Decorating the basement (a little!)

Hello all! How was your weekend? I could not believe how cold it was here – I’m still looking at frost out my window as I type!

 

Since we (sorta, kinda, mostly) completed the basement finishing process over the summer, I’ve held off on doing any decorating down there, just because there is SO much left to do. But I just couldn’t handle it any more – I had to throw a little something together!

I’ve had all of the pieces for quite some time now, it just took a little time to make them work together. It started with this awesome vintage sewing cabinet I picked up at a local barn sale this past spring:

A quick back story behind this barn sale – two local ladies (Kara and Johnna) run a furniture refurbishing business called Lila’s Pockets. What’s funny is Kara was the very first TDC reader I met in real life, years ago, and I’ve followed their business since. I love their pieces and love that they’ve created this awesome business together!

(By the way, I just found out they’re having another sale in a couple weeks – visit their Facebook page here if you are in central Indiana and want more info! I’ll be there for sure!)

AnyHOO, isn’t that cabinet awesome? I’ve never seen one like it! They painted it a blue color, painted over it in yellow, then sanded that down so the blue can show through. The colors are EXACTLY what I’m using in the basement, so it’s just perfect.

It does have storage inside, we use it for puzzles. The shelves are a little awkward, so I have a plan to make it work even better…stay tuned. :)

Next up, it needed a lamp. I had a glass lamp on there for awhile, but I moved that up to the side table in the family room so I needed a new one for this spot. I ended up taking this vintage one from the family room sofa table and putting in down there:

The color (it’s been spray painted at least three times) is a perfect match to the walls. At first I was going to spray it (again), but I am digging the tone on tone – it’s staying that color, at least for now. (The lamp shade is the only fairly recent purchase – from HomeGoods this summer.)

Then it needed some art – and I wanted it big. I grabbed a Goodwill frame I think I’ve been saving for YEARS and gave it a quick redo. I just painted it (no sanding!) with a color called Storm Cloud (the one I used on the back of the dining room built ins). Then I put a really light coat of dark wax over it to give it some dimension and taped a NYC poster inside:

 

I found the map at my favorite toy store in downtown Indy months ago (I can’t remember how much, maybe $5?), and I just turned the (kind of scary) little girl poster around and taped it to the back. That’s my “mat” – free baby!

I didn’t accessorize a lot, because it’s not a big table. And what I have on there was a total accident – I placed the wood tray there to put it away one day, then someone laid the drum sticks in there and it looked cool, so it stayed. :) Love when that happens!:

Want to know one of my very favorite things about the basement? Have I mentioned this before? Probably. It’s ALL of the wall space. It’s AWESOME. We don’t have a lot in the rest of the house because of our open plan (which I love), but it’s nice to have spots to add a little somethin’:

You can see how the wood plank wall looks on the staircase – so cool. But WAIT…blech…gag…hives…I see CORDS!!! You know how I hate the cords.

I grabbed a little sticky hook and stuck it to the back:

Ahh, yes. I can breath. :)

So much better:

I love the combo of the blues and yellows in each piece (and the wall!) and how they work together. And I think it’s worth mentioning that every blue and every yellow do not match exactly.

Psssssst…that’s OK. Really! At least in my house it is. ;)

I’ve mentioned before that the basement will be a bit more industrial/rustic/contemporary than the rest of the house (how’s that for a combo?). But I also want this space to be a showcase of all the things we LOVE, and this little vignette includes two of the big ones – New York and music:

I’m just happy to “nest” down there a little bit. Now it’s on to tiling the bathroom! :)

Are you seeing the direction I’m going down here? This spot is a great representation of how I want the rest of the basement to feel too. Love it!