basement remodel :: part 1 :: the before

our basement is finally finished!!! these are the before pictures. taken last September. we had already gotten rid of a lot of the "junk."

this is how our basement has looked since we moved in 9 years ago. we loved that it was finished. and it's been awesome for our kids to play in all these years.

but now that we have no more babies, have finally graduated past all the "plastic" toys, and have kids that want a space to be with their friends, we wanted to make it a more "older kid" friendly hangout space.

we chose to do most of it ourselves. which took a LOT longer than it would have if we'd hired people. but it was the basement. we could close the door and ignore it when it was a disaster. there were a couple months where the kids couldn't go down there at ALL, and that was a bit rough, but it was all worth it.

we involved the kids as much as possible. which also took longer, but, again, SO worth it. pat and I aren't really "handy". but youtube is awesome and we made lots of mistakes and learned as we went.

so. the above pictures were all of the "main area" down there. which is a big "L" shaped space.

here is the door to the guest room that you see to the left of that little kitchenette. take a good look at this. this door/hallway took a TON of our time and energy!

the guest room (and craft room)

from the door of the guest room looking out into the main area.

the stairs going down to the basement. and there's this weird little alcove right there at the bottom.

the full bath.

there you have it! the basement in all it's "before" glory! come back tomorrow for part 2....