Basement needs extreme makeover!

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Aizer K'negdo in progress

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:30 pm

greenfire wrote:

the mirrors have to go - wonder what's behind it ...

the floor change to carpet - happy & busy

I like the paneling ...

the wrought iron handrail - change to wood

change the blinds to happy curtains

change the lighting

and maybe makes shelves instead of the bar ...

Grreen I do not know you but you are so funny:
basically you are telling me re-do the basement but keep the wood paneling!!

Sorry but not a possibility to re-do all basement.
Curtain I can do
paint I can do
carpet: not really but an area rug is fine
take down mirrors: yikes what is behind!

Flowerpot

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:35 pm

an ikea childrens rug. Make your own curtains from pretty colorfull fabric. that will change the look in the room.

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:36 pm

Flowerpot wrote:

an ikea childrens rug. Make your own curtains from pretty colorfull fabric. that will change the look in the room.

So what do I do about the wood paneling?

ra_mom

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:43 pm

I think the wood paneling is okay. Just warm it up a bit.
If you're tight on cash, why don't you keep everything as is and just remove the shelves?
Can you put up drapes to frame the mirror?
Place a huge affordable rug in middle of the room to cozy it up a bit? Don't cover the whole floor.

Last edited by ra_mom on Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:46 pm; edited 1 time in total

greenfire

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 6:43 pm

Aizer K'negdo in progress wrote:

first of all wood paneling is quite expensive ... and it still looks nice and I do like it - changing the surroundings will create a different look ... painting over wood spoils it - it's like painting over brick ...

don't get wall to wall carpeting - a nice throw rug over the existing floor is good too and way less monies

does the panel look as if it goes behind the mirrors or not ... either way to take off the mirror you need screw drivers and patience - a little strength so as not to drop any ... you might have a wall you need to paint or to plaster & then paint ... you won't know unless you try ...

also if you're handy you can do it YOURSELF ... ya know what I mean ... or you can hire me ... where am I driving - do you cook good - can I stay for shabbos - Mr. Green

will you fill the bar Drunken Smile

solo

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 7:09 pm

on the plus side I luv ur open staircase (the railing not so much)u seem to have high ceilings, and at least 1 window.
the thing is that on a limited budget I think it will look like a basement no mater what.

heres what I would do:
1. paint
2. area rugs
3. new window treatments
4. sofas and bookcases/ storage units.
it doesnt seem like removing or remodeling the bar is in ur budget so id create a partition with floor to ceiling curtains (or a screen, bookcases)

theres a designer I used to like to watch on tv named candice olsen. it was fascinating to see her turn the most random spaces into beautiful functional rooms. she did spend more money that ud like to on her projects but u might be inspired. google her.

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 7:33 pm

I hope it will look really different with just a lot of DIY!!!!

We have book cases on the other side of the room as we do also have a sofa.

What about filling the grooves between the panels and then paint it in a lighter color.
As per the window treatment should I go with vail like to make it more airy or full covered.

For the BAR, if I "make it dissapear" behind a curtain isn't going to look smaller? Can I cover the space with vail?
WOW I seem to be very busy with vails!! nautical theme!!
Again the love boat !!!

Seriously, thank you to help me.
I am clueless in decorating...

Thanks again

mummiedearest

Thu, Oct 29 2009, 9:16 pm

here are my suggestions--

get yourself some stencil paint and paint directly on the mirrors. it'll add color and look kinda cool if you do it right. if you want to have some fun with it, hang up family photos on the mirrors and paint frames around the photos. it'll break up the mirror light show.

your basement is pretty dark right now, so I'd put in a light colored throw rug. something in mint green, perhaps?

you can hang some pretty fabrics in the mirror corners and in the non-mirror corners.

have your kids finger paint some really large papers. like as big as them. make sure they're bright. hang them up. alternatively, get a bulletin board for each kid and hang it in the basement. hang each kid's artwork on his/her board. my grandmother has a similar basement to yours (yes, with a bar) and when we were younger we each had a bulletin board down there. they covered a lot of the wood paneling.

get a nice bright couch. nothing like good furniture to liven up a room.

change the light fixtures. you're on a budget, so I recommend you find a store that's going out of business. you can often get really nice light fixtures at amazing prices at going out of business lighting stores. buy it even if you have to call the company to replace a part. it's worth it.
I recommend a light fixture with a colorful translucent cover. it should give a nice glow. in fact, if you get one with multiple light bulbs/covers in different colors, you can just hang some white fabric at random intervals around the room and get a really funky colorful look.

the bar-- as kids we used my grandparents' bar to play store. they had a basket of plastic food under the bar, and we could play restaurant, grocery store, whatever. drape it in fabric to match the mirrors/walls, and set up a play cash register. and get some toy food. and maybe a small blackboard so the kids can put up daily specials. totally fun, and the bar is perfect for it.

just so you know, your pics were hard for me to put together in my mind. so I'm still not 100% sure what your basement looks like. but it does seem very similar to my grandparents'. though I can't say you would like their decor, I think it's still stuck in the sixties...

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Sat, Oct 31 2009, 6:53 pm

Hello Again,

A few of you wonderful ladies asked me to put up more specific pictures of the basement to help them visualized the surroundings.

I'm ok with that but what kind of pictures?
Every wall?
Every corner?
floors?
ceiling? (it is a pop corn type ceiling yum yum!!!)
Dimensions?

Tell me what you need and I will provide it for you.

Again, I am clueless in decoration for the basement embarrassed

Thank you again Smile

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Sun, Nov 01 2009, 11:17 am

So here are the pictures:
the 1st 2 are the west side, then the north wall followed by the east wall and the south wall.
I hope it is more clear.

I'm sorry for the mess we moved in not a long time ago and with a young child we mainly did the upper and just made the basement functional.

