Traci Niese | Home Depot

basement renovation, bathroom makeover, corrugated metal bar, Home Depot, Lowe's, restoration hardware

The basement renovation is nearly complete!

The last two months have been consumed with all things “basement!” Between dealing with contractors and an overseas husband worried about his man-cave, this basement might have given me a couple of gray hairs! (which no one will ever see thanks to my hair stylist)

Hubby left for Africa about a week into construction, and since then, it’s been a very bumpy road getting to completion. As you all know if you’ve ever tackled a big project, there’s always things that just don’t go correctly. Without getting into all those pain in the ass details, I thought I’d skip right to the fun stuff – photos!!

Here’s a visual tour of what’s been going on downstairs…

These are a few items I’ve picked up to hang here and there. Plus this cool vintage locker-style cabinet that I gave to hubby as an early Father’s Day gift. Since we’re going for an industrial vibe, it’s all about the metal, wire and old down there! I’m having so much fun searching for decor!

The power room is one of my favorite parts of the basement because of the copper sink and the light fixtures.

They are the large Edison wall sconces from Restoration Hardware. I picked up the mirror at a thrift store for a couple of bucks and painted it with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Graphite, and several coats of dark wax. There’s a touch of brass colored wax around the edges too.

Wow, I didn’t realize how dirty this sink is! Darn contractors washing their hands in our new sink! Grrr…

How cool is this piece of burled wood – now being used as a trash can!

This little front room will be used for playing video games primarily. The walls and carpet are a light grey. And the doors, beam, support pole, as well as the panel door were plainted black.

I will be painting the railing in ASCP’s Graphite. I just started taping it off today.

All of the appliances are installed behind the bar. The stone counter-top color is called Lyra. Custom cabinets were made and finished in black.

I love this deep bar sink!

This is probably hubby’s favorite part of the bar – the keg-o-rator!

I like the wire pendants hanging over the bar, and on the side wall.

The bar is wrapped in corrugated metal. Applying this is easy to do – just buy sheets from Lowe’s or Home Depot (they’re very thin). Tack it to your wood frame, and then finish it off with metal strips that are screwed into the wood frame. Just be careful, this stuff is really sharp when its cut!

This wall will be getting a ledge under the 3 pendants, where guests can sit on bar stools and wait for their turn at the pool table! Or try their luck at the slot machine!

The back entrance was tiled, and the doors were painted black.

Here’s the view as you walk in the back door. The beams and poles were left exposed and painted black. The floor will be completed next week, with a wood flooring that looks like weathered barn wood.

Here’s a clock I picked up at HomeGoods that we have to hang. It’s a rusty metal – love it!

Some Restoration Hardware pillows moved from the living room down to the basement.

And here’s evidence that the basement is already functioning as it was intended! hee hee We may not have furniture yet, but we have beer!

May 28, 2013/3 Comments/by Traci

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, boutique, chic, DIY, dresser, French Linen, Home Depot, lamp, makeover, repurpose, shabby chic, stencil, step-by-step

DIY Lamp Makeover

I bet you all have an old lamp somewhere in the attic or basement that isn’t being used because you think it’s outdated, ugly or doesn’t match your decor anymore. I had one of those. In fact, it sat by itself for so long, I almost forgot it was even there. Today that lamp got a face-lift, with a technique I’ve been dying to try – stenciling!

Here’s how I did it:

Oh, can’t forget the “Before” photo. Plain Jane cream-colored shade, and gold. Gold. I don’t even know why I ever bought this.

I chose to use ASCP in French Linen. I used a small brush and quickly painted a base coat over the entire black base and gold center. Nothing tricky here – just slapped it on. No primer, no prep beforehand. Just paint.

While that was drying, I moved on to the lamp shade – the part I was most excited about, yet still a little nervous to attempt. I hadn’t stenciled before and worried that if I screwed it up, that was all she wrote. There were no other lamp shades to take its place. But, my worries quickly faded as I discovered how easy it was.

First, I taped the stencil in place on the lamp.

Next I dipped the flat end of my stencil paint brush into the paint. The directions on the stencil said I should wipe the excess paint off the end of the brush onto a cloth. That is an important warning – too much paint and you’ll see it spread underneath the stencil. So take heed – less is more here!

After you’ve dipped and wiped, then start dabbing at an open section of the stencil, applying the paint in a circular motion. I had to dip and wipe several times just to complete each swirly shape.

An important note to bear in mind as you are working – gently keep your stencil in place with just the tips of your fingers. If you apply too much pressure, you’ll inadvertently move the stencil. I found it slid around easily.

Once I painted the sections of the stencil I wanted (in this case, the whole thing), I removed it and marveled at how good it looked, and thought, “dang, that was easy!”

My next step was to turn the shade slightly and start working my way around. I chose to slightly turn my stencil, so the swirls would not all be facing in the same direction. And in some sections of the shade, I had the swirls running off the edges.

You can see a few of the places where the paint was too heavy (I got lazy and stopped wiping the excess on the cloth) and it spread under the stencil border. But, I was so anxious! I had to tell myself to slow down. Once I got one side of the shade completed, I set it aside to dry. Then I went back to the lamp again.

I applied a second coat of French Linen. Once it dried, I started to distress lightly. Since I was working with metal, I chose to not use sand paper, but instead used a wet rag. I lightly rubbed the rag over the paint, until the metal beneath showed through. Like the edges on the base here.