Basement Reveal and a Giveaway!

I have a few giveaways up my sleeve for you dear readers, and am finally carving out some time to post about them!

And I'm starting with our basement reveal, including a giveaway from Eights Squared.

EightsSquaredEtsy

But before I get to the giveaway, I must gush over how much we are loving our DIY refinished basement! I think this is probably the biggest undertaking we've done on the house so far and it took us the longest of any other project, since we first started cleaning out the basement a YEAR ago to get it ready for the remodel. Hilarious to think we originally estimated that it would be complete by last Christmas so my family could sleep down there during their visit in 2013. We were only off by a year;)

The original intention of finishing our basement was to provide 'guest quarters' for visitors, since putting an air mattress down in the sunroom was getting a bit cramped. And with my mom visiting so frequently (plus Memaw and Pepaw, my dad and brother, etc) it only made sense to make a more defined area for her. But also, we really got a fire lit under us with this project (relatively speaking) when we found out I was pregnant with Porter last year at this time. Because Nate really felt like we'd need more living space for our growing family, too. And thus, we began brain storming ways to make this space serve a dual purpose: comfortable area for our visitors and also a place our family can play/watch TV/spend time on a regular basis.

The more we discussed it, the more I really pushed to have a full bathroom and an actual bedroom down there along with a living space. So at first, that is what Nate and his dad tried to blueprint. But as we got more into planning for a huge renovation that included a bathroom and bedroom, the more we realized there was just no way we could do that ourselves. So we got an estimate and apparently the plumbing for the bathroom and the Egress window for the bedroom would require a 60k price tag. Holy crap. No. Not worth it, since if we DID have an extra 60 grand floating around I would not want to spend it on the basement (too many other projects!). Eventually I relented on the bathroom idea. And it took me awhile longer to let go of the bedroom with a door and closet and Egress window.  The guys were talking about jackhammering our foundation to get the window in themselves and again, no. Egress windows are super expensive and although a fourth bedroom will be key for us *someday* (I think), I don't think I'd want one of our kids sleeping in the basement while the rest of us are two flights above them. So it didn't seem worth the cost if we hired out and the effort if we tried to do a bedroom ourselves.

I also really wanted an actual BED in the basement for my family when they visited but I had to let that one go, too. It was just going to be way too crowded down there if we did couches for a living space plus a bed for visitors. We thought about a cool Murphy bed, a futon, or a pull out couch but in the end our Aerobed is actually super comfortable and easy. So for now we are just doing that for visitors---we actually have one queen Aerobed and then one twin air mattress and apparently both are comfortable enough for visitors, and easy to set up/take down.

We decided to do the front part of the basement and leave the back unfinished, but it could potentially turn into a bath and bedroom someday if we get rich. (Ha). Also, we still have about 1/3 of it unfinished for storage and Nate's tool area no matter what, and then we finished off a little less than half of the total area. Does that make sense? So 1/3 is unfinished and the tool/storage area, then a small section is my laundry area and unfinished (but could be a bath and bedroom someday), and the rest is finished--which is not quite half of the entire basement.

So. We started by cleaning out the left side of the basement which used to be just storage and the laundry area, and and old 'fruit cellar' was in the corner. The guys tore down the cellar, which we used for Nate's tools, and we put the tools on the right (unfinished) side. It should be noted that our floors were just concrete, the walls were cinder block, and the ceiling has a ton of pipes exposed. So truly, VERY unfinished before product.

BEFORE:
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No more fruit cellar, going from left picture to the right! And sort of cleaned out, ready for reno.
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Next Tony did a bunch of electrical work to create outlets for us. He also redid some of the plumbing because he didn't like some of our old pipes. The man is amazing, I know. Then came insulation. Then wooden supports to rough out the walls. Then dry wall. Then we decided to spray paint the entire ceiling with a flat black paint, leaving it all exposed so that we didn't have to do a drop ceiling and lose height. My friend Hannah did this with a basement remodel and I was obsessed with how 'urban' it felt to have the pipes exposed but painted. And it turned out awesome! Super super messy part of the remodel but worth it, for sure. If we had to do a real ceiling I think it would be way too low and not feel quite as open.

