By Jessica Houston

Welcome to the freshly renovated basement at Homestead Off The Farm. What a fun project this was. My favourite part of this refresh was bringing in some deeper hues and creating a cozy and inviting environment. The perfect space to bring in friends and cozy up for a movie. Let me show you around….

As you can see from the before photos, the basement was being used as a multi-purpose room, which I find is what a basement typically ends up being. When discussing the basement renovation with the client we decided to create different designated areas. The first was to create a more streamlined storage room, which could then double as a home gym area. Once we moved all the gym equipment (minus the treadmill) into the new space, it freed up the living room to become a place used primarily for their kids to hang out and have their friends over for movie nights. Because there was no true focal point in the living room area, the client was onboard with installing an electric fireplace under their TV to add to the coziness factor that we were aiming for in this area. Plus it adds a really great focal point to the room.

When discussing colours for the basement, I really wanted to create moodiness without the basement left feeling dingy and dark. So we kept the dark walls primarily in the living room area, and left the rest of the basement a super soft warm grey colour. The ceiling tiles were replaced with a beautiful grid of soft white tiles, which elevated the space immensely. I knew that I didn’t want the dark walls to be left flat with just paint, so we added in detailing with wall trim and vertical shiplap on the fireplace. I love how these two elements work together in this space. They add so much beautiful dimension to the dark walls and really makes them pop.

The floors changed from carpet to vinyl, which gave us another opportunity to inject a lot of warmth, in the tones of the wood rather than texture (which is what carpet would primarily rely on). There is hardwood on the stairs and the whole main level of the house, so when we chose this vinyl colour, it was complimentary to the main hardwood, but not an exact match. I really love how this vinyl anchors the rooms and pulls all the wall details and colours together. Plus it’s a great option for this basement as there had been some water issues in the past (which were fixed during the reno), and this flooring would stand up to any issues that could pop up in the future.

One of the fun additions that we brought to the living room area was a work table, specifically designed so that their children could sit and do homework or could use it as a snack bar while they are all hanging out in this room. I’m always up for the opportunity to work with custom woodworkers, and this table was no exception. The design was fairly simple but the table would be 8’ long, so custom was the best option. Green Ark did an awesome job at taking the design and bringing this table to life. It’s now the perfect perch for doing homework or setting up snacks while still spending time with others!

Probably one of my favourite decor adds in this space was getting the lily cross-stitch, which was made by my client, framed and hung in this space. The colours popped so nicely against the wall colour and I love being able to add in personal touches anywhere possible.

When designing this room, I really wanted to keep practicality in place when choosing fabrics and textiles. The couch was chosen in leather, specifically because it’s so easy to wipe up and clean any spills or messes that could happen. The rug was chosen with the same mentality. It is a wool rug, which will really hold up to any spills or stains. And the concrete coffee table is no exception. It’s such a sturdy and stable piece, no one will be able to move it (I’m really grateful our guys were able to bring it down the stairs for me!) and it will hold up to anything that’s put on it.

There are a lot of shoutouts that need to be made for this project. I really enjoyed working with everyone who pitched in and did their part. It was a lot of fun to see this room come together and to make a useable space that would hold up to teenagers and friends and fun. I think if it was my space, I don’t know if I would want to leave haha! And now with fall and winter on the way, I’m sure cozy movie nights with the fireplace on are going to be a regular occurrence.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think of this new basement space in the comments below.

Shoutouts to:

Contractor: Tremblay Construction

Electrician: Just Electric

Custom Table: Green Ark

Custom Coffee Table: Steve via Liliidae

Custom Framing: Northern Lights Art Gallery

Moving heavy furniture: Backstage (thank you! It was a tight fit but you guys made it happen!) & 5Point (thanks for being on call to help me out!)

And all the Design, Sourcing, Purchasing, Set-Up & Installation: Liliidae Home & Design.