First of all, I prematurely posted this before/after post two times.

Sorry about that, it just really wanted to be posted and I was not going fast enough I guess. :)

My goal with this overhaul of the basement/bathroom was not to win any decorating awards.

I avoided Pinterest, decorating blogs or really any other online resources.

I didn’t want these rooms to be overly staged and unlivable because of too many expensive accessories and DIY projects.

I just shopped online, consignment stores, and Target/Ikea to pull things I liked (and that I knew my family would like, ie not girly).

The purpose was to create an inviting place for the my stepsons to watch TV on the weekends…because if they watch TV with us upstairs they usually complain that Joe and I kiss and cuddle too much for their liking: )And also because I could watch 48 Hours about 24 hours a day. The kids can only take so many murder shows I guess. :)

It really did have a castle dungeon-like ambiance going on down there…which is great at Medieval Times.

We just like to differentiate between our home and theme restaurants.

So anyway I didn’t want to spend a lot of money, but I did want a comfortable room with meaningful decorations.

Oh and all the guys requested blue walls. Not light blue and not navy blue. Somewhere in between. Apparently they are opinionated in regards to blue.

I think I accomplished what was wanted.

And thankfully I was able to spread the costs over about four months so it didn’t rock our bank account too much.

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Basement Bathroom

 

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During: We painted, fluffed, steamed, stained, vacuumed, painted some more and then took a nap.

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After:   A functional clean room for the kids to hang out with friends.

Basement Bathroom

Here is the run down of the costs and sources:

• $275 Craigslist leather sofa, I started by replacing the futon (read about this deal here)
• $23 Anthropologie candle sconces (read about this deal here)
• $200 approx (for art and all the Ikea frames.) Art that we bought on our trips this summer. You are read about them here and here.
• $54 with coupons, 3 gallons of Ace Hardware Royal Paint Satin (We ♥ Ace)
• $117 Ceiling mount light fixture from Overstock.com to replace the old broken fan (We would have liked to spend less but we really needed a large high wattage fixture to light the dark basement)
• $26+$24, Two roman shades from Ikea for the french doors and magnetic hardware to attach to the metal doors
• $7-13 each, I simply purchased new pillow covers at Ikea. The pillow forms are from old pillows.
• $250 (marked down from $425) Lane Recliner purchased from Carolina Consignments
• $50 approx in other random accessories
• $8 + $30 for gel stain and new hardware for the media console makeover and bathroom cabinet
• $19.99 Target Shower Curtain, I could have used the old one but I really needed a pop of color.
• $9.99 Grey bath rug from Ikea
• $5 –  24 x 36 USA Map Art, $2.50 Etsy map download and $2.50 b/w engineering print from Staples
• Free- MI map art from stamen.com 

Thankfully the tile flooring is in great shape so we could leave it as is, but it did need an area rug to warm up the space. And the rest of the stuff in the room I already owned.

• 5 pieces of art from my husband’s art class days in elementary school, my mother-in-law let me raid her stash of his old art work when we were in MI at her house in July.
• $200 (3 years ago), 11×14 sisal area rug was from my old apartment, but fit the shape of the room perfectly.
• Reused coffee table, lamp and media console that my husband already had
• $60+$40 (about a year ago) Reused brown velvet drapes from World Market and curtain hardware
• $40 (5 years ago), Old trunk from Salvation Army as a sofa table
• Free- Spray paint for a rusty toilet paper holder overhaul

Overall, I am very pleased with how this room turned out. We don’t spend a lot of time down here but when we do it’s nice to have it looking nice:) and not dungeon like.

Honestly the best change for me was getting rid of those creamy yellowy white walls. They were just gross.

And my favorite things in the room are the art we bought on our trips this summer and my husband’s elementary school art. And of course my  $275 Craigslist Haverty’s leather sofa. :)

What do you think? How did we do with our function cheap chic overhaul?

http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2013/08/29/thrifty-thursday-week-25/