flash decorating help -- basement apartment

10 years ago

We just lost our long-time tenant for our basement apartment in our ski house to a happy life circumstance. Our daughter and son-in-law live in the main house full time and we visit frequently. The main house is fine for the four of us and (+4big dog, our 2 and their 2), but gets crowded when we bring friends or my mom, so we are considering refreshing, furnishing and enjoying the apt. for a while. It has a separate entrance, but can also be accessed through he main house. The style of the entire house is fairly contemporary. Thanks to our wonderful and handy son in law and daughter, refreshing is almost complete --repainting and tile -- and it's time to furnish. It will be on a budget. The picture is of the living/dining area. The panting is complete it looks more tan in the picture, but it definitely is a greige. The floorplan to the entire apt is linked below, but basically the living/dining area is 17 x 11.5. We,re primarily furnishing the living in the exercise because we will be moving a bedroom down from the main house and then redoing that.

Anyway we would love your suggestions It will probably function as an away room at times, a place to watch tv and as part of a guest suite. I think we need a sleeper sofa in the den for when families visit. Oh, we are decorating from a distance and making a quick trip down to Denver next week to check out, ikea, west elm, room and board etc. I have no problems with buying online either. Budget is about $5000 for a couch, chairs, entertainment console and kitchen table and chairs, plus a rug and a few things for the walls. I am always over budget . . . But if I can have it looking nice without breaking the bank (or getting that look from DH) that would be great.

So . . . How would you decorate this space? We want to keep it fun and kind of gender neutral. And comfortable. Find me some stuff please. I have a wish list at west elm that includes the Henry sleeper sofa, either in poppy or teal, a few rugs, a mirror and some of those silly paper mÃÂ¢chÃÂ© animal heads for fun. DD has been checking out ikea on like. Don't mind a bit of trendy stuff because we will bro ably be here another 5 years max.

Woul love to see hou some of you would furnish this room. Feel free to suggest products, color schemes, furniture placement, art, etc, the only thing set is the location of the tv.

Thanks!!!

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}

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Comments (4)

joaniepoanie
10 years ago
I like the color and flooring....the only thing I would spend real $$ on is the sleeper sofa...that needs to be comfortable for sitting and sleeping so dont skimp here. The rest I would do as inexpensively as possible (more Ikea than West Elm) and you could probably stay well below your $5,000 budget...especially since you will only be using the items for a few years and I presume won't be taking them with you but selling them or giving them away. Of course, you could spend a little more on items you think you might take with you. You might also want to visit some upscale furniture consignment shops for tables, lamps, etc.. In the picture, which wall is the TV going on?
User
10 years ago
My first thought was a sectional with a sleeper for the corner. Lots of seating and comfy for tv watching. Then a small round table with seating for four. "ski house" to me says it must have fur somewhere. Either an ottoman or a rug. TV over gel fire place there are DIY instructions online if you are handy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gel Fireplace
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ivparker - Our stairway actually has a 180 degree turn at a landing mid-flight and that is where we installed the glass door. The builder had a solid one which opened into the main hallway at the very top and it was both an obsticle and a hazard. As to no door, guess that is an option. We have a dog who considers the basement to be her "apartment" and we need a door to confine her so as to not set off motion detectors if the security system is armed. Door remains open unless she is confined. I can't answer your question about mastic with click install planks. Those are considered floating floors and have a foam pad on which they rest. One of our sons has a townhouse with a slab (concrete) first floor upon which a previous owner installed a floating floor. It sounds really cheap (hollow). I suggest speaking with a specialty flooring company about their products. The Big Box stores sell "low hanging fruit" and often their staff are lacking in knowledge to answer a question like you will have. I hear you on changing styles. If you do something trendy, it will soon look dated. Nature doesn't change though so if you choose a natural look, most likely you will be safe for much longer. There are natural-looking ceramic which look like stone tiles. When we updated one of our bathrooms our tile install was overall less costly with real stone vs ceramic because the installer was able to make the baseboard tiles rather than our having to purchase very costly bull nosed ones. And only a 1/32 grout line vs. maybe a quarter inch. All I can say is we had two sons and now two grandchildren and I can tell you that drywall (even greenboard) will not last even 5 years with the abuse kids will inflict so you'll still be $$$'s ahead if, after 15 years, you decide to replace dated tiles. I know gray isn't your color scheme but here is a photo of the bath we updated about two years ago using marble tile. This bath only required about 35 sq. ft. and I believe the tile were only about $10 each and installer labor was the same for stone or ceramic but we basically got the baseboard (which we wanted) at no cost by using waste pieces and cutting/polishing them on-the-job. Just my opinions though and perhaps you would rather redecorate more often, which tile does make difficult.
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mojomom
Original Author
10 years ago
Joanie and CL,

Thanks and you both confirm our thoughts. TV goes on the short wall to the right I am trying to decide whether a small sectional or just a sofa would be best. We will be there this weekend, so I may just tape it out on the floor and decide. I wilI probably spend more of my budget on comfortable seating and then economize on the rest. We're planning to build out there in a few years when we retire and may be able to use some of it in the basement when we do and give away anything that won't work - just don't want to spend so much that we feel like we're stuck with it down the road. Will have to check out the gel fireplace - might be fun. Fur - I had to grin when I saw that because with four dogs (two huskies) we already have a lot of that -- but I know what you mean and will keep my eye out for something. DD and I will have a good time shopping -- we love having a project going on!
User
10 years ago
I did look for a paint color but online they all just look washed out. I was thinking a deep paprika or dark red brown to warm things up with a light tan sofa. Not sure what colors you like. Have fun shopping.

You won't need floor pillows for lounging on 4 big fur pillows is perfect. If you lay them out right they make great loungers.

flash decorating help -- basement apartment

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