Basement Bathroom Progress Report

Even though there is crap everywhere, and the lighting is totally off, we wanted to post an in progress update on the basement bathroom reno.

Last post about the basement bathroom renovation I showed you our work in progress sleek tile floor.

Here it is as it stands today. The bathroom is odd L shaped, so it's awkward to get a good angle. Bear with me.

We really love the floors even more now in all their white grout beauty. Especially after we did all the work ourselves. Which is why it's not perfect. We did save a boat load of money. Although, it came with a cost of just a little bickering at each other in the process and sore knees and backs!

As far as the ceiling goes, we chose these decorative tiles from Menards. They are waterproof, and prettier than the spongy foamy tiles. We chose not to drywall this ceiling in case we ever need to get to the plumbing in the ceiling for this bath, and the master bath, which is directly above this room.
You will see these ceiling tiles in another post, we did something fun with them for a different part of the basement!

I made a decision on the real life vintage farm house sink debacle and ordered the faucet.

This is the faucet we ordered. It comes tomorrow, crossing my fingers it's the perfect fit. We measured 30 times, but since the sink is so old it will be tricky.

Most of our fixtures are Delta, but delta had slim pickins of wall mount options that matched the style we want. Can you guess which one we picked? They both cleaned up so nice, it was hard to decide! I might save the answer for the big reveal.
We can't wait to get the sink installed and the doors and trim up, and of course the stool in place.

I'm still researching light fixtures for this space. I feel like I've looked everywhere and can't find the right ones! Sometimes I just get something in my head and can't settle!

Where do you shop for light fixtures?

Basement Bathroom Shopping with Plumbtile

We’ve been busy working on our basement finish this Fall, and have big plans to get a large portion of this project finished by Spring. As I’ve mentioned before, we’ll have a family room which includes a wet bar, and a guest bedroom/office complete with its own en suite bathroom in our basement--once everything is completed.

The plan is to finish the bathroom first—and so far we’re right on schedule. Since we plan to DIY most of this part of the project ourselves, we can get a large chunk of the job done while waiting on our contractor to do his part.

I think the best part of working on a whole room finish from scratch (besides it being done, of course!) is researching, shopping, and daydreaming about all of the possibilities.  

I compiled a collage of different items from PlumbTile in my search for the bathroom design. I’m not sure how to categorize what style I’ve come up with. I’d like to think it has both a modern and vintage appeal.

Busby Gilbert Herringbone Tile | French Regency Mirror | Washbasin Sink | Regal Cast Iron Bath | Brizo Two Handle Widespread Faucet 

I’m loving that teal turquoise herringbone tile. It makes a statement, and feels both vintage and new, with a hint of eclectic! We’ve got big plans for the bathroom sink, but this one on PlumbTile was speaking to me. We don’t have a huge space for the vanity in this bathroom. This sink feels sleek and space-saving but not tiny. It has the vintage appeal we’ve got going on throughout the rest of our home. I like old things, and new things that look old!
I'd top off the room with a fun mirror like the one I chose above. It reminds me of old wood trim in Adam's grandparents farmhouse.

Of course, if I had an unlimited budget a bathtub like the one in my design board would be the star of the show. Unfortunately, I don’t think we’ll be going with one this fancy, but a girl can dream right? Imagine soaking in this beauty.

Do you have a bathroom renovations,  refresh, or renovation in progress or on your mind? Check out Plumbtile for your home improvement needs and start dreaming!

This post was written by me and sponsored by the PlumbTile.com. I was compensated for my time, all opinions are my own.

Flea Market Find: Vintage Metal Bed

Hello!  Not only have I not been blogging...but I haven't been to a flea market since November. That's like not having a diet coke since November, or candy. Rough times.

One Saturday, Adam ran some early errands and when he walked in the door he said there was an estate auction in town then quickly realized what he had said...

Of course there was no taking those words back. We loaded up the car...baby and all that goes with--and headed into town. It was a gloomy, rainy day. Serious auction goers know when you go to an estate auction when it rains-it pays. Not many people want to stand in the rain. I was right, everything was going for a steal. I practiced resistance and did not bid on every little thing. Even all the cute chairs that were going for 3-5 bucks. I had my eye on one item. A metal bed. A rusty as heck metal bed. 

I'd seen photos on pinterest of awesome iron and metal beds and I wanted one for our master bedroom. 

The sweet rusty patina. 

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With muted bedding and other flea market finds all around you while you are snoozing....the perfect dream land!

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Antique ones usually come no bigger than a full. We have a king now. There would be no way we could downgrade. Plus, Adam is so darn tall we can't really get a bed with a foot board anyway. My vintage bed dreams didn't seem like they'd go anywhere. Until that day...

See, if you are new here I will let you know, we're in the process of finishing our basement. Lucky for our friends and family not only will there be a family room, a full wet bar, but we'll also have a guest suite down there.  This was my chance to get that rusty patina iron bed in my house--even if I wouldn't be the one getting beauty rest on it.

Here she is. It looks like a pile of junk to some people. To me, a serious treasure.

