So, I might be totally crazy for taking on this project, especially since we are about to remodel the kitchen at the end of May, but, over the next couple of weeks, but I have decided to participate in the One Room Challenge hosted by Linda of Calling It Home!

What is the One Room Challenge, you may ask.  Well, it is a weekly challenge that over the next six weeks, I will be transforming one space in our home.  And, for this challenge, I am tackling the basement.  Each week, I will be sharing the progress we have made on turning our basement from blah to beautiful!

So our basement serves many purposes.  It is a play room, a guest room, and a dumping ground for unwanted items.  I just feel like this is wasted space in the grand scheme of things, so I wanted to change it and make the space more functional.

My plan for transforming the basement is rather simple, but will take a lot of elbow-grease…especially from my husband.  Mostly because there are a lot of walls to paint and, in some spaces, rather awkward corners.

First, I plan on clearing out all the clutter.  That means donating or throwing away a TON of stuff that has found the basement their home.  Dumping things into the basement has been the easiest way to deal with unwanted items.  So, instead, we are going to be clearing the clutter and parting ways with a lot of things that are no longer of use to us.

I am going to create a plan for what to do with all of our unwanted items and where they should go… I’ll give you a hint.  It’s the donation center!

Second, we are going to be painting the entire basement.  My original plan was to paint stripes on the main wall, as an accent, but now I have some other ideas up my sleeve!  Since the ceilings are lower than typical height, I need to create something that makes the space feel larger than it actually is.

I am thinking we will paint white walls and add an accent wall for the pop of color that the space needs.  We have an olive-green couch that I need to decorate around, because we are not getting a new couch.  This one is the perfect basement couch!

Third, we are painting the fireplace.  And possibly changing up the mantel.  The fireplace is interesting, but I feel like it is super dated, so I want to update it with some white paint.  I’d love to do a dark mantel to make it really pop!

I have been reading up on how to paint a fireplace, as that you don’t want to use paint that could cause the entire fireplace to start on fire!  And, with all the stone, we have to figure out a good way to paint in the cracks to get the look I have envisioned in my head.

Fourth, we will be rearranging how the space is set up.  We had a wet bar that was totally from the 90’s, which we removed last year.  But we never took the time to rearrange the furniture to fit the space.  So I will be playing with how to arrange things to create a comfy couch area and a play area, that can turn into our guest room.

Since the couch is a soft “L” shape, I think if we turn it to face the main wall, we could open up a lot of space in the basement.  Then, I could move the TV and stand.  I might paint the TV stand or find a new one, as I am not loving the dark wood.

Last, I will decorate the space to actually feature things that we love.  I want to make this totally functional space that we will actually use, instead of a dumping ground for unwanted toys/furniture/games/etc.

I want to showcase our pictures and allow easy access to the toys for the kids.  We do have shelves already built-in, but I think they need some updating as well.

And, if we get really ambitious, we might even update the basement bathroom, laundry room, and storage closet!  But, that might be too much to take on at once, so let’s just plan for the entire basement and see what else we have the energy for!  I mean, we are going to be going through a kitchen remodel, after all!

My vision is to create a warm and inviting place to play and relax.  Since we are remodeling the kitchen, and, relocating the play room to the basement, I wanted to set up a space that the kids can get familiar with.  I want them to feel comfortable playing in the basement more than we do now.

And, if you want to follow along with all the other guest participants of the One Room Challenge, we will be sharing our links over at Calling It Home.  Now, I better get going to the paint store to pick out samples!  Follow along on Instagram for all my details as we get to transforming the basement, and I will be back to share updates on Thursdays!