Oh boy. This basement has really seen some changes! It went from a dark basement to something light and bright. We made the windows larger and we also moved the stairs! The flow of the space works much better now. This basement is one of the favorite places to be in the house. I especially love this for our kids, friends and family. We didn’t have a basement in our Connecticut home and while we really didn’t miss having it in that house we knew we would want a big basement in Utah, with so much family and friends around.
Basement Before-
I loved that curved rock wall, it stayed, we just did a mortar Limewash to it. And, a big part of our renovation was moving the stairs. The stairs before were taking up space in the family room, so we moved them to the wood wall in this room. Moving the stairs also eliminated a storage room, but worth the change!
Basement Game Room After-
Ta-da! The ceilings are just under 8′ tall and not a lot of windows (making it hard to take photos too!), so it was important to keep the walls white (All White from Farrow & Ball). We recently added the board and batten around the room and painted it Light Blue from Farrow & Ball. We lived with the walls all white for several months, but much prefer the pop of color now!
Basement Links-
Work Hard & Be Nice to People // Green Bird with Purple // Clock // Fox Art
Arcade Games (with risers)– Outrun, Street Fighter, Buck Hunter, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles Arcade Machine, and Ms Mac Man // Air Hockey Table
NBA Basketball Game- this is pricey, but we use this daily!!! // Marble Solitaire
Marble Chinese Checkers // Scrabble // Checkered Rug
The rug is older and not available anymore. I LOVE the mustard and pops of white in it, if I didn’t have this rug I would have done this rug. All the pillows are a fun random mix of pillows I have collected over time. This round velvet pillow is newer, Cozy Up Buttercup is soft and fun and the black and white gingham pillow is a timeless pattern.
This side of the room we did an Air Hockey table. We went back and forth on what to do here and we are happy with our choice! It does get played often. We also have a Frame TV on the wall. Honesty, we haven’t turned it on besides when we hosted the Super Bowl. (Light fixture HERE).
On this side of the wall we did a shelf on top of the board and batten out of a piece of wood. It was really easy for Kevin to add it and a fun way to display art and also games!
The Monopoly game was a gift (no longer available, similar HERE). I keep the pieces to play in a glass cabinet. This yellow clock is practical and nice to pull in the mustard to this side of the room. (Baby Fawn HERE).
We decided to stop the board and batten where the header comes down to divide the two rooms. We are going to wallpaper the other side of the wall and I am pretty sure we will continue the blue trim around the room. I put the Large Checkerboard up as a way to fill in that space and add a pop of color.
Can’t help but bring in the plants!! These two get good light by the window. If I didn’t have a windows nearby I would use a Grow Light Bulb.
Love these Poufs, traveled with us from Connecticut. These are great to have to scoot around to sit and watch people play games or to sit and chat.
We did four Free Standing Arcade Games (with risers). My friend Jess, had some at her house when we went to stay and we loved the idea. Kevin ordered – Street Fighter, Buck Hunter, Outrun, and Ms Mac Man. Finn likes Street Fighter, the most, Kevin and Kevin’s mom are competitive with Ms Mac Man and a lot of my nephews and Lola like Buck Hunter.
Luckily I had brought these stools from our Connecticut kitchen, because we found we like the stools up to the games, especially for little kids who can’t reach.
Over on this side of the basement is where our sofa’s and a game table are, I will have to share that another time! But in the far back area we have a few more games…
We had stayed at an Airbnb and had two Pop a Shots in a big game room. They were a huge hit. I knew that when we had a house that could fit one we would get one. Even tho this 1970’s home has 8′ ceilings we were able to find a Pop a Shot that came short enough and with an extender for the balls to come out further.
The NBA Pop a Shot Basketball Game was an investment. But something we wanted to invest in for our family. We use it every single day and it is a huge attraction when we have guests over. We use it more than the TV and sofa! And Lola uses the Air Track and Air Barrel daily too!
The stairs lead up to the dining room and living space. Behind the stairs leads to guest rooms, wet bar, bathrooms, laundry room and stairs to our backyard.
Found that cabinet when we were second hand shopping a few weeks ago. Painted in the perfect shade of pink with pops of green.
We have had that cabinet for years, unfortunately not available anymore. It holds a bunch of games!
Wish we could have you over for games!!! Hopefully that inspired you to make a space for your family to gather for lots of family time! PS- Same wood throughout our entire home, European Oak from Opus in Acropolis
You have such a mix of thrifted and new – I hope you never feel like you need to explain when you buy something more expensive! You do amazing things!❤️
Thank you Heather. I have received unkind comments before, so thank you!
Love this so much! What is the paint color on the board and batten?
It is Light Blue from Farrow and Ball (color matched locally at a paint store)
I agree with Heather. You do what’s best for your family. Could you link the flooring material? Its beautiful.
Thank you! yes it is European Oak from Opus in Acropolis
I love it! What a super fun place for your family and friends to hang out! We just moved to a new home a year ago, and I just had my fifth kiddo so I’ve been slow to make the house our own but this is inspiring! I love the grouping of four chairs around the coffee table, i’ve been thinking about doing a similar arrangement in our library room. Question for you, do you feel like those chairs have held up well since you’ve had two of them for a while? It looks like you can remove the slip covers but have you washed them before? Thank you!
Congrats on your family! And yes they have held up really well. They aren’t slipcover, so we just spot clean them with our Bissell Cleaner!
Hi! I have followed you since you lived in CT and love everything you do. So warm and inviting. My daughter went to Fairfield Univ and we would always drive by your adorable house when she lived at the beach!
Curious about the swivel chairs…how has the fabric held up? I have 4 big kids that are hard on furniture. From description, it looks like they are upholstered, not slipcovers that can be washed. Would appreciate your insight!
Thank you,
Amy
Hello! Thanks for following!!! Love Fairfield so much!
The chairs aren’t slipcover, but we can easily spot clean, they have cleaned really easily
Can you provide the link to the framed art of houses at the foot of the stairs? Please and Thank You.
yes! HERE is the link!
hey girl- love the new look!! oh so cool!
Hi! Your basement looks amazing! I’m new to Utah(Heber Valley) I’m wondering if you can point to to some good some stores to go thrifting? I’m willing to travel a bit if needed! We’ve bought a new build house and now I want to fill it with old stuff!!
Hello and welcome to Utah! I have a blog post with Utah favorites here- https://nestingwithgrace.com/top-things-to-do-in-utah-must-visit/