Big helper Truman with his flashlight.
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Let me pause to say that all of this labor was done by Nate and his dad. I did not lift a finger with any of this stuff but my job was basically watching the kids as they slaved away in the basement nearly every weekend;) Also, Tony would come over on his days off to work a little bit here and there, since he has really reduced his hours at work (but isn't fully retired). Nate and Tony genuinely enjoyed their time together down there, I think. It seemed super tedious but I didn't hear too many curse words either so it must have been fairly rewarding to do it all;)

After the drywall was up, on top of insulation and the wooden beams, and after the ceiling was painted it was time to 'mud' the dry wall. Lois got in on that action since she is really good with patching old plaster walls in their house. Then Nate and Lois primed and painted the dry walls ( I selected my favorite gray color that is Behr's Dolphin Fin---way to go, Julia!! I was super pregnant at this time though, so they really didn't want me down there at all breathing fumes. Fine by me!).

Then Tony added the baseboards. Oh and at some point the guys added two new doors---one that leads into the laundry room, and a new one that leads into the unfinished tool side. They then added trim to the doors and windows, and then all of the trim got primed and painted white. The doors were stained dark after some deliberation by all of us. Then the guys installed two new glass block windows to replace our old nasty ones.

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Once that was all completed we picked out carpeting and actually paid to have it installed, which I think killed Tony because he thought we could do it but no---definitely worth the cost to pay the pros with that one. Our basement is 'dry' but even then, it's still important to make sure that no moisture is coming up from the concrete flooring underneath. So we went with carpet from a local shop that has this moisture barrier pad first, then the carpet on top. We picked a light gray color and it's super soft. I was obsessed with smelling the new carpet smell those first few weeks, too---it's the only area of the entire house with carpeting and we love it!

Hi, carpet installer dude! Don't mind me, just sneaking a picture of the process! And the kids and Henry love the carpet!
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Once the floors were done and the walls painted, trim painted, doors installed we were basically done. But then we hired our old neighbor who also helped us with our kitchen remodel, and he made us a giant storage shelving system for our TV wall. More storage is always better in my book! Nate hung the TV, I got to work buying and hanging picture frames, and we moved some of our toys downstairs. The couches are my super incredibly old ones from 2005 when I graduated PT school, but they are hanging in there! We had the love seat in the sunroom at first and the bigger couch was still in the upper duplex, so it was easy to get both of those down in the basement. The side table is also an old one we had in the attic, we bought the soft storage ottoman at Target, and a bunch of lamps from our beloved 'Red Store', too. I ordered a few new canvases from CG Pro Prints and then moved existing canvases downstairs, too, to create a big old wall of canvases;) The bins for the big shelf came from Land of Nod and I love them, plus we aren't even filling them up just yet with random junky toys. Plenty of time for that I suppose!!

After those final decorating touches were completed (my big task in the whole project), we added our wall scrabble letters that Ashley from Eights Squared generously offered to me in exchange for a review and giveaway. I love how they personalize our space so perfectly because I'm all about making the basement feel homey and fun and like OURS.

And the after pictures for your viewing pleasure:
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The back area is mostly for the toys/playing. And that is where my mom's Aerobed goes when she comes.
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The TV area with shelves and bins. So much potential!
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One of my favorite frames: birth announcements, first birthday invites, and then all three 20 week ultrasounds. My babies! I just added some fabric behind these items and voila!
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So many canvases...
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View from the long couch, looking upstairs and at the door that leads to my laundry area.
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And this door leads to the unfinished storage side, and is right at the bottom of the stairs.
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And the best panoramic I could manage, just to give you a better feel for the entire finished space.
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It's a basement with only two small windows so one thing I don't love is how dark it is down there. Even with three lamps and one overhead light at the bottom of the stairs, it's still quite 'moody' lighting. We thought about doing can lights or something on the ceiling but I think that would be a LOT of work for us DIY'ers. Nate thinks we can do a strip of spotlights, or even wall sconces but the more I'm downstairs the more I don't mind the dim lighting. It just makes me want to cozy up on the couches and watch a few movies (i.e. nap) with the kids, that's all;)

