Our Big Project this year...

We have just been in our new house a

 little over a year and this was what

the basement looked like when we viewed the house.

We loved the huge basement with

 large windows and a sliding 

glass doors.  So many possibilities!

It had a small cracked patio outside the doors..

But I could see what it could be one day!

This is my dream inspiration for the patio area.   We wouldn't 

have that back fence because our yard was open but I could

imagine just sitting on this patio making art.

First we put in a new larger patio.

Then a cedar pergola .  I planted wisteria

 at the end of each pillar so eventually

the vines will cover the pergola with luscious shade!

I am landscaping both sides of the patio.  Eventually they 

will be filled with lush flowering plants.

These are all the Irises from my old house.

Since this alcove is very private it will become

my secret garden one day!

We maneuvered all our stuff and the walls went up.

Then the drywall went up.  Oh so much

dust from sanding! Also all new electrical had to be

run as you can see there was only a few 

ceiling lights and a handful of electrical plugs.

Even though we'd have a large

multipurpose room, we wanted to keep

3 large storage rooms.

Here you can see the bathroom under

construction with the ceiling holes

and no trim.

Here it is with the molding and ceiling trim up.

The shower is perfect for giving

a muddy dog a bath and bringing

them in from outside without

getting muddy footprints throughout

the house. There is a plan for everything!

I took off from work last

 week and worked on

 putting up the finishing

trim around the doors

and baseboards.  They still need 

another coat of white paint.

It's on my weekend To Do list.

Isn't the vinyl flooring my husband put in beautiful!

We now have a nice basement.  

What a difference...

You can see we had the ceiling painted a flat black

and installed new ceiling lights.

I wanted some huge old tables that

I could use for a multitude of things.  

To hold food for parties.  Or in the future

if I want to host fun craft or art

classes. Or another workspace

for my art projects.

You can see I am over wintering

my geraniums in front of

the windows until it warms

up and they can go out to

the greenhouse.

I absolutely love the pendant lights that my husband

got for me.  I think they are my favorite 

thing in the basement.

I had a few of my favorite pictures of my horse

made into canvas prints for the basement.

I created a focal wall of black and

white photo's with a few select

color photo's of many of my husband 

and I's travels and special

moments.  I spray painted all 

my old frames flat black 

to create a unified look.  

It's not 100% done but almost.

I have a lot of future furniture

 renovation projects planned. 

For now we used what we had laying 

around and I think it looks quite nice.

My beloved Angel May that I lost last week is

displayed in the middle with her collar. 

I miss that dog everyday and say a prayer for her!

I got bamboo shades and 

plain white sheers for the windows

I added fun star lights around the 

room to add some fun interest.

I also moved my potters wheel down here

since the floor works much better with wet

clay than my carpeted art room upstairs.

I also have plans this summer

 to scoot it out on the 

patio and throw some bowls out there!

I have also set up a little workout area for myself

that I use before work.

We still are working on 

the staircase that leads to

upstairs but it is getting there.

I am so very grateful for our

beautiful home.  Everyday I just

can't wait to get there.

It is my favorite place to be!