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Monday, September 12, 2011

Basement Reno Update: I Changed My Mind






You might remember a looooong time ago.
I spent a lot of time trying to choose laminate flooring for my basement, and I even asked your opinion... showed you pictures, explaining the pros and cons,  and then made a firm decision, and bought our laminate.
Well seven weeks into the basement reno I decided to take my flooring back.
It was light and airy and beachy.... and... well... just not me.
It had this weird pinky undertone under some light, and one day the word, cheap popped into my head and that was it.  It was all I saw.
Cheap ugly pink flooring.
Sooooo....
This is what my floor is going to be.  
Touraine Hickory.
Not quite this yellow, but you get the picture.

And if you don't.
Here is one to help you.
This is more me.
But not quite.
It's just one part of me.

Because there is a little bit of me here too.


And I have been sitting here having a {virtual} cup of Java almost every day.

So you see, when I showed this picture back on THIS POST...
I had lost my way a bit.
The floor led me astray.

Now that I've had time for some quiet decor discernment,
I can say with complete confidence,
that I know what look I want for our Bungalow'56 basement!
It will be....
Mid Century Modern Cottage Vintage Industrial
with some Retro Colour Funkiness thrown in for good measure!

And with this new direction I have been drivingThe Agronomist CRAZY forging ahead!
As he likes to say... We're clear as mud now.

One of my favourite finds of all time is this!
An old hand railing.
We found it in the city at an Architectural warehouse.
We didn't buy it at first.
The Agronomist thought I was crazy.
But that's nothing new.

Once we got home I kept thinking about it.
It was only thirty dollars.
What would it hurt to bring it home and just see if it fit?
So I made the call, bought it over the phone, and said we would pick it up in three weeks.
What was a little five hour drive ?
OK, so we were planning to go anyway, but I new the moment I saw our railing it was meant to be,
The Agronomist tried stop the connection we felt, but it was in vain.
I just knew it would find the perfect home in our basement.

And guess what?
It fit perfectly!

Why yes, I do happen to have a BFA in theatre specializing in the dramatic arts.  
Why do you ask?

Now what else do you see there in the picture above?
Could that be some brick?

Why yes it is.
I have been inspired by the photos below,
and now cannot imagine the wall along my stairs smooth.

So brick along the stairwell it will be.
We will see how the brick veneer looks, but the plan at this point is to paint it white like above.

The next decision is how to finish the fireplace.
More painted brick is an option, but for some reason that isn't appealing to me.
There are so many beautiful tiles out there.

I found this DIY for concrete countertops,
I wanted to try and incorporate it somewhere.

but these concrete look tiles sure would take up a lot less time...

So yes, we are on our way down the home stretch,
But just in case there are anymore detours along the way,
Please leave your number.

The Agronomist may need to call for help...

xoxo,
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7 comments:

  1. I love the direction you are going! It is going to be such a fabulous basement. All the hiccups and "side" trips will be so worth it in the end. Truly a labour of love :)

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  2. I love the idea of brick by the stairs.

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  3. I love brick veneer. It adds such texture in smaller spaces. Go for it.

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  4. This is looking VERY cool! And I have hickory laminate throughout my home. Love it!

    =)

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  5. I may/might/will just steal that brick idea for my stair well--and I'd leave it unpainted. less fingerprints that way. Your girls are older, but I have tons from the little monkeys that live in my house!

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  6. I'm glad you changed your mind and went with the darker flooring and returned the laminate. This is much more you. Digging the brick wall for the stairs!

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  7. Oh I'm SO excited for you! And so much better to change your mind BEFORE the flooring was in. Imagine how much the Agronomist would've loved that! Yikes!

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