All of this to say that we really love this living space so much! I feel comfortable letting the kids down there unattended, to play and make a giant mess as they see fit. Because it's out of the way of our main living area so who cares if it's a disaster? Also, my parents and Memaw and Pepaw have all slept down there now---the first time being right after Porter was born in July. They report that it's very nice to have their own space and area for their suitcases. Of course it would be better if there was a bathroom for them to use but walking upstairs isn't too much of a hassle, I suppose.

Now for the giveaway! Our Scrabble letters were really easy to apply to the drywall using the velcro 3M Command strips. I love that the light wood actually matches the top of our shelves and also the stairs perfectly, and there is just something about seeing all five of our names on the wall to make the basement feel complete.

Ashley at Eights Squared kindly offered to do a giveaway for one lucky reader that includes 20 tiles, so that you can create your own family wall letters. Also, a 10% discount code for everyone else! Just mention this blog if you purchase from her shop. To win the giveaway of 20 tiles, enter the Rafflecopter drawing below. The image to pin is the first one at the top of this mammoth post. You have a week to enter this giveaway, so best of luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

68 comments:

  1. I have those same couches - purchased just as I moved in to my first "real" apartment in 2006. I slept on them during my pregnancy and cursed them everyday of my maternity leave last year. They are so tired. Alas, whenever I window shop for new furniture, I am always drawn to the same style! I have a feeling 2015 will be the year for something new, but who knows what it will be! The new basement looks awesome! And the couches look great ;-)

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  2. Love the basement! I can't even believe it's the same place. It seems way bigger and obviously a lot lighter.

    We'd put the scrabble pieces on our main (and really, only big enough) wall in our living room. It needs something.

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  3. Love it! It looks like a very cozy place to hang out.

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  4. I love what you did with the ceiling...way to make the most of what you've got to work with! And the frame with the birth announcements/ultrasounds is great too. May be "borrowing" that idea. Great job!

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  5. I love the ceiling! Much better than drywall.

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  6. Love it! Your basement in awesome and the tiles would be amazing in our new home...we are moving in in 3 weeks:)

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  7. Love love love the scrabble tiles! I've been wanting to do something like this forever!

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  8. I love it!!! I also love your parents/Nate's parents!! They are often my favorite part of your stories! I've always loved my parents, but seeing them as grandparents is awesome! And they do so much for me and my little guy. I see my parents in all 4 of yours :)

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  9. I would put them in our basement too! Well if it was up to me, right now it's my husband's man cave so they might have to go in our living room, but my vote would be in the man cave!! :)

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  10. Love the remodel! As far as lighting, we have some Christmas lights setting across the floor joists on the ceiling, it helps a lot and looks cool to!

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  11. I love the basement! Our finished basement is used for all toys right now but would love to make it more of a family room. That is where I would put the tiles!

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  12. This space is just awesome! I wish I had a space like this in my house but, alas, we are shopping for a new place with a space just like what you were able to create. Enjoy making memories down there!!

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  13. The basement looks great! We seriously considered painting the ceiling in our old basement, but Pinterest didn't exist at the time and I was having a hard time picturing what it'd look like. I love, love, love the look! Also seriously in love with the Scrabble tiles. I just told hubby a couple of weeks ago he needed to cut pieces out for me. Would be amazing to use that time for another DIY project instead :)

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  14. Looks fantastic! After seeing your pictures I might give in on fixing up our basement.

