Category: Lower Level Bedrooms

Lighten and Brighten Up!

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I love light and bright rooms, don’t we all?  I have compiled a list of changes we have made to make our house brighter.

1.  Add a sky tube to a dark, windowless room, like our main bathroom. 

2.  Mirrors!  The mirrors in both of our upstairs bathrooms extend to or close to the ceilings.  The large mirrors reflect light while making the space feel larger. 

3.  Our new dining light fixture makes our space feel brighter because the shade is white.  The old fixture was oil rubbed bronze, so it felt darker. 

4.  When Ben replaced all of our windows, he enlarged some of the windows.  All three bedroom windows are now 1 foot closer to the floors.  The added light does make a huge difference.  Ben also made a smart decision by making egress windows in our basement.  All of the basement windows were the smaller of the two shown below.  Not only are the bedrooms more functional, livable bedrooms, but the light is great.  It doesn’t seem as much like a basement.

5.  Our new front door has a window.  At first, I hated the idea, due to lack of privacy-I liked to look  out our peep-hole at the people on the other side, knowing they couldn’t see me.  Now, they know I’m on the other side of the door-not answering…  Any who, I love the light this little window lets in.  The new back door is almost entirely glass, too.  I love it, lack of privacy and all.

The full glass back door floods the staircase and basement landing with light.

6.  Lamps-duh!  We all know they add light, but a lamp in a dark corner can make a world of difference.

Basement Progress: During

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We’re back to show the progress of our basement.

First, Ben framed in the walls and moved the duct work.  It ran through the middle of the ceiling and tall people hit their heads when they walked down the stairs.  Next,  we started hanging, taping, and mudding the sheet rock. 

The Framing Process:

SHEETROCK!!

Then, Ben laid 20″ square tiles and 6″ square tiles in a pin wheel pattern throughout the basement living room, office, bathroom and landing area.

After Ben (with some help from his brothers) finished sanding the sheet rock, it was time to start adding trim.  Miles and miles of glorious trim! 

We decided to extend our staircase to open up the landing area. 

Basement Progress: Before

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WARNING: What you are about to see is ugly and messy. 

Basement Living Room Before:

Every living room needs an ugly green couch and punching bag. 

My Office Before:

Small Bedroom and Laundry Room Before:

Large Bedroom Before:

As you can see, our basement was almost completely unfinished.  The large bedroom was the first finished room in the basement.  It was completed back in August 2007.  We figured we would need another guest bedroom before V was born.