One of the questions I get asked the most is where I get my ideas for creative design projects. The answer is really simple: there is always one little thing that inspires me and I just go from there. The inspiration this time came from Bellacor's Manhattan Comfort line that has tons of easy, affordable storage ideas, which is exactly what I had in mind for our basement playroom that I'm about to conquer.
And the piece that started it all is this.
Usually I show you guys the pretty "after" pictures but this time I'm going to keep it a little more real and you can go on this journey with me. Normally, after the inspiration bug gets into me, I get on a roll and will crank out an idea in days. But this one just isn't going to be that easy.
For starters, being pregnant takes painting the walls off the table for me. The fumes and that one tiny window for ventilation just won't work. Unfortunately, that's where I would usually start. I like my canvas to be done before I add the details. Right now it's just a boring shade of beige that came with the house.
So here's the plan! As you can see, when you walk down into the beige abyss, it's pretty barren. The wall on the right is however awesomely hiding tons of built-in storage shelves behind those white doors. I just ordered brass cabinet pulls for them since they have nothing yet. And don't worry, a custom banister is getting installed in the next few weeks! We don't want baby Athena to tumble off the side!
Once down there I wanted something sleek and modern to rest against that first wall. This is where that first inspiration piece comes in. The plan with that wall is to give the illusion of wallpaper with a fun starburst wall stencil over the new paint color, White Dove, which is a personal favorite from Benjamin Moore. I'll do this stencil tutorial in gold on this wall. I love that this one leaves room for error and it kind of makes the pattern better. Above the tv stand (that will have no tv on it) I will be putting this gold rimmed circle mirror that I searched far and wide for above it. I also score this cute little brass lamp to put up there as well.
Turn the corner and you are in the land of misfit furniture. It's all the old stuff from our last two
living rooms. I have this ottoman and rug to sell, but the main thing that just wasn't working was this red couch. About 5 years ago it worked perfectly in my old apartment but then the color didn't work when i went with a muted gray-and-gold theme and it was kindly babysat by our friends in their basement.
I would sell this couch too but it's probably the most comfortable couch I've ever owned! So my solution is to dye it. The whole cover comes right off to easily wash - which was a selling point when we bought it. I toyed with the idea of dyeing it myself and then realized it was too big a job for me to take on. I was scared it would come out weird and splotchy, or even worse, ruin our brand new washing machine. I found this company that will let me ship it to them and they will expertly dye it for me. I want the couch to be a dark ashy gray or black and they told me on the phone that is actually the easiest color to do so it wont take as long as another color might. I also have these yummy soft chenille pillows waiting for the couch when It's finished.
There is also a crisp white Bellacor bookshelf coming to replace my husbands old Ikea cube shelf. Thank God! I hate that thing!
Next we have this nook under the stairs. It's pretty deep so I think I may do the same stencil pattern in there. The plan for that space is to mount the tv onto that back wall and then line the base of the wall with these pretty white baskets from Target for Athena's toys with these cute Bellacor side tables on either end.
On the wall where you see the black book shelf will be replaced with the white ottoman you may see on the left of the nook. I got a cute rug to cover the top so that it wont show all the baby stains I'm sure it will be collecting.
I realize that this is going to take a while with a newborn so the "after" shots may take a few months but I'm hoping to have it done around the end of the year. That is such a slow timeline for a crazy person like me. This baby will be great practice for me to slow down in life!
Here is what I want the final project's vibe to be like...
And if you are like me and love to dream up fun design projects, here is an awesome giveaway for you from my friends at Bellacor!
**$400 to spend on the Manhattan Comfort!**
That's enough to get all three pieces mentioned in this post and then some! And if you just can't wait, their Anniversary sale is going on right now where you can save big on tons of home furnishings!
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