Basement: Ta Da

We have a basement! Yay! I've always wanted a basement because I have such fond memories of my grandparents' basement in Kentucky. Our basement is the full length and width of the house and I've decided to divide the space a little to give it some functionality beyond storage and laundry.

First, at the bottom of the stairs (coming from the kitchen) you'll find this - our "pantry." Due to a lack of storage space in the kitchen, a lot of our pots, pans, electronics, and dry goods go in the basement on these shelves. It is an odd angle to take a picture, but for scale this shelf is about 6 feet tall.

Hamilton's new home is also in the basement - he has his own little corner with his food, water, bed, and crate. He likes it, and he has enough room to run around and play down here, too. In the summer he is really going to love the floor - it will always be cool. Our 'beer fridge' is down here, too. It is currently stocked with Coke, Diet Coke, and Coke Zero...no beer.

Frank's old desk (thanks, Frank!) is now my sewing and crafts table. I'm thinking of using the storage bench to hold my fabrics, notions, projects, etc. The rug is one we bought for Frank's office but the color wasn't right, so now its mine! What is all over the floor you asked? Well, it is painted cement...so, paint chips.

The striped thing hanging behind the bench is a shower curtain. That is currently serving as my 'divider' between the pantry/sewing side and the laundry/storage side.

This is the area under the stairs. Storage.

The washer and dryer are along the back wall with a tiny window looking into the back yard - kind of on level with the ground, so not much of a view. The washer and dryer are newish, and actually the same kinds we had at the old apartment so I didn't have to learn anything new! You'll also notice the sink on the left, possibly my favorite feature of the house! It has been great to have a 'basement sink' for washing out paint brushes, rollers, and pans. I never realized how convenient it is to have a deep sink like this, now I'm not sure I can ever live without one.

This is across from the washer/dryer, backed up to the bench and 'divider'. It is for our out-of-season clothes and is a real life-saver since we're low on closet storage space.