Tackling The Basement: Chapter Five
We’re back with our weekly basement update (here’s where we left off) and this time we conquered the bare-bulb ceiling fixture (by dressing it up with a polished linen shade). We also snagged a vertical balancing bike rack (on sale!) since our cinder block walls make hanging weight-baring hooks and stands close to impossible) and got the ultimate surprise from Flor in the form of an awesome 5 x 8 rug thanks to their amazing carpet squares. Sure we still have to add privacy to the windows, paint the built-in cabinet near the bikes, build a screen to hide our eyesore of a water heater, and more… but here’s what the room looks like these days with the new DIY light fixture, discount bike rack and fun new area rug:
And you might wonder why the fine folks at Flor would offer us a free area rug of our choosing (other than the fact that they’re insanely sweet over there) but we’re actually teaming up with them for this week’s giveaway so they’re also dishing out a free area rug to one of our readers this afternoon (!). It’s a win-win situation. And installing the floor tiles we picked (after careful consideration we went for the fun and durable Ascot Stripe variety) was super easy. They even come with simple little sticky circles that adhere all of the corners from underneath…
… for a seamless and secure end result.
Now for the details on the bike rack. We were on the lookout for a rack that would allow us to store the bikes above one another for to maximize space and create some interest on the back wall… but the impossible cinder block walls made anything that has to be screwed or anchored to the wall totally out of the question. Enter this baby stage right (it was actually suggested by a reader in our last post- thanks Lauren!). Plus when we got to Target it happened to be on sale for $39 (down from $49) so we grabbed it and wasted no time getting both bikes off the floor. It’s kind of industial-chic, no?
The lamp shade also hails from Target, where we were immediately struck by the chic linen look, generous size, and great price. Twenty-five beans later we got it home, removed the ceiling bulb, slipped the metal ring that’s attached to the inside the shade onto the bulb, and screwed the bulb back into the formerly bare fixture box. Basically it’s the same way you’d put a shade on a table lamp, but it hangs from the ceiling instead.
Here’s a detail shot where you can see the metal ring from the shade slipped over the bulb and held in place by screwing the bulb into place in the overhead fixture box. So easy and so much cleaner looking! We also emplyed this method in the den to class up our ceiling fan (here’s that link for ya).
So that’s where we are with the basement. As we mentioned, we still have the windows and the water heater (among other things) to address, so stick around for those updates soon. And we also plan to load up on containers and bins to store a whole mess of stuff in the armoires that we added last week so stay tuned for all the nitty gritty organizing details when we throw open the doors and bare all.
And while we’re on the subject of organizing, what do you guys prefer? Clear plastic bins so you can see everything inside? Opaque bins so you can’t? Wire baskets for Parisian flair? Fabric boxes or cardboard ones in fun colors? Name your favorite organization accessories at the beep. Beeeeeep.
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Comments
I can’t believe how awesome your basement looks already! It makes me wish I had one so I could make it as chic as yours!
Also, we use opaque bins with labels on the outside to store our belongings. I’d rather not see the unorganized mess that is inside them haha.
Looking good! I like to use a variety of things to get organized with. I have a ton of those rectangular baskets with cloth liners all over the house, as well as some pretty printed boxes in the dining room, plastic bins in the bathroom and wire baskets and paper boxes in the office. I guess you could say I’m eclectic? :-)
The quick lighting fix is awesome! I actually did that same thing Saturday with a 14″ drum shade I found at target for… get this… FOUR DOLLARS! I was one happy camper:)
It looks amazing! What a transformation. My husband and I have the same bike rack! Isn’t it great? We absolutely love it, it saved us a big headache from having to drill into the wall in the garage.
Your basement storage is very impressive looking. It amazes me that you are leaving empty space there though. My storage needs would required much more actual shelving!!!
We love FLOR at our house! We have a large one in our dining room (it’s awesome that we were able to custom-design it to match our walls and furniture), and 3 of the brightly colored round rugs in our toddler’s room. If you’re in Atlanta, you can visit their showroom to see the tiles in person AND get a discount on shipping!