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  15. This is an awesome basement! Well done to you guys! You have inspired me to look into carpet options for our basement (previous owners finished the walls and ceiling but slapped down faux wood sticky tiles straight onto the cement.) I love the scrabble letters!

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  16. You knocked it out of the park as usual!

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  17. Wow - it came out so great! I love the smell of new carpet as well! Although, I think it's not particularly good for you? The whole room came together perfectly. Did you buy new furniture for the space as well?

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  18. Oh, and I'd probably put our family scrabble wall in the family room :)

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  19. Love the Scrabble letters. We're planning on finishing our basement in the next few years, so they'd look great down there!

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  20. Super cute reno! The guys are so talented - looks fab!

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  21. I LOVE your cozy basement! and the scrabble letters are the cutest! I would put my family scrabble letters above my fireplace.

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  22. Great remodel! Don't tell, but I've been known to cheat at scrabble. ;)

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  23. Looks awesome! Super cozy and so nice to have that extra space!! And being able to send the kids somewhere else to play is so ideal!

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  24. I would put them in our gameroom! Love your basement, just looking at the pictures makes me want to sit there and watch a movie. :)

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  25. i love you basement! the personal family wall art looks great & i might steal your idea to frame my kids' birth announcements & bday invitations! if i won the giveaway, i would put name tiles in each kids' bedroom :)

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  26. It looks great! Hard work definitely paid off :)

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  27. I absolutely love your new basement! And what I love even more is the creative scrabble letters! I would love those hanging in our living room right under our wall full of our little guys pictures.

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  28. After being in relationship with him for 3 years, he broke up with me, I did everything possible to bring him back but all was in vain, I wanted him back so much because of the love I have for him, I begged him with everything, I made promises but he refused. I explained my problem to someone online and she suggested that I should rather contact a spell caster that could help me cast a spell to bring him back but I am the type that never believed in spell, I had no choice than to try it, I mailed the spell caster, and he told me there was no problem that everything will be okay before three days, that my ex will return to me before three days, he cast the spell and surprisingly in the second day, it was around 4pm. My ex called me, I was so surprised, I answered the call and all he said was that he was so sorry for everything that happened, that he wanted me to return to him, that he loves me so much. I was so happy and went to him, that was how we started living together happily again. Since then, I have made promise that anybody I know that have a relationship problem, I would be of help to such person by referring him or her to the only real and powerful spell caster who helped me with my own problem and who is different from all the fake ones out there. Anybody could need the help of the spell caster, his email is DRAISEDIONSPELLCASTER@GMAIL.COM you can email him if you need his assistance in your relationship or any other problem.

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  29. You guys did an awesome job on the basement! I feel you on wanting everything in a basement - bedroom, bathroom, play area, etc. It's so hard to balance that with the space but you guys did great! I love how the couch kinda seperates the toys from the TV area. Those storage bins - awesome! I agree never enough storage! The scrabble letters totally caught my eye on IG and super excited they're your giveaway!

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  30. Love it! I wish we had a basement! I would put the scrabble letters in the kids' toy room.

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  31. OH My! Such a lovely and cozy room! I love the scrabble name idea! Our favorite game!

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  32. LOVE the Scrabble Letters. I would put them on the wall in our toy room.

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  33. The basement looks great! I love how the canvases really brighten things! :) If I won the giveaway, I would hang them in our play room.

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  34. It looks great! Finishing our basement is on our list of to-do's, and we plan on spray painting the ceiling too. I love you don't lose height and makes it look cleaner. Definitely looks like a cozy spot!

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  35. Looks awesome! I didn't even notice the ceiling was sprayed pipes until you said it! I hear you on the $$$ for a bathroom. We want to finish our basement and have had a bid on the bathroom and it does add a ton of money, ugh! The storage area is awesome - isn't it sad that it's not full right now but will be soon enough! I can't wait until my kids are beyond certain stages of toys (and obviously we have to quit adding them to the family), so I can do a good purge of stuff!! The scrabble letters are super cute, I've been working to see if our family all fits together so awesome like yours does!

