Basement Furniture and Layout

The very first post to this blog covered the basement family room - as the space was finished, finite, and the changes were to be cosmetic.  (See link Planning - color scheme and layout - the basement ....)  That is still the case (excepting the "finished" bit) several months later - you'll have seen recent posts regarding sump pumps, cement pours, etc., as well as the final selections for the bathroom down here (Update: The Basement Bathroom Final Selections/Con...s.)  The furniture layout has now been modified - see below - but the family room downstairs remains in the original footprint and will still:

• have a pale grey floor covering (wool/blend carpet)
• have pale walls 
• house my favorite framed & matted travel posters and prints - mostly matted in red with black frames
• have a "fun" color scheme - blues, whites, a bit of red - against the paler backdrop
• utilizing all existing furniture I've owned for some time, excepting the "new to me" Lane and Thonet refurbished vintage pieces from 2013 posts
• house the future treadmill & "owned" TV

The basement family room layout now includes doors (top of frame, below) that lead to the laundry room (Planning: The Laundry Room) and basement bedroom/bath/closets.  The stairs are on the left hand side of the pic:

I have stored boxes of books that couldn't make it in London - NY - London homes for the last several years - they will find a place (finally) in this room via the use of an inexpensive suspended book shelf around the perimeter of the room - similar to that found here in this Houzz photo - houzz.com. 

Color scheme remains unchanged, but the fabric at center will be minimal given the $200/yd cost.  The white leather is on the Thonet chairs; the grey/white circles are on the ottoman/coffee table (Lane refurb) and the herringbone is found on a tablecloth/console for the TV:

The furnishings:   What I own (e.g. this Room and Board sofa) coupled with the new "cheap and cheerful" refurbished vintage as featured in Update: Found Treasure - Thonet & Lane before and...

but…no pink down here!

Thonet - redux

the new "old Lane" thanks to Comfort Upholstery

a subset of the "red matted" artwork

It should be a comfy/cozy place for movies and gatherings for the children of my friends - and a great adjacent space to the basement guest suite (next post)!

Basement Progress - Cement Pour

The basement project has been in suspended animation this week - with thanks to Mother Nature - temperatures have not been working in our favor in terms of allowing the cement to be poured.  Will the Polar Vortex please Vortex elsewhere, por favor?

photo courtesy Carissa K

The "indoor" work that can be completed pre cement pour has been done - for example, the door-frame is in, and the steps have been reconstructed to accommodate:

Pouring the cement via the trough proved impossible - so the job has been completed via wheelbarrow:

Tough day for the guys - but very happy to have a basement floor!

ADVICE WELCOME - Exterior Accent Color

Hi - I'm soliciting some advice/guidance regarding an exterior accent color - replacing everything you see below in "sage green" with a different color that will complement the brick.  The window-boxes (a future post) will be painted in the same color as the trim.  Just hit "comment" to add your two cents!

Basement Progress

Late last week I posted Budget update, new steel beam, and recent On The Job photos - and although not instant gratification, pretty close.  In the photos below you'll see the awkward beams are gone - those remaining will be buried in the laundry room walls. The gravel has gone down, paving the way for cement laying and framing later this week.

Inserting those $$$ steel beams

The chunky space-taking "wall" at the bottom of the stairs has gone

Update: The Kitchen Selections

The kitchen/dining decisions are complete, as per Planning: The kitchen overhaul -  I won't reiterate the earlier post, where you can find the 3D drawings/layout, etc.  Here are some other final selections:

Cabinets - in grey (Benjamin Moore Silver Half Dollar) - appears darker in the photo than real life.  Ceiling will be painted this with a few drops of white added.  

   

Wallpaper a white/white by York ($28/roll) - looks dark in the pic - trust me, it's pretty much white on white, but I like that the paisley will pick up the "menswear" inspired fabrics in the adjacent living room.  (Planning: Living Room Furniture)

Barstools - Restoration Hardware (circa $180 on sale)

Lighting - for details, please reference Planning: Lighting!

Purchased in WHITE - shown in stainless

Juliska - mostly white

Pure white quartz countertops - likely Zeus Extreme, Silestone

Update: The Perfect Rug - FOUND!

As an update to Planning: Living Room Furniture I have finally purchased a living room rug.  You may recall the inspiration/aspirational/way too expensive rug from the earlier post.

After about 37 store visits, eight samples sent to the house, numerous conversations over the phone - Eureka!  From ABC Carpet/Home - in wool (Pakistan) - retails for $6000, purchased for $4000.  (Perhaps they had just tired of flipping through rugs with me?  Or perhaps I'm putting those honed negotiating skills to good use!):

Budget update, new steel beam, and recent On The Job photos

The big spend in the basement has always been for the new bedroom, bathroom, and storage (two closets) in the unfinished space.  Later, the architectural options included a laundry room - those of you following early posts know I leaped at this opportunity, at negligible incremental spend.  This week, a conundrum was presented in terms of basement spend - beaf up the existing horizontal ceiling beams (leaving a sizable soffett) or install two 15ft-long adjacent steel beams?  This certainly will ensure the structural integrity of the house, but also allows for the removal of two unsightly floor-to-ceiling beams - located in very unfortunate spots.

