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One Room Challenge Link Up

Two and a half years ago we had our basement finished for our growing kiddos. You may recall hearing about it because no less than 3 times I have talked about how it’s going to be my next big project. Somehow I always get sidetracked, and so it remains……

Enter Linda of Calling It Home, and her One Room Challenge. The ORC is an event in which twenty design bloggers transfrom a room and show their progress over the course of 6 weeks. In addition, Linda has invited the rest of the universe to link up rooms that are in dire need of a makeover in the ORC Linking Party.

Linda has been a great motivator for me this year. In January she started a Pinterest board for project that you’ve been procrastinating on, and I pinned 8 or 9 pieces of furniture that I wanted to get done. Thanks to that motivation I’ve managed to cross a bunch of them off the endless to-do list. Now I really need to work on this room, where my kids and their friends hang out all the time.

It is seriously like an insane asylum down there!!!

This space DOES NOT represent my crazy, loud, fun, kooky family AT ALL.

Despite it’s lack of any style or decor, this basement space  might be my favorite room in the house because 1)  it’s new!! After redoing every other room in the house, it’s so nice to have one space that doesn’t need any major cosmetic surgery, 2) the kids can make a huge mess down there and I.DON’T.CARE, and 3) the kids can be wild and crazy and loud, and I don’t feel like I need to open a bottle of wine 🙂
It’s definitely the kids’ favorite space in the house because 1)  I don’t yell at them for making a mess or being loud when they’re down there, and 2)  half of the basement has turned into the greatest KNEE HOCKEY TOURNAMENT SPACE of all time. (Seriously, the fact that my 15 year old son and his friends still want to play knee hockey makes me joyful!!!)  That open space is also great for dancing, playing games, or sleep overs.
SO – their request is that I leave that side alone, and don’t hang anything breakable on the walls, lest a ball or a knee hockey puck go flying through the air.

There is currently one lonely little 2-seater couch down there, plus the TV console and the TV. THAT’S IT! More furniture is headed that way, but not until we buy new furniture for our living room, so more furnishings are not part of the ORC plan.

What IS the plan??

Brown leather with grey. There’s something about this combination I find so warm and cozy.

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Charcoal and beige….yum.

So, these things will be happening over the next six weeks……

PAINT………
FABRIC…….
STORAGE……

And….a BIG DOSE OF PERSONALITY…..
While I typically avoid themed rooms, I love the idea of this recreation room being a filled with photos of places we’ve traveled to, or hope to travel to – a place to remember our family adventures and to inspire the kids to get out and see the world in the future.
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This little plan is completely inspired by our trip to Hawaii last February. We love to travel and talk about where else we’d love to visit someday, and I want the kids to remember all the incredible experiences they’ve had.

So a massive gallery wall is definitely part of this plan!

I am so glad to have something to commit to, since I’ve been thinking on this room for a long, long time and it’s time to do something about it! Next week I’ll show you my progress.

How about you – do you have a space you need to tackle???

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Comments

  1. Stacey {steward of design} says

    I'm jealous of this space that you have! My next home definitely has a basement on the must have. It's such a great space to have when you have kids. I love the dark gray idea and your gallery wall. So excited to see your room when it's done.

    Reply

  2. alison g. says

    We're in the process of having our basement finished out, and I fear it becoming the "sea of beige," because I've been so non-committal on a design plan.
    I'll probably keep it safe/neutral/pretty, but add visual interest where I can.
    I'm with you in shying away from "theme rooms," but if there's any place to test out those waters, it's the basement.
    I'll look forward to your progress!
    alison

    Reply

  4. Vel Criste says

    This space will be perfect for the ginarmous Gallery wall Lisa! You have a sea of beige and I inherited an ocean of creams! LOL! Anyway, I can see your 'vision' and of course my friend, I'll follow along, Love your family photo BTW, great-looking family!

    Reply

  7. Jenny says

    I love what you're looking to do down there Lisa! It's going to be great! So nice to start with such a clean slate too! I had to giggle about the knee hockey – we have knee football in our basement. 🙂

    Reply

  8. Cathy Wall says

    Love the color combo Lisa. The leather is a great choice for a room that gets a ton of use and adding the gray will keep it neutral but add interest and allow the travel goodies to take center stage.

    Reply

  9. Dana Frieling says

    Yay! I'll be looking forward to your ORC posts. I'm sure you'll create a space the kids will enjoy even more!

    Reply

  13. Nancy {at} powellbrower at home says

    Lisa, this is fabulous. I had the same kids room downstairs while they grew up and it was great for them. I love that you want to infuse it with Travel Memories, and love the gray with the brown leather. Have a great time with your project!
    xo Nancy

    Reply

  14. pam {simple details} says

    I'd forgotten all about this room, it's such a perfect spot to encourage all the kids to hang at your house! I wonder if you'll be getting a lot of opinions from your crew? 🙂 So glad you linked up, the week will fly by!

    Reply

  15. Patty Rumaker says

    Oh what a cool reflective space you have for your family adventures. I am looking forward to seeing the updates and of course the finished space.
    Patty at Home and Lifestyle Design

    Reply

  17. Linda {Calling it Home} says

    This space is huge! You lucky girl. We have a tiny basement, but I am happy to have one. So glad to hear that you have gotten things done. That was a lovely shout out, thank you. I am dying over how much I love your inspiration pictures. I feel really out of it because I don't know what knee hockey is? My friend bought fantastic license plates on Ebay,but you probably already know that :). She put all 50 states on a wall. Thanks for joining.

    Reply

  21. Layne @ The Room Journal says

    The leather and gray is so cozy! I've had a hard time making gray work in my home, which is unfortunate because I fall in love with every picture I see with rich gray wall color. And I love the license plate idea-it's playful and fun for a family space like this. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

    Reply

  22. Katie says

    Your basement is so nice, cosmetic surgery, lol..Yep that's how I feel about my whole house until we did the changes. I love fresh and new!! I love the gray and brown. I just love all of your ideas and blog. It's so refreshing to read a blog that is fun, creative and inspiring.

    Reply