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    • I'm Christina, a full-time web developer with a dog sitting business, home renovations, and a blog on the side.

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You are here: Home / Interior Decorating / Before and after / The big basement makeover

The big basement makeover

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Before and after, The Victorian

Ready for a big before-and-after?  It’s not the prettiest makeover, but it’s a million times better than it was!  It feels like we got rid of 5 tons of junk.  We might have actually…

basement-before-and-after-1

Originally we intended to just de-clutter, throw stuff away, and organize everything we had piled up in the basement.  But once we started, it seemed like the perfect time to cover the dirt floor with concrete.

So, for 4 Sundays, we began by purchasing (on average) 7 40-pound bags of concrete, hauling it home and pouring ourselves a concrete floor, one bag at a time.

basement-before-and-after-2

During the week, while waiting for the next slab of concrete to be poured, I was water-proofing the old stone walls. It took 2 to 6 coats of Drylock, and now they are bright white. I love the look of the Drylock too: on top of the stones, it reminds me of the inside of an igloo.

Before After (4)

Here’s what that area looked like before:

basement-before

And then we have this corner, which still needs a little bit of work.  It’s not as messy as it seems though, it’s just all the appliances.  We haven’t poured concrete here yet, but we’re still planning on it, and I need to finish painting the walls.

basement-before-and-after-3

And the oil tank got a makeover too!  Actually, this was one of the first things I did.  Believe it or not, we had a quart of aluminum paint on hand.  I didn’t think to take a proper “Before” picture, but here it is half-painted, and then fully painted:

oil-tank-before-and-after

Of course, the old metal cabinet got a makeover too, and I love it now.

cabinet-before-and-after

Our original goal in starting this whole project was accomplished: our tools are organized.  As you can see above, the (relatively few) tools we kept are organized into labeled drawers on wheels.  I’m hopeful we can keep it that way now.

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  1. [email protected]

    December 4, 2013 at 10:40 am

    More, more, I want to see more! Ha! We NEED to do this in our basement, too. Are you going to show any “during” pictures of the drylock application? Any tips?

    Reply
    • Christina

      December 5, 2013 at 11:12 am

      Haha! That’s a good idea, actually. I have another wall to water-proof, so maybe I will do a whole post on it. The stuff really is easy to use, it’s like really thick paint. But it does take a while on the stone walls because the whole thing has to be brushed on. (They say you can use a roller, but I found that to be far less efficient and way messier.)

  2. Leena

    December 7, 2013 at 12:52 pm

    Wow wow wow! I love your igloo! So bright and open. I could live there 🙂 Before it looked bit scary, like most basements do.
    You have done ton of work, you should really be proud of your selves. I’m amazed you have not posted more about the basement process, I would have, just so I could have something to post about 😀

    Reply
    • Christina

      December 9, 2013 at 2:37 pm

      Thank you Leena! 😀

      I thought about posting more about it, but the process was just as ugly as the before photos… But I think I may go back and do a few posts about the details.

  3. [email protected]

    December 10, 2013 at 11:43 pm

    Your basement looks like a room in our basement that’s on my honey do list. Thanks so much for the inspiration! I hope ours ends up looking as clean and organized as yours!

    Reply
    • Christina

      December 16, 2013 at 3:12 pm

      Thanks, Doreen! Feel free to come back and let us know when you tackle it, we’d love to see!

  4. Sue Silva

    September 28, 2014 at 9:53 pm

    Fantastic! Everything looks so neat and tidy.

    Reply

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So we were making great (though last- minute) prog So we were making great (though last- minute) progress. Then we're putting the picture hanger on the DIY art I made for the room when the 80-pound dog comes in and steps STRAIGHT THROUGH THE ARTWORK. 😵 

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3 hours to go. 
#100roomchallenge
Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
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Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle Finished! (ish) let's just pretend the new mantle is painted a warm gray. It will be soon. 
It was $94 for the whole thing. 
Swipe for the before. See everything at littlevictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
So we were making great (though last- minute) prog So we were making great (though last- minute) progress. Then we're putting the picture hanger on the DIY art I made for the room when the 80-pound dog comes in and steps STRAIGHT THROUGH THE ARTWORK. 😵 

Hubs is trying to fix it as usual. But seriously...I don't know if any more obstacles could be thrown at us during this challenge. 😂 

3 hours to go. 
#100roomchallenge
Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
Surprise! The house is going on the market today. Surprise! The house is going on the market today. (Long story that I'll fill you in on when I have more than 2 seconds.)
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But we're once again with a realtor that calls our house "unique" instead of calling it a Mid Century Modern. 🤦‍♀️
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Still can't really identify with people in this area. 🤷‍♀️ SO happy to be going back home to the East coast TOMORROW!
Right? We're getting back into the house restorat Right? 
We're getting back into the house restoration and we'll be working on the powder room in the master bed. 
Guys. It's bad. Swipe to see.
And we're going to try to make it pretty with a super tiny budget of $100 in 4 weeks and we're joining the #100roomchallenge to keep us (me) motivated.
The bedroom design is starting to come together th The bedroom design is starting to come together thanks to Craigslist and Goodwill. 
#OneRoomChallenge
@little.victorian

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