As of this week, we have lived in our townhouse for five years. And what a fast five years they have been. Can life slow down, please? Just a little? We have thoroughly enjoyed our down-sized life and haven’t looked back with regret even once. Of all the rooms in our place, though, the basement has gotten the raw end of the deal. Every time I go down there to work in my craft room, the basement just didn’t feel right to me. Even though it has a full bath, a sofa, Murphy bed, art, etc., it was just off. I knew that it needed some tweaking, but I just didn’t know what exactly to do. I called my decorator friend Beth, “The Lone Rearranger”, and scheduled a session with her. Beth is loaded with energy, ideas, and creativity. She specializes in working with what you already own to give your home a new look. She can walk into a space and know immediately what it needs. And that’s just what she did to the basement.
She was only in the room about five seconds before she started showing me improvements that could be made. One of her suggestions was to paint the risers on the steps black and to also paint the spindles. The steps’ depth is more narrow than normal, and we were constantly adding scuff marks to the risers. A few days after Beth was here, I spent a morning applying three coats of Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams, and not only did it cover up the marks and eliminate our problem, but it totally changed the look of the stairs. By the way, the photo looks yellowish because I had to use the overhead lighting
She also suggested that we add a mirror at the top landing. She said that when we open the basement door to turn and go down the steps, we shouldn’t be faced with a blank wall. She suggested some art in the landing, too. I had a mirror on hand, and I dry-brushed some black paint onto it.
I hung some prints at the top of the stairs, and the black frames are perfect with the mirror. The prints are sporty and contemporary. Again, there was no natural light for the photos.
Here’s a shot of the stairs before. These changes have already made the basement feel more like a room. Beth made some other great suggestions, and I can’t wait to follow through on them. I’ll be sure to share the results with you. It’s perfect proof that minor tweaks can make a huge difference in the way a room feels and lives.
Our children, their spouses, and our new grandchild will all be here for the July 4th week-end, and so my goal is to have the room ready by then. It’s a good thing I have never been asked to do a One Room Challenge. That six-week time frame would probably have gotten me into trouble.
Wow the steps look great!