You help is GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you again

Sunflower

Sun, Nov 01 2009, 4:38 pm

we painted our panelling. u can try marble white, it's a benjamin moore color. we did it, and it looks great, really brightened up a dark room. make sure to clean the panelling first.

try installing closet doors in front of the bar area.... it will close up the area and u can use it for storage, until u'r ready to use it as a pesach kitchen. if u paint the closet doors the same color as the panelling, u will not be closing up the room.

fun curtains would be nice. new lights would also be great. try a fluorescent flushmount fixture such as this: http://www.lithonia.com/produc.....y=264
it's available at home depot

good luck!

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 8:01 am

Sunflower wrote:

Thank you so much for your ideas.

I know I'm pushing my luck here but do you think you could post a picture of your painted wood panel just for me to have a feel of what it could look like in the end.

Thank you again

waiting anxiously

Sunflower

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 9:35 am

sorry, I have no pics of it, and my memory card is full...
try googling before and after pics of painting paneling..... good luck!

mummiedearest

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 10:14 am

wow. you have dark furniture in a dark basement.

definitely change those light fixtures. you need brightness.

those walls should not be white with that furniture. something warm but not DARK. tan, peach, light blue, banana yellow, perhaps. mint green could be nice too.

I'd paint the ceiling as well.

get shades that are not so opaque. you need as much sunlight as you can get.

hang something on those walls. break up that monotony. if you don't like to go funky with colors, just get some nice prints. I'm not a believer in family photos on the wall, but get some good blowups and have them framed nicely. you can also hang some nice shelves on the walls. books with different colored spines will add to the decor, and I'm sure you won't have to spend money on them I would hang them individually, fairly high up. you can still hang pictures underneath.

I like the idea of closet doors to cover the bar. if you don't use it everyday and don't want to spend moolah, that's a great option.

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 2:26 pm

mummiedearest wrote:

You are right the furniture is dark for a basement please keep in mind that we just moved and our furniture came before the house ie we had the furniture before we bought the house so we do with what we have Smile

B'H'
I love your idea for the color ie tan or so. How about a beige? too light?

Does anybody has an idea on how to procede to put "doors" ont the bar opening to transform it in a "closet/hidden futur pesach kitchen" Bz'H'
Is it a DIY project or way out of my league (I'm handy B'H' but certainly not a craftsman Wink

)

As per the light fixture as it was previously suggested should I put some kind of neons? or should I go with something else and if yes what?

So far we agreed with
Paint (the color is still to be chosen)
light fixtures
door to hide bar (it depends on the costs)

Please continue to help
You have no idea how it is wonderful to have some wonderful ideas Smile

P.S" I forgot to say the room dimensions are 20' X 17'

mummiedearest

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 2:38 pm

Aizer K'negdo in progress wrote:

mummiedearest wrote:

well, most people in a house have to make the furniture work for the room. I was amazed to see how the colors are nearly the exact same shade as the walls. you need to break it up.

beige is fine, as long as it's visibly not white. I have some beige walls and some tan in my house. I like both, but I find the slightly darker color more friendly. it's less bland. it works with wood furniture. believe it or not, if you decorate right, the room can look bright and warm at the same time. I think that's especially good in a basement, where you don't get much sunlight.

rather than choose one color, pick one for the walls and one for the ceiling. don't leave that ceiling white.

alternately, you could paint two walls one color and the others another color.

door in front of bar-- if you want to diy, I think you'd have to go with accordion doors. not gorgeous, but at least you won't get blinded by mirror glare Smile

sliding doors would look nicer, but I don't know whether you really have space for that, and it would be a lot more work.

light fixtures-- I think you need something that gives the room a warm glow. I retract my previous suggestion that you go for a funky colorful thing. if you paint non-white, you won't need that kind of color. go for something modern and aesthetically pleasing. nothing too big, but big enough to be seen. it should act as a decorative piece as well as something practical.

were I you, I'd consider covering the banister with some nice fabric. you can just drape and tie, it'll look nice, and it'll change the look. you may want to pick a solid fabric a couple of shades darker than the paint you pick for the wall. or you can match it to the ceiling color.

Aizer K'negdo in progress

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 4:02 pm

mummiedearest wrote
[/quote]rather than choose one color, pick one for the walls and one for the ceiling. don't leave that ceiling white.

Quote:

It is a good idea. Did you notice that the ceiling is textured?
What do you do with that!!!
Let it be?

As per the light fixture I understand what you are saying but I cannot visualize the object itself.
Any pic or links?
That would be great

Thank you so much Smile

mummiedearest

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 4:10 pm

yes, I noticed the textured ceiling. I think it will look way better in color than in white. I think the shadows and the white are too much of a contrast. you could get someone to straighten it, but if you're doing it all by yourself, just paint it. you can paint texture.

as for fixtures, I can look around, but even with your pics it will be hard to visualize exactly how anything will look. I'd say leave the lighting for last anyway. you have to paint, shift the furniture around, hang up some pictures, and then decide on the right lighting. I'll see what I can find, though.

mummiedearest

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 4:20 pm

http://www.google.com/products.....tle#p

this is very basic, but somewhat decorative. I have a couple of fixtures like this (came with the house). I don't know that this would look good if you have multiples in one room, though. do you want something flush with the ceiling or hanging? you can get some nice hanging ones that look better in multiples. hanging might be better because of the ceiling texture, but I can't be sure of that. either way, I think something simple and geometric is always nice. I don't like beaded or curlicued things. it really depends on your taste in general.

mummiedearest

Mon, Nov 02 2009, 4:21 pm

I like this without the fish scale pattern, and the cover should be white instead of yellow.

http://www.quicklamps.com/show.....2FYLW

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