I like clear bins for storage, mostly because they’re usually pretty cheap if not on sale! We don’t have a lot of open storage elsewhere in the house, so decorative choices aren’t really necessary.
I bought this same shad and made my own pendant fixture for my foyer. gotta love Target! everywhere else this size shade was 50 and up.
I’m a huge fan of pretending that my life is in perfect order. This usually requires opacity. :) … Although, there is a certain place for the non-opaque in the pretending scheme. If everything is behind closed drawers, you might tip people off. Sometimes you have to show a little, in highly organized fashion, of course, to keep up the charade. :)
i’ve been dying to try carpet squares! i like how flexible and (i’ve heard) easy to clean they are. i’m curious what the approximate cost of yours (or something comparable) are…
kelly
Hey Kelly,
Just follow the links to “Flor” and “Ascot Stripe” in the post to check out tile square costs (they really vary depending on what you select). And you’re so right about the easy care and flexibility! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Looks fantastic! Love the flor tiles……….may have to look into that for my kitchen since my family room and bedrooms are carpeted. I have all different colored bins in my garage……one of these days, I will get organized enough to label the outsides. Seeing as though I am the complete opposite of a packrat, I don’t have all that many.
Even though we all know about your L O VE / H A T E relationship with ikea, my suggestion would be to get some more matching boxes to tie everything in together.
I’m beginning to think we’re the only ones who did not have a good experience with our FLOR rug. Maybe it was the type we got? Not sure .. but after just one day with our cats it looked awful – covered in cat hair and scratched to pieces. I’ve never had a rug wear so badly/so quickly. It never looked clean to me …. And it’s sad, because I love how they look in photos
Haha Eric! We definitely plan to bring in more pops of bright green to tie in with those darn Ikea boxes!
xo,
s
I love flor! In addition to their cool designs, it’s super easy to replace a square if it gets a stain.
We installed one of Ikea’s ceiling curtain tracks about 1.5 ft away from our basement wall. Then we put shelves behind the curtains with labeled clear plastic bins for storage. So we have a whole wall of storage, but when you pull the curtains closed it hides everything!
Looks great!
Does the Flor tiles slide around on the floor at all? I could use these for my office but they are kind of pricey if they don’t work really well.
Hey Mrs. Limestone,
Good question! The floor tiles don’t move an inch on our concrete floor thanks to super grippy rubber backing… plus once you anchor them all together at the corners with those sticky circles (from underneath) they become super secure and weighty (they’re pretty substantial in width so when you join them they’re pretty hefty and ready to stay precisely where you put ‘em. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Your basement is looking really great! I can’t wait to see the final photos! I love that you got free FLOR tiles. I was looking at some area rugs for our living room area and have ordered a few online and they just aren’t the way they appear, so I’ve had to return them. I think FLOR tiles would be such a huge advantage in our busy space. Can’t wait to see the contest details so I can enter! :)
Looking great! We picked up those linen shades from Target this spring as well, love them!
I can’t believe I never thought to stick a lamp shade on a non-lamp lighting fixture! Genius. That’ll be a great way to spruce up some of my drab rented apartment lightbulbs.
I love Flor! I got their catalog because I work in commercial real estate and instantly wanted to buy some for my house! All of the choices are amazing! your basement looks great!
The FLOR tiles look great! We’re planning to buy some this week for our dining room.
You mentioned wire baskets in your post… which I love! Trouble is, I can’t find them anywhere. Do you have suggestions? I am looking for more industrial type versions. Thanks!
Hey Lara,
Ikea actually sells them for certain systems (but you can always buy them separately and use them alone) and we’ve seen some at The Container Store, Target, and places like TJ Maxx. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I LOVE FLOR! I have been considering their shag tiles for a rug in my living room. (hint…hint..I’d love to win a free rug ;)
The basement is looking great!
I was wondering what color Expedit desk you were going to go with! White it is! I like it!
