Bright & Fresh Basement Reno Before & After... (& Notes about New Unfinished Basements)



In the fall, we were contacted to finish a basement in a relatively new neighbourhood. Although a newer home may not have the potential issues of an older home, there are sometimes foundational fixes that need to be addressed before proceeding with a basement renovation. I may be wrong (not being a foundation expert by any means!), but I surmise that it could be because of shifting and movement caused by the constant digging at other properties nearby. I often find cracks in new builds. Most of the time, they are harmless and just need to be levelled off, but it's always wise to get it checked out by a foundation expert. Anyway... I digress!

For this renovation, the client (being an engineer), had his own floor plan in mind, so we went ahead and made his vision a reality! I should definitely mention the instant "brightness" impact of the grey -white laminate floor, which is by Quick Step.

 Before & After Rec Room: The basement, being unfinished had no place for storage. The wall on the right in the "after" shot contains a whole area of storage, in which we finished off a cold room for extra storage.

 

 Before & After Bedroom: There was a space at the end of the long floor plan that the clients wanted to make the bedroom since they don't regularly receive guests. Although it is a slightly awkward space, there is enough room to put a double bed, an armoire and a dresser or desk.

 Before & After TV Area: The client wanted to have an alternative location for installing the wall-mount TV, so we had Ethernet boxes installed here as well.

Lastly, I just wanted to show a picture of the glass shower. The client did not want a tiled shower receptacle (the shower floor), because they felt it would be harder to clean. Instead, we opted for this acrylic shower base from Tubs. The client had a design in mind and asked us to install 4" x 16" white glossy tiles vertically in a brick pattern, with a band of mixed glass blue mosaic as an accent from The Tile Store.

Basement Reno- Planning and Finishing Large Spaces

Planning and finishing large areas of space can be just as difficult as figuring out to do with small ones, so for this post about our latest project, i'm going to focus on how we planned the space. Like most unfinished basements, we start with the basics of what we know: where the furnace, ductwork, supporting beams, windows and plumbing are. Though we can move latter, most things on that list are untouchable.

We then start to design the basement based on the needs of the client, and get a vision for the finishes that they want to see in their dream space. For this particular project the list of requirements were standard: a bedroom, bathroom, a large furnace room and a rec room. The construction and finishes, however, were mostly upgraded: spray foam insulation throughout (which we subcontracted out to Insta-Insulation prior to the contractors starting), DRICore Subfloors, Roxul sound insulation in the ceilings and walls, solid three panel doors, 5" baseboards, and other upgrades you'll see throughout.

 

As much as I would have loved to show you the finished space in its entirety, the client moved everything downstairs so quickly that I didn't have a chance to come and take photos. I take that as a compliment- since that means that they were so eager to use it!

We'll start the tour at the bedroom (which is now being used as an office so i'll respect the client's privacy there). We had two frosted glass doors installed at the entrance. To maintain the flow of traffic, there is another main coridor that is not shown.

Bedroom Before

The rec area in the basement is a lot larger than this space, but I wanted to crop out most of their personal items. On top of the DRICore subfloors, we had the contractors install this gorgeous Classic Plus laminate from Quick Step, in Midnight Oak. It's micro-bevelled, so you get the look of wood flooring. The clients had a few people ask if it was engineered hardwood.

For lighting, the client wanted less focused lighting so we opted for three flushmount fixtures in combination with pot lights.

Another view of the rec area



Stairs Before

(Above) The stairs are now faced with oak treds and risers that are stained to match as best as possible with the multi-coloured laminate.






Bathroom/ Furnace Rooms
before

(Above) - The bathroom was a very large space, so I sggested the idea of adding a listello (band of accent tile) on the floor instead of just in the shower stall.

The glass shower featured the same accent tiles, with a Kohler shower system. We had the contractor create a niche for the shampoos and soaps, which also helped break up the large space visually.

Bachelor Pad Overhaul

As I thought about the post title, I felt like the cliche descriptor "Bachelor Pad" didn't really cut it, but i'm currently on a job site waiting for them to finish a spray foam insulation job so my brain isn't conjuring as witty a title as I would like. Anyway, I digress! The client, who describes the world as his oyster, is a prodigy and overachiever. While some people who have seen the before photos have mentioned "I would live there... it's not that bad", this client thought otherwise. "Nothing but your best work"- I was told (which is what I strive to always give anyway! :), but I knew that the design elements and finishes in this condo had to be nothing short of stunning. I took the invitation and opportunity to push the envelope a bit and here are the results!
(Before: A simple white kitchen which was literally falling apart at the seams even though it's not apparent in the photo)

After: A custom designed kitchen featuring new stainless steel appliances with an extended cabinet for pantry space (far left), and a stunning quartz waterfall edge countertop. The Kitchen Aid Architect Series fridge, which was ordered for it's flat profile, was not counter depth so we designed an extended cabinet with an extra 3" gable on the left side of it to give it a more custom built look.

