It has been six months since Handy Hubby and I did any work in the basement and we literally stopped mid-task, so there are tools and supplies everywhere! Although we prettied up one corner, there is still so much to do (and so little money to do it with). Other than my being abroad for four months, a major hurdle has been that some un-fun tasks (more wallpaper removal for me, drywall for Hubby) are looming, discouraging us from trudging down into the basement. We both know that if we can just get through those tasks, we can get to the fun stuff, like making over my work desk, painting the walls, making a curtain rod from scratch, making some fun art, building and styling shelves, etc. But we’ve been dragging our feet. I have a ton of ideas swirling around in my head (A brightly coloured laundry room floor? An inventive solution for hiding our ugly washer and dryer? Unexpected accessories?), but I can’t get to them until we suck it up and just finish this stage. I see light (haha) at the end of the tunnel, though, because we’re doing one fun thing: pondering lighting options, oohing and ahhing over different types of fixtures, deciding how many we need (and how inexpensively we can snag them).
We toured the Diefenbunker with family on Sunday, and I really, really liked the simple, industrial lights I spotted there (See? Cannot take me anywhere):
So maybe the industrial look might work well in the laundry room?
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On the other hand, the basement has greige walls and carpet, so the (pretty teeny) laundry room might be the place to splash out and try some fun and colourful:
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Or maybe something colourful and industrial? I’m really trying to squeeze every last drop of joy from this decision because after we decide on a light fixture, it’s back to this.
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| Seesaw |
Frankly, anything is an improvement on what is there: a big-ass fluorescent that was (presumably) pulled from a dumpster and a socket for a naked bulb that was (inexplicable) empty, and, despite being functional, left right beside the fluorescent. What the H? Did they do this just to torment us?!? The former owners have left us scratching our heads, whimpering, “why, why, why?” sooo many times.
A decision soon, followed by some actual progress. The basement is also where the magic happens for other projects, so I have a total traffic jam of ideas for things I’d like to make or fix or re-do, but until we make progress many (but not all) projects are on hold.
P.S. For Ottawa folk, the Diefenbunker is kind of cool. If not for the history, go for all the retro office furniture and orange tape dispensers. Scary news Canadians: even in the event of a nuclear blast, the Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation will still be in existence, so you’ll have to keep paying your mortgage (even if you can only pay in beads and seeds). Way to take away our silver lining, suits.
Awesome! That photo from Seesaw inspired the colours on my blog design!! Great minds think alike 😉
Oh that's too funny! What a coincidence! I can totally see it – your blog has the same fresh, kinda vintage, look and the colours are spot on! Are you shopping for laundry room lighting in the outdoor lighting section of local hardware stores, too?? 😉
This is perfect! Now that I'm a housefrau and do all the laundry I've been pitching major complaints to Mike. Our laundry room is a joke. You can barely turn around, and the appliances face each other. It's awful. So I think a mini-laundry-room-reno is in the future. I don't want to do too much because we're eventually putting on a 2-story addition on that side of the house and will have a nice, new, HUGE laundry room sometime in the future… but for now I need some help, stat.
I am so jealous of the giant laundry room in your future! Ours in inhabited by giant centipedes, so I think I win this round. You know your space if crummy when a major spruce involves drywall. Even unpainted it will look 100% better once it actually has WALLS. Funny how we take walls for granted.
Oh, I really love the industrial look- perfect for a laundry room. When I saw the copper pendant, it reminded me of the IKEA hack I saw on pinterest- the OTTAVA pendant sprayed copper. http://kojo-designs.com/2013/01/copper-barn-light-ikea-hack/ I was going to suggest that as a budget friendly option but when I went to IKEA's site to check the price ($50). I see they a number of cute & colourful pendant lights for a great price (especially if you want to hang a couple in the space). I thought this one was pretty cute. The FOTO pendant in green, beige or redhttp://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/80237310/#/80237310I see that yellow one is IKEA, so you've likely already seen their offering but, as you can probably tell, I got a little excited. I think I need to jazz up some lighting in my house.anyhow, happy window shopping!
Oh my gosh I LOVE that Ikea pendant hack on Kojo Designs!! I love the FOTO pendant too (in the minty green!). Hubby and I just figured out a pendant would be too low in the space, but I think I may have tracked down a cute, vintage-y option (for $9 a pop!). This is so much trickier when budget comes into play. I have NO trouble finding gorgeous lights but they can be pricey!! Happy weekend 🙂
Also, I really love that modern, albeit dingy, office (you don't have to explain twice that it's in a bunker!). I'll take the vintage phone & typewriter, the lockers and the cheerful tape dispenser and shell chairs.
I wanted to so badly to just straighten those offices up a bit! I am in love with the orange tape dispensers and the shell chairs. I also found a coffee table that matches our dining room table.
Love these inspiration photos!! Can't wait to watch as you tackle your basement 🙂 Did you see the pendant I scored thrifting? Make sure to keep your eyes peeled at the thrift shops!! http://thesweetestdigs.com/2013/01/21/side-entrance-makeover-the-lighting-issue/xo,gemma
I have been trolling the thrift shops but nothing has caught my eye! I'm also so worried about it not working/being dangerously wired. You really lucked out with such a great find! I think I may have found a good solution, but it needs a little spray paint first. When will it be spring so we can spray paint outside??? Last year I covered our storage room (and everything in it) when I spray painted all my play kitchen accessories inside. We're still finding pink soup cans, lol.
Those are the cutest pendants! I hope you find one that is perfect for your basement. I don't know if you can get this one, but it could be transformed into any color you wanted. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=202060809&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&MERCH=REC-_-SearchPLPHorizontal1-4-_-NA-_-202060809-_-N#.USlFglpoTDI***Just realized they flippin raised the price! 14 weeks ago when I pinned it, it was $15.99 Now it is $39.97…did they coat in gold since they doubled the price?
Those are great looking! Sneaky about the price, though!!