Hey Anne,
It’s actually just tan colored Drylok on the walls (a waterproofing product available at tons of home improvement stores). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Basement looks great! So jealous… Everything we store has to be in plastic bins (I prefer not to look at it all, but what ever we have will do) due to a temperamental sump pump. After two floods – plastic it is!!! :)
I love the room- the details really make the room just come together! As far as storage that I like – I’m definitely an opaque kind of a girl. I like baskets for linen storage and accent storage in the living room and dining room. But I’m a huge fan of the Kassett line at IKEA – and I use them in my office like they are going out of style. I am also planning on using them for my tool storage space once I have it complete. I actually posted about it today. I want something that looks nice enough for a closet that gets used by guests from time to time, and seeing a bunch of tools is probably not what my guests want to see, so I’m going with the large Kassett media boxes to help hide my paints, rollers, wood glues…etc, and of course the ugly compressor and shop vac…oh what I would do for a shed or a garage!
Love how the basement is coming out. Love the Flor tiles, great choice. I have all different types of bins for organization. Clear, colored and leather, even some wicker baskets on shelves.
It looks so much better with the bikes off the floor! Your readers really are the best! Love the FLOR tiles, too. I’ve been thinking of getting some to define the sitting area in my basement (it is entirely carpeted already but I want to define one area). Great job.
looking great guys.
I like the bins to be cleanly opaque, but color coded and well labelled if necessary. Holiday bins are easy, they sell seasonal: orange & black for halloween, red and green for christmas, that way I can just say, let’s grab them all and sort upstairs. Although if my basement looked like yours is shaping up I might linger. :)
Genius! So, I just have to find a lamp shade that has the ring at the top? I went back to your living room post where you did your ceiling fan. It said click top right hand corner for additional instructions and photographs, but I am nut and cannot find it apparently, am I missing it?? Cannot wait to try this. So, it should work for a regular ceiling mount right?
Hey Tara,
We were just teaching people how to access the comments of that post for more info but you clearly know how to comment so just go back to that post and scroll through the comments for more tips and pics. This solution can definitely work for virtually any bare-bulb ceiling fixture. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Looks great! How did you decide on that style/color flor tile? They have so many choices… it can seem overwhelming! Was it the color/pattern you liked best? Did you think that one would be extra durable? Just curious how you made your choice..
The basement is looking great! Quick question – are you planning on bringing in any art to make the space feel more ‘homey’? Or is that going to be a problem given that you cannot hang things directly from the cinderblock walls? What about some large art pieces that stand on the floor and lean against the wall? Or things that can be hung from the ceiling? Keep up the good work Youngsters!
Julie- We definitely weighed durability and design to find something fun, textured, and durable. They do have lots of options but it just means there are definitely more than one “right answer.” Hope it helps!
Amy- Art is definitely on the agenda. Stay tuned!
xo,
s
Wow- its really coming along quickly. You are going to have a very nice space down there! Love the rug. I’ll have to check out that website for a new entry rug. Lately I’ve been buying several wire “locker” type baskets. Love them. The trick is to keep the fun/pretty/colorful stuff in something see through and all the “junk” in the opaque/cardboard containers where I don’t have to see it!! :)
I love the Flor carpet squares..we’ve been considering them for our basement as well! Looks awesome..keep up the inspiring ideas!
I am SO going to Target this afternoon to get a lamp shade. I swear, I have begun so many conversations with my husband lately by saying, “So, I saw on Young House Love…” I think he gets a little frightened when I say that with a gleam in my eye. But, anyhoo, this lamp shade treatment will look fantastic in my kitchen!
As for storage, when I first read your post I didn’t really think I had any one key component to my organizing. And then I took a look around… there sure are a lot of baskets in this house, lol!
We’ve got an eyesore of a storage room in our basement, and you guys are really inspiring me to add it to the list of the many things we want to do to fix up our house.
OHMYGOODNESS A FLOR RUG! I LOVE THEM!! I’m screaming as you can see. I have a FLOR rug and I’d LOVE to add to it. They are amazing!
So … favorite storage options. Any and all. I am a storage freak. I have baskets where it shows, family room and laudry room, but plastic tubs in the closets and garage. All marked heavily with details of what is inside. Christmas decorating is a snap for me. I even have one that says “Open me first!”
