Our New Playroom!

I'm going to go ahead and take credit for this idea right now. I thought of it. It was totally me. And then Dave embellished it and made it realistic...and, well, he made most of it actually happen. So it was my idea and Dave...well...he's my DIY hunk.

We knew something would happen at Christmastime and we were not disappointed. (Or maybe we were, depending on how you look at it.) Our home, like many others, is slowly being taken over by all of the goodies that come along with the fine craft of child-rearing. (Yes, that was a fancy way of saying that our entire home is beginning to feel like a toy aisle at Target.) And Christmas just added to the problem.

About three-quarters of our basement is unfinished. We would love to fully finish a big family room down there, but it would cost substantially more than we have in our savings account (or in our retirement account, or in the girls' college savings account, or, well, you get the idea). So we got busy with our frugal selves and started planning to "partially-finish" about half of the basement into a large playroom/family hang-out area/treadmill spot. And our precious girlies received a few gift cards for Christmas that we, um, stole...but truly it was to build THEIR playroom, so it was totally justified. (Right?)

First, here is a picture of our basement BEFORE any of our (that is, Dave's) hard work. Brace yourself, it's ugly.


Our first step was acquiring appropriate (cheap and safe) flooring. After scouring the internet, we drove to good ol' Sam's Club and found this flooring for less than 70 cents per square foot. (What a deal!) AND it's colorful and funky to boot!

Next, we knew we'd need to paint. We decided against real drywall walls and opted for painting the existing concrete. Again, we were going for cheap and "partially finished." We used a concrete paint that seals out moisture, which was ideal for the purpose, but a touch fumy (is that a word?). That would be the primary reason why David was responsible for so much of the actual work involved in this project. For future reference, painting concrete isn't a joy.

Third we added real lights to take away that basement vibe of bare hanging bulbs. (Note: we did not finish the ceiling because we are waiting on a HVAC pro to move some vents.)

Next I used my mad seamstress skills (that's supposed to be funny) to create black curtains to cover the inevitable basement storage areas. I also sewed a padded cover for the pole that dissects the room. (This was intended to be a head-protector for our wild and crazy Natalie, but so far has been used as a tackle dummy for Allyson. The chiropractor is a good thing, but those bills are going to add up.)

We also purchased a wall mount for the TV, so that we would not need a TV stand. There are fabulous families out there that spend little or no time bonding with the television. I really do think that's pretty cool...I guess I just haven't achieved that level of coolness (nor do I plan to).

Last, we added toys and a few decor items to make the girls feel like it's THEIR space. The baking pan art gallery cost less than $15 total (Pans, buttons, magnet clips, and hot glue - all from Wal-Mart). The mirror and name display cost less than $10 (plastic mirror at K-Mart, wall letter stickers at the Dollar Tree).

So, drum-roll please, here are the pictures of the finished-for-now playroom. The futon was moved from Dave's office, but we're not loving it, so we are in the market for some big bean bag chairs. (Unless anyone has any better ideas?!) Also, around the entry door, a wall was partially finished when we moved in, with studs and drywall on the opposite side. At some point, Dave will finish off the playroom side with drywall and paint to complete that area. In the end, our playroom makeover cost about $350. That, my friends, was a fabulously frugal makeover.

And it was worth EVERY PENNY.