Monday, April 16, 2012

Basement remodel

Once upon a time there was an ugly, dark and outdated basement...we lived in our house for 4 years and barely (if ever) used it. 
It was SO bad that I don't even have pictures of how it looked like...but my memory can't forget.
Anyhow, we knew we wanted to remodel some day...but were busy remodeling the main level. So, 4 years after the move, the lonely basement was left untouched...until the Nashville flood in May 2010. Our house did not go under water, but we managed to get water coming through the front wall...bad enough to have to pretty much gut the entire basement. (floor, insulation, built ins)
This picture was taken for record purposes...
So we were suddenly left with a blank slate, it was time to refinish this 500sq, with not much of a budget.
We managed to do all the rebuilding work ourselves and got to this point within 4 months
The work done included 
- waterproof the concrete wall (the bottom half is underground)
- reframe wall and replace insulation
- stain concrete floor (Kona Brown)
- add new baseboard and 1/4 round throughout the room
- paint trim and walls
- replace all the outlets
- paint doors white (to match the trim)
- get rid of gas fireplace, replaced with an electric one+new mantel 
- pay a plumber to do the shower drain and plumbing work
- drywall, new trim, extra shelves for linen storage

Now we really liked this room and a year later decided to make the basement our Master suite.
From this
to this

and this




Well, so far so good. We had our master suite with the exception of a master bathroom. We did have a 1/2 bathroom that is currently being upgraded to a full bath.
tiny 1/2 bath to the right
Relocating RN's drums to make room for a walk in shower.
(And yes, if you were wondering, the drums were and are currently located in our master...this is Nashvegas people!)
As of today, the total $$$ spent on this total frugal makeover is less than $4000 (all inclusive materials, decor and the full bath addition, )

UPDATE: Master bathroom is finished. 
Full details and pictures here

Stay frugal,
Daniela

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

it's beautiful, Daniela! and the budget warms my heart! way to go!!

miriam said...

come mai solo ora m'accorgo che c'hai un blog? viva la frugulita' ;) bella la tua stanza, e spero tanto che ora dopo l'episodio coi reni starai molto meglio e sogni d'oro, che Ryan non ti svegli con la batteria! Comunque vedo il tuo stile, personalita' e la tua laurea in disegno al lavoro!

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

perche' l'ho iniziato da poco :)

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

thanks! actually the most money was to pay the plumber and the walk in shower.

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

Hey Daniela, I was surprised to find you linking to my party. Thanks.

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

trying to keep myself motivated to finish some projects around here, and start new ones!

Kelly said...

Wow! This quite a makeover. It looks great. I love the stained concrete. That's so urban/industrial. Where will the drums move to? I'm sure RN will want to keep them close by! Ha!

Daniela @Frugal Aint Cheap said...

Don't you worry, he has made his wishes clear from the beginning. We moved the drums in the living area of the basement, until we figure out something else. Maybe make our 2 car garage a 1 car garage, and use that space for RN drums and a laundry room for me...as I said...we'll figure it out :)

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

Looks like a great hangout spot now. Awesome remodel.

Christine @ Park House Love said...

Oohhh..I love it..especially the exposed brick wall with the fireplace. You guys did a fantastic job!

Anonymous said...

Hmm whoops..not sure why my comment above is showing up as "unknown."

Christine @ Park House Love

Liz Snowden said...

Love the stained floors! Your makeover looks great! Thanks for popping over to visit. I am a new follower!

Cristina Garay said...

All the work you have done in your basement is wonderful!!! It gives me great hopes to finish mine!!

Peggy said...

What a wonderful space you've made for your master retreat; super duper great job. My son's a drummer and those drums are important - love them too. Peggy

Unknown said...

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Unknown said...

You've made a wonderful master retreat. DIY all the way. you could be a design consultant and help other homeowners design their basement remodel.

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Unknown said...

How did you waterproof the wall? We have a basement like yours in our Tri-level home and one corner of the basement is notorious for leaking during the rainy season. I'm looking for a cost efficient way to fix this.....DIY if possible!

Mariette VandenMunckhof-Vedder said...

Dearest Daniela,
You have been doing what we did in 2004. Except that we first had to dig out 60 tons of dirt before building our Rose Suite. Complete quarters for our guests and we too are using it in-between. It sleeps very well and we love it. Hard work pays off and nobody else would do it the same way as you can do it yourself.
Hats off to you both.
Hugs,
Mariette

Unknown said...

Wow great post on the basement remodeling...!!!

Thanks for sharing a good content and examples on the basement remodeling..!!!

Eagerly waiting for the next post....!!!

Unknown said...

I like the flooring in your basement. I would be interested in doing our basement in it.

Unknown said...

hi! Just wondering if you bought or made that awesome bookshelf divider between the bedroom and living space (and if you bought it where you got it) thanks!

Unknown said...

Great post.
Basement Finishing

Unknown said...

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