Personally, I don’t like storage bins that you can see through. I think the purpose of storage bins is to hide away your clutter and if you can see what’s in the bins, that kind of defeats its purpose. I like fabric storage boxes or baskets.
The basement looks great!
Two words of warning when using cardboard storage boxes: SILVER FISH. Maybe the colorclad boxes don’t attract the critters, but I dumped every corregated box I owned in favor of clear and opaque plastic (depended on which was on sale).
Love, love the green and white boxes. I was actually thinking about getting some of them myself. Ikea is annoying, but you can’t beat the prices! :)
Boxes: Wicker baskets. Bamboo lid-less boxes. or Cardboard. Basically anything natural and eco-friendly, with a very earthy texture. You could even get some of those white kassett boxes you have from IKEA and simply glue some neutral fabric on them to match the light shade.
And please please tell me you’re going to add something next to the white ANEBODA wardrobes like a large plant or some artwork, so that they look a little less like a police waiting room?
Flor! The perfect giveaway at the perfect time because I need to replace my bedroom rug. Fingers crossed on that.
I agree with Sally “pretending that my life is in perfect order … requires opacity” and Katy Campbell. But I did just buy a clear acrylic mini set of drawers from Muji for some of my jewelry. Right now the bottoms are lined with paper but I’m planning on getting some felt. Muji’s storage somehow has that Kartell expensive minimalist look without the price tag. I needed bins to fit in a very shallow bathroom cabinet and their stackable polypropylene bins were the only ones that fit the bill (not seeing them in the online store).
A variation on the Expedit desk theme is Muji’s desk/shelving combo (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/08/garden/20090108-desks_5.html). I’ve seen it in person and it looks really durable and designer. I would probably cough up more money than I actually have for it if the desk weren’t too low (27 inches). That might be perfect for some people though. Sherry and John, can you tell me how sturdy the Expedit desk is? I’m looking for a project surface, so I might put some pressure on it while cutting mat boards, etc. Do you think it can stand up to that?
Hey Alyzande,
Yes, yes, yes- we’re not done by any means! There are definitely a lot of finishing touches to be added (art, window stuff, smaller accessories, etc) along with big things like a screen to hide the ugly water heater so stay tuned!
xo,
s
It looks great! Thanks for including the close up the lamp shade, LOVE THAT!
I am thinking of getting the Flor tiles for my sons bedroom but wasn’t sure they would stay together. Thanks for filling me in.
Hey Beki,
Definitely. It’s a super solid little desk so it’s a great place for cutting boards, etc. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Looks so great guys! Of course even your basement is now chic and amazing:)
I am on a tight budget most of the time so I buy all sizes and types of baskets from thrift stores or garage sales and spray paint them white…to unify them even though they are different. I group them together on shelves or spread them out around the house. The different shapes and sizes make them great for storing all kinds of stuff.
Love the blog! Thanks for all the tips and ideas:)
Hey Tasha,
Good point! We threw things together this weekend pretty quickly so we just used the light that was already in there and haven’t switched it out for a CFL yet. Although I guess it can be argued that using up what you have and then switching to CFLs is still not an un-green thing to do. We’re all about using things “up” before tossing them!
xo,
s
I love the Flor carpet tiles, I had to spend sometime on the website since we are in need of some rug ideas for our new office!! Love what you did with the boring ‘ol basement.
If you DON’t do clear, then at least get a labelmaker or something so you know what’s inside. I prefer clear storage bins in plastic. Especially if they are in your basement. Cardboard just isn’t reliable enough for me :-)
I love the way your basement is turning out. Love the carpet FLORing. I use the see thru, quick peek plastic boxes for organizing in my garage and I love them. If you were going to have them sitting out in plain view I would opt for the opaque variety but since they are in the wardrobe I say go with the see thru.
maureen
Looking good! I really like the lamp shade touch.
If at all possible I like plastic storage bins. They look so much more put together, last longer and are more durable. I like clear plastic, but also opaque. I love the idea of color cordinating such as all Christmas stuff in green/red bins. With opaque bins I like the idea of putting stickers somewhere on them of what’s inside. I have a sticker maker, so anything can become a sticker: magazine pics of your stuff, or your own pic of everything that’s inside the bin. That way you don’t have to go digging all the time to find what you’re looking for.
