Our next project is underway....

Time to flash to the present for a while.... We've moved from the seemingly unending "pre-planning"stage (when we say "we really need to work on the basement", "the basement is next", "what will we do with the basement?" and stand around down there making said comments, then returning upstairs to forget about it) into the actual "beginning the project" stage. This is the stage when we actually start some aspect of the project. This in no way indicates that this project will be completed anytime in the next few years or has any connection to the actual completion of previous project(s). Just to give you an idea of how projects go around here, our last 2 projects are still technically in-progress. "Project fireplace surround" is 98% complete after 14 months (just needs knobs on the cabinet doors) and "project new countertops" is 80% complete (after only 1 short month!). So it seems like a good time to move on to something else rather than finish what we've started.


That's what we're starting with. Yikes, I know. It's amazing how much crap can fit into a basement. We need to transform this trainwreck into a cool playroom for the little guy before his toys overtake the entire house. Unfortunately, we have lots of problems to solve in order to use this room. First off, it's freezing cold down there all winter and we don't want to turn the little one into a kidsicle. Apparently, when they finished the basement, they didn't insulate at all or hook up the cold air return properly (or at all...they just cut a hole in the wall that goes nowhere). Neil rigged up a cold air return vent last week and now I can feel my hands. At least I can't see my breath down here. The second problem is the lovely shade of sanitarium gray on the walls. That's easy enough to fix. I think we'll go neutral so we can do some fun art on the walls. And the third issue, as you can see from all the lovely junk in the photo, is we need STORAGE!!
The plan is to build some type of shelving for toys, books, games, and the tv at the end of the room. I've been having trouble visualizing just what I want. It has to be something easy to build (i.e. fast, and therefore, likely unpainted), cheap (read= MDF), and really functional. And I still want it to look nice somehow. We've had some luck staining MDF and having it look ok, so we'll likely try that. Painting MDF shelves takes forever and I would like this room usable before the boy goes to college. I finally came up with this general idea for the shelving unit, with cabinets on each end for big awkward toys and a spot for cubbies with baskets where the boy can reach them.


I had a 3 hour long wild plan to build this crazy "house" shelving unit, but I'm over it now for many reasons. Maybe one day we'll go crazy like this...


As you can see, I had some coloring assistance from my 16 month old design associate. He was NOT into sharing his crayons and spent most of his time pushing me away from the paper and yelling "NO! NO!" at me. Good ole toddlers!