Our New Guest Bedroom in the Basement

After 3 years of living in our house we can't take not having a guest bedroom anymore. For some time now, we have wanted to remodel part of the basement into a bedroom, but for numerous reasons (heating ducts must be moved, plumbing, pouring concrete, etc.) it was just too big of a mission. This is where Jen says I need to explain something about Seattle houses: Most of the older houses have basements that range from 5-8 feet tall, and its the easiest way to convert unfinished space into decent living space. So we decided to do a little make-shift remodel. Eventually we will fully finish the basement, but for now we wanted a little corner to put a bed and for guests to have a place to sleep out of the dog hair and away from the alarm clock, coffee grinder, etc. So, its no 5-star sleeping arrangement but Jen's mom is currently testing it out, and she approves. So no more couch surfing for our guests -- you know have a bed to stay in :) Check out the pictures below.

This is what the basement looked like when we bought the house. While it doesn't look so bad in the picture, the carpet was nasty and the fake panels were rippled and paper thin.

Jennie's favorite part is always the demolition...she say's, "after all, I'm a demolitioner's daughter."

Gutted and stripped down to the bare concrete...time to start building now.

The new studs.

Jennie painting the Homasote panels. They are an alternative product to drywall for certain situations. Learn more about homasote panels here.

TaaDaaaaa! Eventually, the upper shelves will be more "built in" with doors. In the more near future, we will cover their contents with curtains or something. But not bad for a one week transformation, eh? The cool paneling we used is called Kirei. It kinda looks like cork, but its a mixture of sorghum and poplar waste among other things. Look here for more.

Pretty cozy looking, huh? Time to come visit. I'm talking to you Tami Clayton!

The back gate.

The back of the house...(the Tyvek house)

Notice how the fence folds in on itself...

The Front Gate...

The Kitchen Transformation

The next 5 photos illustrate how the past 3 years have evolved in our kitchen. It is still far from being completely finished but take a look at how far we have come!!

This is the kitchen the day we bought the house. I can't believe we bought this house with this gross kitchen. The yellow stains on the wall were cigarette smoke!! You would have had to see it to believe it. The dirty wall leading to the original deck was completely dryrot. It was the deck that needed to be fixed and somehow that turned into a kitchen remodel. We knocked down the wasll which extended the kitchen by 6 feet.

With the help of Kelly Davidson the kitchen is clean. The matching old school stove was found on the side of the road!!

Under the drywall is insulation made from recycled blue jeans!!

Our first christmas in our kitchen!! We still need a hood, and the eating bar....as well as many other projects. The filtered water on the island is my favorite!! The counter tops are recycled paper composite and the cabinets are bamboo. The paint is by Yolo a low voc eco friendly paint.

The hood and eating bar are finally in. We still need the concrete top to the eating bar, all window and door wood trim work and lastly tile floor....we are getting there!!

The Dining Room Transformation

Ok, so its been quite awhile since the last post and in fact I have never kept up with this blog as well as I originally hoped. But with continued interest from some of our friends and family I am going to try and post more frequently. So check back again soon, and keep an eye for a way to subscribe so you get an email whenever I make an update.

The four picture below illustrate the transformation that has taken place in what is now our dining room. After buying the house we tore out the nasty red carpet, and made this room our master bedroom. About a year later we moved our bedroom and decided to tear into the project. It has come a long way since the red carpet, and while we still don't have a finished floor (tile soon), we are ready to start hosting a few dinner parties. Hope to have you over for dinner soon.

Envision A New Dining Room

Getting Ready for the Dirty Work

No Turning Back Now

Ready for Dinner Parties

The chaos of a kitchen remodel. Here is the last bit of our old kitchen....now located in the office. Its a bit crowded.

Just another beautiful day in Seattle :) There wasn't one plant when we moved in. Just grass. Needless to say, Jennie has become addicted to gardening.

Rado and the front yard. Jennie did lots of gardening this spring, and she will come home to much bigger plants (and lots of weeds).

A wide view of the kitchen. Taken from the dining room. There will be an island with an eating bar just this side of the scaffolding. And cabinets running across the far wall.

The north end of the kitchen. The stove will be on the left side of the picture and the counter will wrap around the corner under the two windows. The french door leads to a deck and our back yard

Looking at the South End of our Kitchen. The Sink will go under the window. The Fridge and pantry will go under the soffit. The darkness is the hallway that leads to the rest of the house.

Jennie's latest landscaping project. In half of our front yard, she tore up the remaining grass, (this space used to be entirely grass) made a mound and brought in some boulders (actually that was me) and then went shopping at her favorite gardening store. This all happened at the same time we got our puppy, Rado, so to keep him from eating the new work, we constructed the bamboo fence (my design), which has actually work very well. All the flowers are sprouting up and starting to bloom, so check back soon for a colorful update. 

Recycled Blue Jean Insulation

The Environmental Home Center (www.environmentalhomecenter.com) is our savior in the remodel. This store, despite catching fire recently, is still in business, and has been an incredible resource every step of the way. We recently just bought some insulation made from post consumer blue jeans (meaning the scraps from making blue jeans and other cotton products) and used to make R-19 cotton insulation. While more expensive, it is much friendlier to use, install, and live around while remodeling one's kitchen. Jen has coined our kitchen the "freezer box" as its been mostly un-insulated, and with temperatures dipping, she has developed quite and aversion to the kitchen. So I am starting to insulate it, and will just work around the batts with wiring, plumbing, etc. Check back to see how this goes??

Our new Reefer :)