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  36. I would put them in our basement! Love it!!

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  37. love the basement - the scrabble tiles are awesome!

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  38. We just rearranged some furniture and now have a blank wall that would be perfect for the scrabble tiles. The basement looks awesome! It's always nice to have a dedicated space for the millions of toys that seem to pile up.

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  39. I love the basement reveal, I want to do my basement like that now!! I'd put the tiles in our basement, it's the closest place we have to a family room

    demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com

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  40. As always, you've outdone yourself. How do you do it?!?! Are Nate and Tony for hire? :) Love the basement. We're thinking of doing the same to corral ALL.OF.THE.TOYS! If I were to win the giveaway I'd totally copy you and create a Scrabble board like you did. We have enough overlap in our names to make it work! Love all of your projects. Thanks for sharing.

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  41. Love everything you did with the basement! The ceiling is really cool...I never would have thought to leave it open like that. And the TV shelving is super nice too! Good job!! :)

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  42. I love the reveal, and all the pictures! The scrabble idea is neat, I would put it on my living room wall.

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  43. Mine would go in the basement as well!

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  44. The basement looks amazing! Such a cozy and fun space. Such a creative way to display the birth announcements too! Now that our family is complete, I'd love to do a scrabble wall with the tiles, like you did.

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  45. I would put the Scrabble letters on the wall in our hallway, so that everyone could see them. The basement looks so great! It must be so nice to have additional space. We are considering finishing our basement.

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  46. Love your basement! We're in the process of finishing ours. Can't wait to have a little extra space in our house. I'd put the scrabble tiles in our playroom or office.

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  47. Whoa! This is amazing! We're getting ready to DIY our basement finish too. I'm nervous but this makes me so excited to tackle that space. LOVE it! Good job.

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  48. Amazing, I'm very impressed!

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  49. Looks great! The ONLY thing I don't like about our house it that we can never finish the basement because the ceiling is only 6 feet tall and the exposed pipes are even lower. Ours is for storage only.
    I love the scrabble letters!

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  50. I think I would put these near our entryway. We have a perfect place for them!

    Your basement looks great! You can always add some mirrors to add light to the space.

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  51. Love how the basement came together and the Scrabble tiles are the best! I can see a set of them in my house!

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  52. I love your basement and wish we hade basements in Arizona. What I would do with all that space!! I love the scrabble letters, I would put my own right in our family room!!

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  53. The basement looks fabulous! I still can't get over how productive you are with three kids! I love those Scrabble tiles - I would love them for our living room, especially with our newest addition due in May :).

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  54. Awesome job, love everything about it!

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  55. Love it! We have a giant empty wall in our hallway just waiting for some Scrabble tiles. ;)

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  56. We are doing a basement reno right now and I love the idea of spray painting black! Would save A LOT of work in one of the rooms! I have a blank wall in my living room that would be perfect for the tiles!

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  57. The basement looks great! I love the glass block windows. It works for a basement and it's something that we hadn't even considered for our basement.

    I would put the Scrabble tiles in our hallway. We have a long empty wall space that needs a little something!

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  58. Love the basement! If I were to put up scrabble letters, I would put them in our dining room. Right now that wall is completely bare!

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  59. Love the black ceiling. We'd use these in our hallway!

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  60. I would put the scrabble tiles in our playroom that I am currently putting together. Love the basement, it turned out amazing!

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  61. The basement looks awesome! I will have to keep spray painting the pipes in mind for the future!! I can only imagine the mess/work but it looks amazing! I would put the scrabble tiles in our living room- its where most of our family photos are so it would be a nice addition!

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  62. Great detailed information, I ll be visiting you more frequently, here is very interesting information.

    Roofing Garfield Heights & Roof Cleaning Strongsville

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  63. Love this! We are about to redo our basement, so I love finding inspiration, especially for limited light basements. Can I ask you what the paint color is?

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