Do you ever worry that your "temporary" solution to a home improvement project will become permanent? I'm sure that's what really happened with many of our Previous Owner's weird fixes. They didn't
mean to do a half-assed job; they simply didn't have time to go back for a more permanent solution.
But I swear, my basement solution is only temporary! Sometime in the next year, we'll get around to finishing it properly.
My office used to be the workshop. There was a grotty old workbench still sitting below the south window when we moved in, as well as an assortment of ugly cabinets, shelves that were falling apart, and, oddly, an old shipping crate for a harpsichord that had been converted into a low shelf. And my gosh, it was filthy. Dirt, spider eggs, and more dirt everywhere. I'm only sorry I didn't get a picture!
Well, we
ripped out the old ceiling boards, which had an
inch-thick layer of coal dust and tore down some of the drywall. There is one wall left, which we won't tear out until we work on the electrical. I washed down the walls and scrubbed the floor. We replaced the windows, which I'll blog about shortly, and I set up the day bed--perfect for napping on the job--with the
super discounted Tommy Hilfiger bedding I bought. And then I tackled the remaining drywall with the
same mint green paint I used in the storage room.
Here's a before of the wall:
Here's the after:
The drywall is in total crap condition with holes and gouges, and it was never installed properly and doesn't reach the ceiling. But until it's replaced, at least it will be clean. It was actually hard to get the paint to cover in some areas; I think the wall was used as a way to clean paint brushes of excess paint or solvent. The wall had some ugly splotching.
I got some simple curtains at Target for both windows and tension rods to hang them (this photo is taken with my back to the desk; for an office, it's not looking too officey in these pics, is it?):
And then I used some of the scrap carpet left over from recarpeting my mom's other house to cover the concrete floor:
What we still need to do for this room, besides the electrical and new drywall for the two inner walls, is to install new ceiling tiles, paint the lower half of the concrete walls with masonry paint, strip the gray paint off the solid wood lintels, figure out a way to buff the bricks and remove some of the paint to give them a more whitewashed look, and decide what we're going to do about the floor--I'm thinking Mexican tile with scatter rugs.
But for now, it looks pretty homey, doesn't it? (I'll settle for clean.)
I just hope it's temporary.
I managed to get most of my ceramic pots underneath it for winter storage, filled the side compartments with bags of grass seed and fertilizer, and looky! Room for my hand tools in the front drawers! Previously, these were scattered here and there throughout the garage.
There's almost, almost room in the garage for a car.
Here's the after:
The drywall is in total crap condition with holes and gouges, and it was never installed properly and doesn't reach the ceiling. But until it's replaced, at least it will be clean. It was actually hard to get the paint to cover in some areas; I think the wall was used as a way to clean paint brushes of excess paint or solvent. The wall had some ugly splotching.
And then I used some of the scrap carpet left over from recarpeting my mom's other house to cover the concrete floor:
What we still need to do for this room, besides the electrical and new drywall for the two inner walls, is to install new ceiling tiles, paint the lower half of the concrete walls with masonry paint, strip the gray paint off the solid wood lintels, figure out a way to buff the bricks and remove some of the paint to give them a more whitewashed look, and decide what we're going to do about the floor--I'm thinking Mexican tile with scatter rugs.
Sure, it's a tough economy; nothing is really selling. But this doesn't help. You must click on the above picture for a larger view of the damage.
There are things falling off the facade and things living in the attic--I know, because there are at least two ginormous holes that I've seen squirrels come in and out of.
