I agree, magazine-worthy and definitely a most well thought-out basement design. Your good taste and execution thereof never cease to amaze me.

Thanks so much for all the kind words. ! I sent some pictures to DD and she immediately responded with "cool hangout space!" so I think that goal at least has been achieved.

Lyban the daybeds have a 60" (not 72" as I thought) long, 12" diameter bolster along the wall. In front are 24" pillows that are pretty stuffed. On the sofas the box pillows are flatter and can be used to support the head and shoulders better when lying down (which is usually where we are on a sofa). The flange pillows work under the head but aren't as supportive. ID likes a mix of pillow styles.

Wall color is Benjamin Moore Albescience in satin.

I'm glad you noticed that because I wanted the outside in effect from both sides of the door, thank you!

You hit it out of the park. Fabulous!

That came out so nice. I esp like the botanicals over the sofas as they almost take the place of windows in the windowless space. Love the practicality of the ottoman/table too.

I think we should hang onto these as reference material for many of the less decor-oriented who visit here to illustrate how important the finishing details and accessories are to making a room look complete.

Annie that is exactly what ID said re the windows! They will be pretty evenly spaced throughout the space in both rooms. The colors are so vivid and striking they are almost mesmerizing. But I love botanical prints of any kind, so they may not have the universal appeal I imagine.

kswl Wow! What an awesome space. It's absolutely beautiful. I'm crazy about all the ceramics.

Wow. It should be against the law to call a space like that a basement!! You have done wonderful job, and your attention to detail is so evident! I LOVE those botanical prints. And definitely do get that antique bench!

Looks fantastic....congratulations!

Beautiful. Comfortable but elegant. Unexpected but cohesive.

all of the above, and more, what a great success and we learned a lot in the process of "helping" you......

Lol, mitchdesi, me too! This is a great place to come and ask questions, float ideas, poll opinions, etc., and it's especially valuable seeing what others are doing. It takes me a long time to think about what I want even before I start gathering pictures or looking at fabrics. I am lucky to have a designer who has become a friend as well. (I told him about the very negative impressions so many here have of interior designers and he surprised me by saying that was the inevitable result of having so many "crooks" in the trade!).

Because we have been given / inherited much of our furniture I have never needed a lot of new stuff at one time. It's very exciting to have almost all new things at the same time!

It's so, so wonderful! Like when they used to have good shows w/ real designers on HGTV!

Yes, except those transformations usually take place at lightning speed, whereas.... Do you think anyone would watch Design in a Year? :-)

KSWL, a question for you please. What did you use to hang your majolica and other ceramics? I have been dithering about hanging plates in my bedroom and I loathe the spring/wire hangers. I found an adhesive hanger but that seems a bit precarious for pieces that I love and don't want broken. I also found an easel type that is a triangular piece with two projections that hold the plate. This method seems sturdier but the small projections would still be visible whereas the adhesive ones are invisible.

It's gorgeous. I love the colors and would probably spend all my time there.

There is no really good way to hang plates, Holly Kay, I agree. We used the spring and wire ones with clear plastic over the wire tips. I've used the triangular type but they don't actually grip the plate--- it just sits between those projecting feet and can flip out if the wall is banged into, for example. I'm afraid to use the command hooks on the few valuable antique pieces I have down there, and since I wanted to hang everything using the same method, the springs and wires were the elimination winner. I wish someone would invent something new for this purpose!

Good for you... It's lovely.
Great attention to detail! :)

It all looks fabulous together. I really like the botanical biology prints!

KSWL, I am beyond frustrated with this. I have several reticulated plates that are antique Meissen in the Blue Onion pattern, I am afraid of the stress the wire and spring holders will put on them. My original plates that I may still use there are Lenox and easily replaced so I may just stick with those.

I have a few design ideas floating around in my head. I know if I come up with a good design I can easily have a prototype done but the set-up costs to run just a few pieces will be through the roof.

Geesh who thought home decorating would be so complicated

Absolute perfection, even down to the small details. Thank you for sharing!

Absolutely amazing. I think the most beautiful basement I've ever seen. Should be in a magazine.

Where did you ever find that gorgeous rattan console?? I LOVE that the rattan looks like a curtain.

Thank you, Tibb, I love it too!

That table is from the 1970s, and was a reproduction of a 1950s design. I had a pair in our Florida dining room and one was irreparably damaged when moved, which was unfortunate as a vintage pair was much more valuable than a single :-( A couple of companies still make rattan tables like this but they are just insanely pricey now. Soane in the UK has a 60" version of this table for $9,000! Mine is only 45" wide ( we don't know where it was woven) and it is IDs favorite piece of furniture here. It was originally up in the library hall and we replaced it with a table that had better scale for the 14 ft ceilings in that area. We stored this one in cotton sheets with braces holding out the ripples. It is unique and nicely refers back to the rattan baskets under the daybeds. We are looking for one nice basket to put in the lower level of one of the coffee tables for magazines and an extra ipad.

This post was edited by kswl on Mon, Jun 16, 14 at 15:09

It is lovely, a perfect combination of practical and elegant. It's great to see how all of your individual elements have combined into a cohesive look and to eavesdrop into your thought process.

As Annie said ....." reference material for many of the less decor-oriented who visit here to illustrate how important the finishing details and accessories are to making a room look complete. .."

This is my downfall, several of my rooms are lacking those details that make the room complete. It does help to see hows have accomplished it.

May I ask how high your televisions are mounted? We are rearranging furniture and about to purchase another flat screen for our main entertainment area. We're conflicted as whether to mount it over the mantel as you have done or place it on a narrow console. Both have good sight lines. But I worry that over the mantel will be too high and we'll find ourselves with stiff necks from looking up.