After outbidding one other person... the bed was officially mine, and only for 10 whole bucks. A serious deal. The flea market gods were smiling down at me because the rain held out too.
Unfortunately for Adam they were not smiling at him...the downpour began as soon as he was loading it up. Ben and I were already waiting patiently in the car. Oops.

I cannot wait to get the basement bedroom situated and set up in it's new home. It's going to be so dreamy. It only needs a little fixing up before it's ready for dreamland.

Jamie from Southern Revivals explained how she sealed in rusty patina on her fab antique metal bed frame she scored. I plan to do the same to mine.

Please only pin from original source at Southern Revivals! 

Gah hers looks so cute in her son's big boy room. Those arrow stripes are so awesome too. Now I will be on the lookout for a twin version for Ben's someday big boy room...

Score anything good lately at a sale or flea market?

Basement Finish and why it's not called a "Man Cave"

So, today we are doing to daydream together. Are you ready?

We are daydreaming about my basement.

No, not a creepy cold dungeon basement (which is what it kind of is right now) but a rustic, chic-yet still manly retreat. A place where the beer flows on Saturday nights. There’s a big fluffy overstuffed sectional for napping and watching Roseanne Marathons on Sundays. This basement boasts an in-law suite, with a full guest bathroom, and a library/office. This is our basement dream.

We currently have a totally unfinished walk-out basement. It’s plumbed, it’s wired up, and we have a few walls dry-walled. But basically, I say it's unfinished because it has nothing else. Concrete floors and a bunch of boxes.

The basement plans:

• Family room
• Giant Wet Bar
• Full Guest Bath
• Guest Bedroom/ office & library (aka in-law suite)
• Extra Storage

We have 1,000’s of ideas for the space. Thanks to Pinterest we change our minds weekly. This is going to be a totally DIY task as we want to spend as little $$$ as possible. 

We're probably going to go a little more rustic with the downstairs style for a few reasons: 

1. We have a wagon load of free salvaged barn wood we’d like to use. 
2. We received kitchen cabinets and granite counter tops from my parents’ old kitchen. 

We are planning an eclectic/rustic look to pull it all together.

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Floors: We are going with a tile for the flooring. It’s easier to keep clean than hardwood, and can handle spills. With a wet bar, and our friends….there will be spills. I want a tile that gives the illusion of warm hardwood. I poked around on Mohawk’s site and came up with the State Point in Stormy Gray. Perfect. I think something like this would look great with the Barn wood accents we want to incorporate like in the top right corner.

Walls: A perfect place for a partial barn wood wall? I think so! I'm sure we will add other rustic touches. Like maybe hang my vintage game board on the wall I scored at an auction! 
Sort of like this pin:

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Furniture: As for the seating. We want to have a big comfy couch to watch movies. I think seating with a counter behind the couch would be a ideal layout. This way kids can still sit downstairs and eat their snacks and watch tv…without as many crumbs on the couch.  I think it would be also a great set up for buffet style get-togethers!

Ceiling: The ceiling is one of the biggest part of the project we are talking about. We discussed dry-walling the entire ceiling. We do not like the look of the drop ceiling tiles at all. They are spongy and remind us of office buildings. It just not the style we are going for. 
Putting drywall on the ceiling not only takes material, lots of labor, and time, but it also can be a problem if we ever have plumbing issues or electrical problems. All of our pipes and lines need to be accessible. 
So the answer could be: Decorative drop ceiling tiles! Ceilume offers gorgeous drop ceiling tiles, and from what we've seen, at decent prices. We are still calculating the cost difference versus drywall. But if we used something like the Empire Faux Bronze Ceiling tile pictured above, it would add the warmth we want, the rustic, the chic, and the easy access if we need it! How fab would that be?

And now for the most important part of the basement finish: The bar.

Sources: 1, 2, 3

The Bar: We are using barn wood and barn beams as much as possible. Adam has a plan. I have a request for a huge wine rack. Filled with lots of wine. We've been collecting vintage tavern treasures to use in the bar before we even broke ground on the house!

We are using the hand-me-down cabinets and granite counter tops from my parents' old kitchen. They will be our base and exterior of the bar area. Adam plans to build the actual 'bar' from scratch. We're also considering DIY concrete for front bar. But Adam is worried they will be too cold when people rest their arms on the bar. What do you think?

But, one important thing I have to remember during this project is:

This is more Adam’s space than mine. Not that the entire upstairs is my space, but I usually have the final say on what goes on the walls and what we sit on. What can I say? I am a hip home blogger, he has to trust my style choices. (Please note the sarcasm.) But although I will be spending time downstairs in this space, and so will our future chillens, this is going to be Adam’s Space. I am neglecting to use the term ‘Man Cave’ because I feel like things could get a tad out of control…no one wants a Big Lebowski Poster in their hip and cool basement right?

Do you have big plans for your basement?

Does your husband have a 'man cave', do you get to help decorate it?

P.S. I've pinned all of these on my basement pinboard. You should probably follow me on Pinterest if you don't already!