 Before & After Photos of the kitchen. The floors were completely retiled and a wine rack was installed. What bachelor pad would be complete without a wine rack or some sort of bar area?

I'm a huge advocator of Bosch dishwashers. The general footprint of the layout has not changed, but the difference is all in the details like this undermount squared double sink.

 I had an accent wall painted a dark blue in this kitchen (the client's favourite colour is blue) to make an extra bold statement. We had a bit of tricky maneuvering to do when installing this slide in stove because of the concrete walls. I LOVE the amazing dual finish backsplash I had installed (one side is polished, the other honed) to give it that extra depth and texture.

 Another cool feature in this kitchen is the pull out spice rack that the client may use for mugs and glasses.

 Before: The bathroom was again, not unusable, but was definitely not to the client's sleek taste.

After: The beautiful Italian tile flooring was continued into the bathroom and a large accent of multi-finished tiles were installed down the center. The mosaic sheet of light grey tile had 5 different finishes to them (which had been honed, polished, tumbled to various degrees).

 Adjacent to the multifaceted tile is a GORGEOUS black matte 4" x 24" tile from Ciot. A brushed nickel Moen rainfall showerhead and slide-bar with handshower was also installed.

To the Rescue! DIY Disaster Made Right in a Triple Bathroom / Laundry Reno



DIY Disaster from the previous owner:
Duct taped pipes

In the month of July, we basically ate (does sawdust count?), breathed and lived bathroom renovations (and kitchens, but i'll get to that later). One of the nicest families we have ever met had called us in last minute to look at renovating a laundry room and three bathrooms, which had long been victim to a DIY disaster caused by the previous owners. Duct tape, as they found out, could only hold for so long. The band aid solutions were just not going to cut it anymore, and it was a perfect opportunity to create three fully functional and classically designed bathrooms. Because of the quick start date and tight timeline (exactly 3 weeks), most of the materials used were from Lowes or Home Depot.

Exhibit A: Old Layout- The classic older home layout (40 years+) with a squeezed in ensuite bathroom addition with no place to shower.

The New Layout

 Master Ensuite Before (Left): A tiny ensuite with a small pedestal sink.

After: A one piece toilet was installed for easier cleaning, and a new Archer Kohler pedestal sink was installed. The walls are painted in Benjamin Moore's Rocky Road (CC-470).
A stand up shower was added to the ensuite with tiles with a band of parquet design accent tiles from Lowes.

 

 

 Main Bathroom Before (Left):  The bathtub (which had previously been leaking to the basement washroom below), had become the shower stall in the ensuite, so a shorter 54" x 30" tub (a hard find to come by!) had to be installed to accomodate the smaller space.
After: A warm, family-friendly design with modern clean lines, painted in the cozy shade of Ranchwood (CC-500) by Benjamin Moore. The floors are chocolate brown Blown 16" x 16" by Ciot.

To accomodate teeth brushing time for three kids, we designed a custom 66" shaker-style vanity with quartz countertops and rounded rectangular undermount sinks. The faucets are Mistos by Kohler. 

 Below: the old shower stall was removed and a one piece toilet was installed by Price Pfister.

 

 Before: The laundry room had poorly done plumbing, and very little storage space.

 After: We custom designed shelving and updated all the plumbing.

 Basement Bathroom Before: The old bathroom was a mishmash of buttercream slathered Victorian replica porcelain and outdated blue tiles.
After: A 24" custom but simple shaker door style vanity, which is a pre-curser to the contemporary design.

Before: An awkward dark corner shower, that the family couldn't use because it would back up on them.

After: A whopping 72" x 42" shower base was installed with a custom glass door and wall. A tub filler was installed to wash the kids feet. The washroom is painted in warm and inviting shade, which reminds me of chocolate mouse Benjamin Moore's Cobblestone (CC-454)

 

 

Totally Renovated Townhome Part VI - The Loft

Here's the last stop on our totally renovated townhome tour: the loft. First of all I want to pause on these gorgeous custom stained stairs again!

 BEFORE: The loft had hunter green carpets and dark taupe walls. (Photo from Century 21)

 PROGRESS: During demolition, carpeting and underpad is cut into small manageable pieces, rolled and disposed of.

AFTER: The loft was painted the same beautiful grey shade (Benjamin Moore's Wickham Gray HC-171) as most of the hallways and spaces of this house. A large open space like this also required a substantial light fixture. I chose a chrome "sputnik" type design, that would diffuse light throughout the large space

 Another look at the newly redone stairs and hardwood flooring. It is very important to keep the hardwood flooring consistent throughout the house! (With very few exceptions)

A shot of the staircase looking down to the main level.
That concludes the tour! Hope you enjoyed and please do drop us a line if you have any questions about renovations or get your very own quotation.