Most seat cushions are 16" to 18" inches off the floor which makes me wonder if there's some standard to follow - i.e. if your seat is x inches off the floor then your TV should be mounted x inches?

This was well-worth the anticipation, and waiting to see the finished space! Awesome job!

Brava! What a wonderful, warm place and with so much to look at. It's terrific.

One thing I think works particularly well is the large black botanicals. The big downfall of a basement is the lack of windows. The size and shape and color of the prints actually, if you look quickly, reads like you have windows in the fireplace room! That's actually a great trick.

One q, sorry of it's answered above ... what is in the corner to the left of the exterior door?

Enjoy!

Quilly, I will pull out the measuring tape tonight and give you an answer. You are not the only person who has asked me that question!

Mtn, that is an iron revolving photo display, ostensibly modeled after vintage postcard displays in stores. I bought it from Pottery Barn almost ten years ago, and everyone loves to sort through the photos as it is so much more accessible than albums. I have relatives' wedding pictures, our kids in Halloween costumes, vacations, my then-young parents abroad, a little bit of everything, including printed invitations of parties we've had or attended that stand out as wonderful times.

I think PB still sells this item; it comes in both floor and tabletop sizes. Everyone who sees it wants one!

Spoke with shop owner and Handy Guy will deliver bench on the 24th. The more I thought about it (and checked out other possibilities online) the more I liked the 18" width. It will barely intrude into the room and provide a long and wonderful surface for towels and everything else. I may put a robe hook on the back door, but I'm not sure I want a towel rack. Although I'm not sure how the towels will be hung up since the shower curtain rod inaccessible behind an arch. Hmmmm.

I plan to scrub the bench thoroughly and see what comes off, then we will decide whether to wax it or not. I really want it to look like My3dogs' chairs in the adjoining room.

kswl
This is SO PRETTY! Such a well done lower level.
I have a question about the FP room - what are the dimensions? What is the height? I have to plan the rough electrical for our basement and want a ceiling fan and my DH thinks the ceiling is too low. Yours looks great!
Also LOVE the stone on the patio- I also am trying to explain something similar to my DH.
I know you'll be enjoying this great addition to your home.

Well done!!!

ppbenn, I can tell you the height right away: 8' 6". We took down a dropped ceiling and this was all we could get out of it. Every HVAC chase, electrical line and plumbing pipe crosses this ceiling!

It drops from almost 10 feet in the front room, which is why we didn't trim out the new opening between the two rooms when we got rid of doors and 2 hallways, as I didn't want to call attention to the change. The back room is pretty big, about 28' long and the width varies. I'll take a look at the plans and give you real numbers tonight.

Fantastic! I could very happily live in that basement, so if you here someone down there don't be alarmed. :)

Oh my gosh the transition between indoor and outdoor brick is amazing! Such attention to detail shown here. I'm sure you'll get a lot of great living out of those spaces :) .

Beautiful space!

ML. (glad you did not go with the plaid felt on the pool table )

Lovely! thanks so much for sharing the journey and the outcome!

Thanks! The Microseal people have just left after treating both rugs, the new wool carpeting in the adjoining room (dh's office not seen in these photos) and all pillows and upholstery. I am relieved that is done and there is a lifetime stain resistance on these goods.

To answer some questions:

I was way off base about the room dimensions. The back room is 38' ft long and is the widest part is 23' wide and narrows to 18' wide in the seating inglenook.

The TV is mounted almost 5 feet above the ground. The mantel is 4 ft 4 1/2 inches and the tv is mounted about six inches above the mantel. We have no problem seeing the screen from all but the sofa seats closest to the FP. We are usually horizontal on the sofas and the line of sight is fine and a comfortable angle for one's head.

Wonderful space!! I absolutely love your brick floors. Thanks so much for sharing.

OK, this is flat-out, drop-dead gorgeous! Everything works so well together: the colors, the accessories, the furniture, the artwork. Nothing is overdone. Nothing is too cluttered. I love it and hope that you'll show us more pics when everything else has arrived!
Lynn

It is absolutely PERFECT. What wonderful taste you have. The red and green is so subtle and pretty.
Enjoy!

Tinker, I am taken aback, no one has ever called my house subtle, thank you!

Lynn and lovestowalk, I appreciate your comments! We are enjoying the renovation. It feels like a whole new floor!

It started with the floors, which i still love. But you have done so much more that I almost forgot about them! Hope you enjoy the beautiful new space!

Love all your fabrics, accessories & the botanical prints are fabulous.
Looking forward to the bathroom reveal.

That is so beautiful. I love everything - the prints, the furniture choices and placement, the colors.

You have elevated the typical man-cave to a new level and it makes me wish I had a basement.

Very inspirational! Thanks for sharing the details. My favorite part is the black door wall with the ship lap siding and the brick floors. So very cool! But I do love it all. The whole space looks so perfect and inviting. I would have never thought of using brick but love it.

I love that aspect of the basement too, rtwilliams! I am adding some of the bathroom pictures now that it is complete:

Vanity, tile and mirror in a rustic gold/copper finish:

Bench, floor and runner, cushion:

Looking back at the door:

Oh wow......your space is gorgeous! I love those two ottomans. Care to share where you found them?

With pleasure, nanny----they were purchased online from Grandinroad, the less expensive arm of Frontgate. They were very reasonable, well made, and (surprisingly) actual leather. For the price I was expecting pleather :-)

I have linked to them below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Grandinroad ottomans

It is beautiful, and looks so comfortable. Great job!

Very polished yet comfy and wow all in one! It’s really perfect but perfect in the way that I want to sit there and enjoy some saga with sliced green apples and a good wine.

Lol, jterrilyn, and if the wine were red it would look lovely with the green apples and the color scheme!

Looks fantastic! You're so lucky and talented. I've enjoyed watching this amazing project.