I’ve always thought of using the Flor tiles for our bedroom. They look great in your basement.
I guess I prefer natural storage, so wicker or rattan baskets and mixed in with natural linen covered bins. I also love the white Ikat (?) boxes from Ikea. I bought some about 9 years ago as a newlywed and they’re great for things that you need to keep but definitely don’t want to look at (i.e., taxes!).
I guess it depends on what you are storing and if seeing it in all it’s messy glory (inside a clear container) would bother you. I have a huge number of the vintage Ball jars with lots of ribbon in them in my craft studio. That doesn’t bother me because I love the colors and like seeing the many pretty ribbons. In other rooms though I prefer the opaque storage (magazine articles torn out, recipe cards, etc.) so things look less messy.
Hey, you used my carpet tiles idea! It looks great — I never would have thought to use stripes, but it adds so much!
How can I enter the giveaway?
It’s looking good!! I don’t have a basement here in Lexington, KY so my husband bike is being stored in our guest bedroom – classy huh??
With the exception of shoe boxes (which I prefer to be clear), I like the idea of hiding my mess. Personally I think a nice canvas box with a label on the front is classic and functional. Who could go wrong with that? Plus you can get them in a ton of different colors. Stylish!
The basement if looking great!
Don’t use clear bins for anything that might be damaged by light.
I brilliantly stored some vintage Christmas cards in a see-through plastic container one year and I still mourn the extent to which they faded (even in a dark attic).
You guys are going to hate me, but I love those KASSET boxes from IKEA. They come in great colors, and the little label caddies in the front are just uber handy. The matching magazine files help make my pack-rattery manageable.
Why would we hate you? Sure, they’re a pain to put together, but we love them too. You’re right about the little metal label things. So great!
xo,
s
I’m a fan of wicker or reed or whatever those other baskets are from Ikea that fit in the Expedit. If I have a box on a shelf, it’s to HIDE in addition to store, LOL. Clear is not my way!
It looks so clean and polished, you guys did a fabulous job!
Love the Flor Tiles too, what a great surprise!
I so adore your light fixture update and what a great coincidence that your bike rack was on sale?!… it was meant to be. Oh, and the rug just makes the room feel more like, well, a ROOM. I wish someone would offer up some free home decor to me! (hint, hint) Anyhoo, I really REALLY appreciate you guys sharing the process of your basement makeover instead of the before, then BAM!, after. It’s great to see it in stages. Love y’all!
It’s looking so good! I love the linen lampshade light you chose. I’m not so patiently waiting for my husband to hang my new chandelier that has linen shades up in our dining room that I bought of eBay a while back.
The rug pattern you chose was a great pick, too! You’ve got me thinking a FLOR area rug would be a good choice for our entryway that’s bare right now.
For in-sight storage, such as on our leaning shelves in the living room, we use wicker baskets; it blends in best with the look of our room. We each have a small basket for our keys/wallets/sunglasses/etc., there’s medium-sized one for mail and other stuff that needs sorted/filed away, and then there’s a BIG one that I keep whatever purses/totes/resusable grocery bags I’ve got out.
For actual storage (holiday decorations, etc.), I prefer solid-colored plastic boxes with labels. The OCD organizer in me doesn’t want to see the piles of junk inside!
Hey Molly,
Just comment on the post above this one (published later in the day so you couldn’t enter it this morning since it didn’t exist). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
looking good! i use all types of storage bins, because each location is different.
I listening to the radio this weekend, heard the weather report for the rest of the state, and as soon as I heard there was flooding in Richmond, I thought of your basement! Funny, right? Hope the drylock was able to keep up with all the water!
Hey Tracie-
Dry as a bone! Isn’t that amazing? We can’t believe it because practically all of our neighbors have totally flooded basements so we feel incredibly lucky that we waterproofed everything when we did. Whew!
xo,
s
Your basement looks amazing. If you don’t have water in it after all the rain we had last week you probably never will! I go for storage that you can’t see through or a cupboard to hide things in.