For $1750, I went with the steel beams.   So say "bye-bye" to this original wood beam at the bottom of the stairs (albeit a beam with some very nice 1970's-ish graffiti uncovered during demo).  The guys will have to find a new place to rest their shovels:

I appreciate that from a resale perspective, cast iron pipes and steel beams don't yeild a great return on investment.  But, as someone who plans to live in this home for years to come, both decisions were a no-brainer.  Every time I walk into the laundry room, I will be very grateful not to be dodging beams!  When furniture is placed - no working around beams! And, here's hoping that the house will be flood-free for eons given the investment in sump pumps, cast iron pipes, and (new for this house) plumbing to code.  

All in - these optional and not so optional infrastructure investments (HVAC - dual zoning, plumbing to code, cast iron sub-ground pipes, steel beam in basement) have totaled more than $22k not in the original budget.  I've dialed back some of the "optionals"  (carpet/tile spend, landscaping) but there is no escaping that the project is now running well over original budget.  I'm putting the dollars now towards that which can't easily be modified down the road.  (I can add more wainscoting or plants next year!)

That said - it is still running under the estimate presented by the first architect/contracting firm I attempted to work with - and the infrastructure will be sounder and the finishes will be MUCH better!  So, there is that.  

The team has been hard at work - here a few photos of the work in progress.  I was out of town, so some decisions on archways and one bit of electrical had to be made remotely.  

reframed master bedroom door/arch - and working the electrical

Humberto - trying to talk me out of an archway - visual helped - but we're going w/the arch!

Electrical work in action

"Really Kim - do you want this cased?" - thanks, Humberto & team - the visual helped!

The Floorplans

Some of you have asked about the layout - please see below:

Ground floor:

2nd Floor:

Basement:

Bring Back the Old House Charm: Moldings/Millwork

The Bunglow has been crying out for the sort of millwork that identifies an old home as such.  When I purchased the house, there was no crown molding, baseboards were the inexpensive 2" standard in tract - houses, and there were no window casings to speak of.  When the original renovation was completed, the walls were "built out" - for no reason I can discern except for a personal preference for hapshazard archways and nooks.

Before:  

After:   All the unnecessary "bump outs" have been removed - in the case of this front window, I'm getting an extra 8 inches (at 8 inches deep x10 ft - 80 square feet added with this one swift move - it is mirrored in the basement.)  This extra 160 square feet is a big deal in a small home!  The windows will be properly cased in poplar, with moldings around the perimeter, and crown molding throughout. 

The nice folks working on the home were good enough to put together a "mock up" for me to approve, so I have a sense of how it will look when complete:

We'll be going with the more substantive crown molding, of course!

The new window casings/trim, coupled with the crown moldings, wainscoting in the powder room, traditional/simple cabinetry, bead-board on select ceilings, hardwood floors (refinished and new) throughout, wood staircase/newell posts, new wood doors and substantive baseboards should make a big, big difference in the overall feel of the house - again, a bit more 1890s, a bit less 1990s. 

1/2 Way Point - even if it doesn't look like it?

I had few days with the working team this Valentine's week, and it was super-productive, if very cold!:

Landed:

• Framing for ground and 2nd storey
• Tile for kitchen, upstairs bathroom, and basement bathroom
• Window framing/casing selected and ordered
• All new interior doors selected and ordered
• Custom master vanity and coordinating medicine cabinets selected and ordered
• Electrical placement on ground and 2nd storey
• Inspection passed for basement plumbing - the new cast-iron underground
• Rough-plumbing complete
• Old chimney completely removed/sealed
• Trench dug for the gas company (should they every appear) to relocate the old basement meter outside.

It is probably hard to see progress in the following pictures, but the place is coming along!  Six weeks to go!

Upstairs Bath meeting of the minds - decided:

• Ceiling to be raised to max height
• Shower fixture placement
• Size of medicine cabinets and vanity placement
• Removal of the clunky linen closet in favor of an empty space I can fill later with a "found" piece of furniture.
• Location of bathroom chandelier and sconces (and the other necessary bits)
• Depth of decking around tub

The master bedroom is seeing little in terms of structural change, excepting the closet layout/location of the new ductwork, and slight migration (a "scootch") of the door/interior arch.

the ductwork graveyard on the deck outside the master

The biggest changes observed are in the living room/adjacent kitchen/dining.  Once the ceiling was removed, one could really get a sense of the expanded space - and how the cased archways will fit into the space.

The guys hard at work removing about 289873 nails

In the upstairs guest room, the room has been framed, the attic ladder relocated, and the new upstairs a/c unit placed.

As per the earlier  post - soon to be navy/white!

The new space for the attic fan - not idea, but the only place to go!

The basement is still a hot mess - the inspection for pipes (cleared yesterday) has meant that cement couldn't be poured, and the framing couldn't be started.  TBD - when the gas company will show up to relocate the gas-meter.  So - I still own a dirt floor.  And a trench in the front "yard" (quotes to denote the fact this is a tiny space.)  Oh - and evidently I'm soon to purchase a new hot water heater.

Loving the dangling furnace - on the cusp of removal

my "old" hot water heater

trust me - in two months, the wheel barrows will be gone, and a bed/end tables will sit in this finished space

the soon to be new bathroom in the basement

So - the sump pump wasn't in exactly the right place - but will be soon, thanks to the digging work of these guys

 And - probably to give me some hope - a sample window casing in the front living room windows:

Door Selected and Baseboards selected:

A bit pricer at $200 each, but there are only eight in the whole house - plus a handful of closets still TBD

5 1/2 inch