BASEMENT BONUS ROOM IN THE HOUSE ON COTTAGE GROVE

Hi there! Thanks so much for following along as I share with you my newly finished fixer upper.  And thanks also for all of your positive and encouraging comments which are very much appreciated. So today I want to share with you the Basement Bonus Room in The House On Cottage Grove. To get there we must descend a staircase that used to look like this…

We fixed that by removing the shelf and rerouting the pipes you see in the top of the photo above. We paneled the walls and resurfaced the stairs.

When we purchased the home the bottom of the staircase looked like it does in the photo below. The previous owners had been using the stair niche as a closet, and the basement as a bedroom.

I decided that the basement would no longer serve as a bedroom so a closet area would not be needed. Instead I turned the stair niche into a cozy reading nook. We even added a trap door and storage under the seat.

And this is what it looks like today with a comfortable cushion and throw blanket.

So now that we are down in the basement bonus room of The House On Cottage Grove let me show you what the room looked like when we purchased the home. As I mentioned, it had been used as a bedroom.

But since the house already has 4 dedicated bedrooms, I decided the room would be better served as a bonus/media/bar area. We started by covering the raw cement floors with ceramic tile made to look like distressed wood.

We laid the tile in a herringbone pattern, my favorite. I used this tile pattern in my last fixer-upper too, Stone Hill Cottage.

You may recall that when I renovated the Dining Room in this house I removed the built-in buffet shown in the photo below.

I thought that this cabinet would make a great bar in the basement. So we moved it down there and gave it a paint job.

I filled the cabinet with all kinds of bar paraphernalia for the next owners to enjoy.

This gaming table had also been left behind by the previous owners. I sanded off the old finish and then chalk painted it.

Now see how lovely it looks in the basement bonus room in The House On Cottage Grove.

I also refinished and reupholstered chairs for the gaming table. These actually used to be the dining room chairs.

And this is what that area looks like today. The black Industrial Pendant Lamp came from Wisteria.com but is no longer available.

Now let’s turn our attention to the other side of the room where the massive king sized bed had previously overwhelmed the room.

I decided to construct a built-in, wrap-around bench in this area, turning it into a place to relax and watch TV. And as an added bonus, the comfortable tufted cushions could also provide an overflow sleeping area.

Old books and a brass Arrowhead Accent Lamp purchased here now decorated a corner of the bench area.

We turned this log, cut from a large stump at my own home, into a very special coffee table. The pretty green rug was purchased here.

I sewed large Euro pillow shams for the bench seating area…

and added some antlers and old horseshoes to decorate the log table.

I also sewed curtains for the large picture windows that overlook the forested front yard and stream below.

We used copper pipe for the curtain rods, which match the copper pipes used on the staircase shown previously. And, as I mentioned in this previous post, I took old doilies and crochet work found in the home and framed them.

These pieces now decorate the walls of the bonus room.

And this is what the area looks like today. See the green upholstered chair on the right in the photo below?

It used to look like this…

until it got reupholstered. And now it looks like this…

We completed the room by adding an Everett Foyer Table from World Market and a large flat screen TV. And the view from this room is so beautiful. You can see why I chose a green & cream color scheme for this house, as it blends to perfection with the forest outside. And there is also a tranquil stream just below.

That same media wall used to look like this…

Now, taking a wide angle look at the entire room you will see that steer head on the wall. We call him/her Bessie.

He/she used to reside in the storage room, but I think she is much happier in the bonus room. We have since cleared out this messy area and turned it into a ping pong room.

I sewed a scarf for Bessie as well. If Bessie had to die some cruel death, at least she is now loved and staying warm in the Basement Bonus Room in The House On Cottage Grove.

I think some very nice family is going to enjoy this room more than ever before. If you know someone looking for a charming Lake Arrowhead home, this house is now on the market. See the listing here.

So there you have it: BASEMENT BONUS ROOM IN THE HOUSE ON COTTAGE GROVE

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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission. This post contains affiliate links which help to make this blog possible. Thank you for your support.