Really like everything you’ve done so far! My favorites so far are the punches of green against the white and the graphic rug.
Your basement is coming along so nice! It doesn’t even look like a typical basement, gosh if we could only get to the projects that we want to do around the house, I’d love to make our basement pretty like yours!
Speaking of rugs, I was wondering if you could help me out with making a rug-purchasing decision. We need a new rug for under our dining table. I bought a jute rug from West Elm a few months ago for under the table but our 8 month old puppy seems to think that the big woven knots in the rug are for him to chew on.
We’ve corrected his bad habit but now we’re left with a rug that has “pulls” in it and to be honest, he almost did me a favor because I wasn’t totally thrilled with it to begin with. It just seemed too thick when we’d pull our chairs in and out over the rug but my husband just didn’t want to hear that. So now I’ve convinced him that we need a new rug and we’re stuck between 2 rugs from Pottery Barn…either the “color-bound sisal rug” or the “color-bound seagrass” rug. Both rugs looks so similar to me…we just want one that adds some interest/definition to the room, lies flat, and doesn’t act as a chew toy for our puppy! Can I ask you your opinion in which rug would probably be best for us?
Thanks so much!
(And sorry for the lengthy comment)
We bought that same lampshade for our living room about a month ago and I LOVE it! Target is the best. I wish we could redo our basement space but it’s 135 years old… low ceilings and just old. Your space looks great!
Speaking of Richmond, VA, designer Eddie Ross was evidently in your town today.
He’s terrific! I missed him the last time he was doing a gig out my way.
you guys are really making headway on your basement! how exciting :-)
i’ve got a question–i remeber awhile back reading a post where you mentioned a great online discount fabric source, but haven’t been able to find it in old posts. could you tell e soe of the sources you have the best luck with? i’m looking for the perfect fabric at the perfect price to reupholster my livingroom chairs :-) thanks!!!
I prefer boxes you can’t see thru for areas that are publicly accessible. But in closets or other places where you don’t have people parading thru clear is nice!
BTW – that light fixture is awesome!
Harmony- Could it have been fabric.com? That’s all that comes to mind for us, but we find lots of great discount fabrics there. Hope it helps!
Cecelia- We actually just returned from that event! It was great and we had lots of fun meeting readers, eating good grub and watching Eddie Ross talk about holiday decorating!
Erica- Tough choice but neither one is the wrong one… meaning you can go with either rug and do no wrong. They’re both gorgeous so it’s really your call!
xo,
s
I LOVE FLOR tiles! We have 2 FLOR rugs in our house…one in the living room and a runner down the hallway. Great choice!
Basement looks great. It’s amazing what you can get done pre-children. We’ve been in our house for 6 years and with 3 kiddies running around, our basement still needs alot of work.
I’m curious what you plan to use it for, ‘specially since it appears you cannot access it from the main house.
Also, just wondering why you chose to keep the bikes in there, rather than the garage.
Keep up the great work! You two seem to have found awesome little careers, just because you bought a fixer upper.
NO WAY Sherry and John! I was just talking to my hubby about getting these carpet squares for our living room! Our problem is dog hair, so they seemed to make products that would hold up to our mutts! Looks great!
I prefer the clear plastic bins so I can see what is inside. I am seriously opposed to baskets and wire mesh containers, because everything inside just gets dusty! Containers with air-tight lids is the way to go.
Hey Sherri,
The plan is that we’ll use it for lots and lots of storage (we like having a few surfaces to set things down on so we can dig through boxes to find things without crouching on the floor). And maybe one day waaaay down the line it can be a messy arts and crafts room of sorts for our kids (we picture lots of finger painting that can just be wiped down in our waterproofed room!). Oh and the garage gets spiderwebs and the occasional rogue bird in it, while the basement is totally sealed and bug-proof now, so keeping our bikes down there feels like a luxury to us. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I much prefer opaque bins – but I am madly devoted to my Brother labeler, so it’s no chore to remember what’s where. In fact, I label just about every drawer and cupboard in the house (unobtrusively) because I live as an organized brain in a sea of ADHD kiddos and husband, LOL!! It helps them all so, so much to have polished, labeled areas . . . they can follow any system I set in place, but are befuddled by trying to keep their own stuff organized. My only exception is clear bins (with lids) for rx meds, because it’s easier to fish out what I need in the moment . . . but that lives inside a closed cupboard.
