The Newest Remodel - Part 2

Last Thursday my parents went on a well-deserved vacation, just the two of them.  Jordan and I watched my four youngest siblings for three days.  So Thursday night Jordan came home and did this:

It was pretty bad.  He worked on it for hours, got the kitchen in place, and then decided to call it a night at 2am.  So when I got home on Sunday evening, I was pretty sure we'd bitten off more than we could chew at the moment. But fortunately, after we got the kids in bed somehow, and worked on it together for three hours, it all came together beautifully.

After pictures coming soon!

The Newest Remodel - Part 1

There is a huge advantage to not having interior walls or doors.  And that is...moving all the rooms around!

Seriously, we've moved every "room" to a different spot in the basement at least three times, and every time we like it better.  We also feel like we make it bigger every time, and it always inspires me to de-junk and organize.  Sometimes I also get inspired to decorate but that usually doesn't last long.

So, here are the pictures of how our house was arranged as of last week:

Looking to your left as you come in from the stairwell.

View of living area standing in doorway to stairwell.

View of living area from standing in the kitchen area.

It was a particularly bad day, tidy-wise.

Half the living area. You can't tell from this picture, but that tall shelf is actually on the hearth, covering up the fireplace.  One of our goals in rearranging this time around was to be able to have the fireplace as part of the room again.

Shannon's "bedroom".  It's actually the closet, doors removed and curtain installed.

Kitchen area: food shelf, hutch, fridge, and dresser with cookware, dishclothes, etc.

All my lovely, colorful dishes.

Half-bath. (Gee, Rach, take out the trash already)

Here's a really bad picture of our bedroom.  I loved the shelf we had over the bed.  It was especially nice for Jordan to put a drink or book there, since his side of the bed was pushed up against the wall.

My "closet". I also have two dresser drawers. And always a big pile of clean clothes on the floor somewhere!

I had to post this picture of my desk because at least SOMETHING in our house was tidy!

The dreaded toy corner.

Next I'll post pictures of how it looked when I walked in on Sunday night, after Jordan had started the re-arranging process.

Pros and Cons

I hope to draw a floor plan of my in-laws basement, with dimensions, to post.  But for now I'll just make a list of pros and cons of living in said basement.

Pros:

• Our own door to the outside
• A large, almost wall-length window
• A half bath
• 2 closets
• A door into the stairwell 
• Electricity and running water
• It's cheap!

Cons

• No kitchen (more on that later)
• No shower (ditto)
• Not enough outlets
• Only 525 square feet
• No interior walls or doors (except for the bathroom and closet) 

Living her has its hidden perks, like my dear mother in law who often brings me coffee in the morning, and sometimes does my dishes.  Also my 10-year-old sister-in-law is always willing to hold Sophie and Sadie, and is an excellent playmate for Shannon.  It's nice to be around family so much, and we can always go upstairs if boredom or cabin fever gets the best of us.

Why I'm Here

Hi, I'm Rachel, and this is new to me. 


I thought I'd start by telling a little bit about our situation. 


My dear husband Jordan and I moved into his parent's basement in November 2009.  The goal: save money and build a house.  Our goal has since changed to reflect a growing family; and we're looking to buy a house sooner rather than later.  However, after talking to lenders, having several contracts fall through, and mental exhaustion (on my part), our house-hunting has been postponed until at least September.  


Now my goal is to make the most efficient use of the space we have, to have a functional and relaxing space, to declutter, and to be hospitable despite our tiny living area. 


My hope for this blog is to encourage others who might be in similar living situations, entertain those who might think we're crazy, and have a record for myself. One day I'll look back and wonder how we did it!