The end is in sight!!

Well, I can finally rest easy. Our share of the work in the basement is DONE! That's right, you heard me, DONE!

I finished up the last little paint touch-ups Tuesday morning before heading out to work. I hammered the paint can shut and thought, "Well...that's that, I s'pose."

We're waiting for carpet installation, which is schedule of September 4th and 5th. I called and practically begged them to move it up, but they had zero openings available. (I guess that's what I get for either 1) totally over-achieving speed-wise or 2) underestimating my own efficiency and skill.) Regardless, carpet will be installed while I'm in Seattle. This, my friends, will break my heart. Dan, in a successful effort to taunt me, informed me that he'd be doing nothing but "rolling around on the new carpet until you get home." Thanks a yahoo, babe.

So, although the carpet's missing, everything else is complete. And I just literally cannot stop myself from posting the pictures, sans carpet. Rest assured, I'll add new ones once carpet is in, (because I know everyone is so concerned/interested) but for now...behold...the basement...

Stairway/Main Room

I didn't have a pre-drywall picture on my jump drive, so we'll have to settle for spackle being the earliest version of the stairway :)

Drywalled, primed, carpet pulled

Painted (Nantucket Gray) with trim added and railing re-installed!

What's that you say? How did I paint a HIGH ceiling in a stairway? Well, my husband whipped up this handy-dandy, "custom" stair ladder. Which...was rickety at best. Let's just say I'll never tell my dad how much time I spent precariously perched on this thing. I'd definitely get a safety lecture.

Stairway nook - eventually a built-in desk will go here

Drywall and spackled, BEGGING for primer

I'll do ya one better than primer, nook! Here's some paint! (You'd be AMAZED at how many shades of "gray" there are. You might even guess 50. Our bathroom and main room are both "gray" colors, but to the eye, they're so obviously blue and green. It's hilarious.)

Main room - and no offense to the people who painted it this color, but WHY WOULD YOU PAINT A BASEMENT SUCH  A DARK COLOR?!

Drywalled!...with Dan...dancing?

Primed, and obviously in the middle of a door-painting day

Ah...the beauty! The accomplishment! The fresh paint smell!

Dan's mom and dad graciously came over Tuesday night to install the blinds for us. It's getting to be that time of year when, at 5:30am is still dark outside and I HATE going into the basement to run with no blinds on the windows. Creepy. Anyway, they're beautiful and I love them!

I believe the wood color is "cappuccino" and the tape color is "cocoa." So...this basement screams for me to sit in it while drinking a hot beverage in the winter.

Stairway before & after

Nook before & after

Main room before & after

Hallway

I remember this day - the Sunday we moved all of Dan's drums and guitars upstairs. It. Was. A nightmare.

Studs cleaned, drywall trimmed, ready to get started!

Getting closer...

Other end of the hallway, looking out

Heh...don't mind the bag of trash hanging on the closet door

Hallway before & after (please excuse the crooked picture...I was obviously drunk)

Back Room (Dan's music room)

Complete with golf bag :) (Please notice it was still WINTER outside when this project began...)

Insulated

...and then it was spring...

And then it was a beautiful combo of Shaker Beige and Davenport Tan!

Yes, I'm bragging about my trim lines. Shamelessly.

Back room before & after

Bathroom

Seeing as, obviously, we're not putting carpet in the bathroom, this room is DONE! (Well...except for towel storage. And I'm thinkin' my handy husband can whip something up for that.)

LOVELY light fixture

Shower...in need of some major T.L.C.

Looking into the itty bitty bathroom, after drywall (which made it seem even SMALLER!)

Door trim work done! (And, if you'll notice the floor lamp...which means the old light came OUT!)

Our drywall guys (as nice as they were) forgot to sand/spackle a little area around toilet-height in the bathroom. Thanks to Pinterest, I came up with this idea for a built-in magazine rack. SO cute. I love it!

This is what happens when your father-in-law takes your camera, stretches his arm around the corner, and snaps a picture

...then he took a real picture...of me painting trim in the bathroom doorway

Bathroom paint: UP!

Where the old light was, and where Dan wired new lights to go :)

Dan's first (and GREAT!) attempt at installing cork floor. I was a little nervous, but he was a champ!

I should've taken a picture of when he trapped himself in the bathroom. "Babe...I think I just got myself into a bad situation here..."

Done! Look at that cutey :)

Dan surprised me while I was in Denver, by installing the vanity and toilet :) I never thought I'd be so excited to see a toilet! :)

Um, hello!, super see-through shower door. We live life on the edge.

Hardware, from The Basement Store, naturally. the so-nice lady took the towel hooks from someone else's order and gave them to me because she knew I was anxious to get this done :)

Sink and mirror. Lovely :)

Toilet nook before & after

Shower before & after

Sink wall before & after

All-in-all, for our know-how and skill level, I think we did a dang good job :) I can't WAIT for carpet to arrive and not have to put on dusty, beat-up "basement shoes" to run downstairs! The wait is almost over!