You might remember Belinda W sharing the start of her Dingy Basement Renovation well here is the big reveal! It was a dingy basement area that didn’t look like it had much promise, but with clever renovation and styling it has been turned into a gorgeous retreat. From a dingy basement to designer digs!
Here is the story behind the amazing basement renovation from Belinda W!
“We bought a run down 1950’s cottage set on the side of a hill with amazing costal views but it was in awful condition. Under the house was a dingy basement storage area. As you can see there was nothing inspiring about this space, but I had a vision of all it could be – at least I hoped it would be!!!
I wanted to open the space up to the view and let the light in. By adding a large deck it increased the living space. I was inspired to create a Scandinavian style interior that could be holiday rented or used by our family & friends when they came to stay. I collected my Pinterest images and then went to work selecting products and finishes to give me the look I wanted for the best price. I was able to pick up the antique wash stand for $250 – a bargain!! We just modified it to take a modern basin and tap.
The floor boards were a mishmash so we painted them in a beautiful soft grey and added lined board to some of the walls to create a feature.
The couch is 2nd hand and I bought accessories from discount stores like Kmart and a local shop called Beachside Bargains, as we wanted to use things that created the look, but wouldn’t break our hearts or bank account if they got damaged by tenants. We used other pieces of furniture we already had, like the antique cupboard.
This area cost us around $35K to create and we will get more than $300/week rental return. I am really pleased with how it turned out and would love to move in myself, if I didn’t have so much furniture and family!!
There was one disaster – our daughter stayed for a visit and on the 2nd day told us the bathroom walls looked like they were moving and they were making a funny noise when she showered. We thought she was just hearing the old house creaks, but on checking we discovered the plumber had missed crimping a pipe inside the wall and water had flooded into the little study area damaging the wall and floor. $1000 worth of damage! Even experienced renovators can have things turn pear shaped. All fixed now and we are ready to start another reno…
Building products – Bunnings
Taps/toilets/basin – Williams Hardware
Paint – Wattyl/Solver
Kitchen – DMK
Curtains – Kathy’s Curtains
Tiles – Ballina Tiles
Windows – Alumalite
Accessories – Kmart, Beachside Bargains