Also, my husband is totally coming home to one of those gravity racks for his bikes. He doesn’t know it yet; Happy birthday to me LOL!! (Because less clutter is always a present!!)
And PS, I don’t mind open bins (no lids) if it’s in a fairly snug spot, as with the Expedit units (and so serving more or less as a drawer) or in a closed cupboard. Otherwise, I like lids on things.
Holy cow!! I take a few days off to visit Philly and AC and come back to find this GORGEOUS space completed!! What an incredible transformation in a very short amount of time! You guys never cease to amaze me :)
i am in awe of the bike rack! and i was expecting it to be much pricier. with no garage, we are forced to keep both of our bikes in our guest room, which is fine, until we have guests, which we often do. what a handy little stand that will clear up so much space. can’t wait to pick one up and then to hopefully convince my husband that the basement would be a much better place to store them ;).
WOW I’m sooo impressed. and like some of the other readers I am constantly forwarding your blog emails onto my boyfriend.. !!
We need a bike rack for our garage/storage shed… You found it in store at Target, with the bike stuff? and how tall is it exactly??
I love bins but to me they have to look like bins and NOT baskets! LOL, i prefer opaque ones so that you can’t see what’s in them and to add their own element of design.
I love how you just put the lampshade right over the existing fixture but I have a question/inquiry. In our apt we have these bare bulb fixtures as well, but they are up in the skylight area, hence not facing downwards like yours, but sideways. any recs on how to not just cover the fixture up (by taking out the lightbulb) but actually putting something over them like a shade and still look modern??
Thanks!!
Hey Jen,
Yup, found it right at Target in the aisle with the bike and the car stuff. And it’s about six feet tall or so. As for your sideways bulb scenario, is there any way to get one giant shade that can still very safely be hung around both bulbs without getting to close to become a fire hazard. If you believe you can find one large enough you might be able to use small metal plant hooks from the ceiling to hook the shade directly to the ceiling so it covers the entire fixture to create one flush-mount-looking-shade instead. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hey Sherry!
You may have already mentioned this, but I wanted to find out if the lamp shade is meant as a ceiling mount over existing bulbs or did you just improvise? Your basement looks awesome!
Teesha
Hey Teesha,
The lamp shade is just a basic table lamp variety from Target that we flipped over and retrofitted to work with our ceiling fixture. We’re all about improvising! Hope it helps!
xo,
s
I prefer opaque bins with lids but then I have to label them. At one point we had a bin labeled “Santa Outfit, Gulf War, Boxing Gloves.” It cracked us up every time we’d see it, but that’s what was in there!
Before we put our house on the market I needed a new light fixture in my dining space/living room that would give me more light than the old heavily frosted one that was there originally. I totally stole your fixture idea and bought a porceline fixture and a lamp shade from Target. Its actually the same lamp shade as yours, but a smaller size. Total cost…$12!!! AMAZING!!! Thinking about doing the same thing in the hallway where my DH broke the light fixture…Thanks for the idea!!!
wow, i wish my basement looked like this!! no matter how much i try and clear it out to make room, it seems to be a jumbled heap within a matter of weeks!! i think its the black hole of my house!!
I wish we had basements in Texas but they would accumulate too much moisture–just not practical.
Hiya! Just wanted you to know this post was something of an inspiration to me, and I referenced it in my blog here: http://themclambs.blogspot.com/2010/09/let-there-be-light-in-nursery.html. Thanks a bunch for the inspiration you give us for pennies! :)
I love the room so far! I just barely heard of the Flor store and they seem like great, versatile rugs. I wonder how one of those would be for a dining room…
As for organizing, I prefer clear bins for the basement, but for places with open storage like bookshelves and bathroom shelves, I prefer either wicker baskets or cutesy-colored cardboard boxes.