’s a gorgeous hue in person. It’s dark and moody (like an Iron Ore) but with a green undertone. I just love how it looks with the light floors and it has a really warm and masculine feel to it. We want the room to read cozy and this should do the trick. It will be quite some time before we paint. Dark colors pick up dust so we will choose to paint last.
THE DETAILS
I also plan to include a square Zellige tile. I just love the texture, gloss and organic element it brings to a space. Almost as if it’s been there forever. This beautiful photo is from Zio and Sons.
PLANNING TIP
My tip for a major project is to keep measurements, notes, planning ideas, contacts, and anything you jot down in a small notebook. I can toss this in my purse and it’s so great to have when I am out sourcing things. It didn’t even occur to me, until I took this photo, that my notebook is so similar to the paint color we chose.
Today we have someone coming to give us a couple of quotes. I spent much of the weekend designing the kitchen so that we can move ahead with cabinets. It’s going to be fun to see it come together and I hope you’ll be along for the ride.
I think I’m on my 25th colour sample for the green in our living room. A bit like your daughter moving on to college, there’s a lot I can’t control right now and this seems to be the thing my brain is obsessing over.
Looking forward to seeing the progress on your basement. Have you shared a house plan before? I can’t picture how the rooms go together.
Yay! I can’t wait to follow along. We’re buying a new home and taking only a few pieces of furniture from our current home. I need all the inspiration and love your style more than any other blogger I follow.