I Gained a Bedroom!

Please, forgive me because I've already said it a hundred times. I had visitors this Summer. And well, here I go again...

A couple of months before their arrival, my sister and her family asked us to please help them find a good deal at a hotel close to us to stay there. Her reasoning was that they were too many (a party of four), and they didn't want to bother us.

I  did search for hotels around our home, and it felt weird. Have you ever searched for hotels right around your home? Having a little list of where to send those pesky visitors for the night is a good idea. :D

But here's the thing, they aren't any pesky visitors!

I wanted my sister and her family to stay with us. She would save lots of money because even the cheapest hotel around the area would be expensive after staying there for a few days. 

But, most importantly, I wanted to spend time with her and her family. I wanted my kids to interact with their cousins, play games, and stay late at night talking or watching a movie. In general, just doing all those things we haven't done in years of living apart!

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So, I had to arrange things within my own home. 

We have four bedrooms, the master bedroom, one for my daughter, one for my son, and the one pictured above, which is the guest room, and they all were not going to fit in here.

I needed at least one more bedroom...

And the only space I could tap on was this, my unfinished basement. The area where I dump everything I'm not using.

Most of the items you see in the picture above are the things to bring to the flea market.

The problem was how to transform this space into a lovely bedroom retreat for them?

The big word for this project was: Organization.

Yep. This basement needed a big cleanup. The first task was to remove everything and find a new space for it within the same basement.

My son's previous bed was still in the basement, which is essential when creating a new bedroom.

Instead of hanging lots of random stuff on those 2 x 4's, this "wall" now holds some art pieces and little storage boxes.

Brown paper was used to cover the open space below the stairs.

After cleaning the space, bringing the bed, and adding some decorative touches, this is how the new bedroom looks now.

This is the before of that corner. That table was sold during our last flea market sale. All those frames and the little table were stored nicely on the other side of the basement.

And here is the after of that same corner. :)

One of the things I hated the most was the shiny insulation walls, something I couldn't remove, but sure enough, I could hide. ;)

Fabric and nails or screws are the primary materials to disguise those walls.

I used four dark blue curtain panels and two white, king-flat sheets to enclose the bedroom and make it look better.

I had to cover a little window at the top of the bed with blackout fabric before stapling the old flat sheet all along the joist.

The curtain panels were hung from nails/screws driven from the same joists. The electric panel is right under that curtain in the corner; it can be accessed anytime.

Many of the handy pieces I've created over the years came in to serve as decor... The bench, the mirror, the shades... Everything hangs from the joists on the ceiling.

My son allowed me to use HIS room as the master suite for our guests or whichever way I wanted. So, the final arrangement was to have my sister and her husband use my son's room. My niece stayed in our regular guest room, and the two boys shared this new bedroom created in the basement.

Let me tell you, the two of them were very happy to have this space as their headquarters! Another inflatable single bed was set up right close to the main bed.

There's also a computer station on the other side of the basement; that's my son's regular spot. So, they had ample space with lots of entertainment at their fingertips, and hey, no adults bothering!

Here again, another view of the same "before" space.

And the after.

I also had the headboard. It was an old DIY project for my own master bedroom. Here I covered it with one of the curtain panels. The big sunburst mirror was the main focus of this room.

If you have an unfinished basement and you want to get a room out of it, I compiled a list of
10 tips to consider when setting up a bedroom in an unfinished basement without breaking the bank!

1. Warm-up/cover those walls - fabric or paper are excellent economical materials.
2. Give the room an enclosed feel. After all, it's going to be a bedroom you need privacy!
3. Bring a cohesive color palette. I stayed with blue and white. The same basement gave me the wooden tone.
4. The carpet is essential as nobody wants to get to frozen flooring under their feet. I was lucky to have this carpet already in place. The rug went directly to the basement when the main floor got hardwood floors.
5. Cover the plain bulb in the ceiling. Give it a shade.
6. You don't want nails or screws on the concrete foundation/walls. Add nails or screws to the joists. Everything can hang from them.
7. Make the bed the main focal point.
8. You covered those ugly walls, but hey, they still need pieces of art on them.
9. If your basement is dark, give it plenty of lighting options.
10. Treat the new room as any other room in your house, giving it all the necessary things for the person staying there to feel right at home.

All those ideas will help you create a lovely room until you have the money and time to finish the entire space.

Look at the other side of this unfinished basement with a dramatic makeover: Right HERE.

Have you ever done this? Any other tips or ideas you can pitch in? Share those in the comments below. Thanks!

For more DIY home ideas, check these out:

COFFEE TABLE MAKEOVER

KITCHEN MAKEOVER ON A BUDGET

OLD HUTCH MAKEOVER

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