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One Room Challenge Week 7: The Furniture and Details That Bring It All Together

by - Wednesday, June 17, 2020

ONE WEEK. That's how much time we have left before the grand reveal of our basement remodel. And if you want to be really picky, with one day for photography and another one for editing the photos and writing up the blog post, we've got five days to pull this One Room Challenge project together. 

And there's a 95% chance we're not going to make it. 

build.com beverage fridge, avallon beverage centre, drinks fridge, basement kitchen fridge

If you're new to Rambling Renovators, welcome! My name is Jennifer. I'm an e-Designer and social media strategist and I've been writing this blog since 2007. I live with my husband and daughter in Toronto, Canada in a centre-plan, colonial style house that we've infused with the fresh traditional style we love. We DIY all our renovations and have a fondness for architectural details, built-ins, and classic decor.

Catch up on Week 1 (basement layout options) - Week 2 (coastal basement design) - Week 3 (framing an old fireplace) - Week 4 (shiplap, plumbing and sewing projects) - Week 5 (paint, wallpaper, and shiplap) - Week 6 (basement kitchenette layout and fireplace tile installation)

We created a cardboard mockup to see if a single piece countertop would fit down our stairs. It would not.

Let me explain: there's a very good possibility our countertop will not be here in time. With everyone staying at home due to the pandemic, hardware stores reduced to online shopping only, and contractors not going in homes... it's been a challenge to get our countertop measured, manufactured, delivered, and installed. Right now, we're scheduled for installation on June 30th and I'm hoping against hope that there will be a last minute cancellation and we'll get our countertop in before next Wednesday. The countertop has a trickle down effect because other things are dependant on that being installed first. 

BUT -  I'm not going to dwell on the sad parts when there are so many GOOD things in this project to celebrate. Here's a look at what we've managed to get done:

spoonflower wallpaper, kayak wallpaper, coastal wallpaper

Wallpaper Installation


The wallpaper has been installed (on one wall, anyway) and it's looking fantastic! I'm debating whether we get the second wall wallpapered as ideally, it should go in after the countertop so it doesn't get scratched or torn. The Antique Kayaks Blueprint wallpaper has that peppy coastal feel we love, though there was a bit of a challenge with the install. Spoonflower wallpaper is designed so that the panels overlap by about 3/4". We were wary of having a visible "bump" at the seams so we did what is known as a double cut: you overlap the panels, then use a sharp blade and yardstick to cut down the middle and create a new seam, and remove the excess from each panel. It turned out great and I'm loving the bold, fun colour.

The kitchenette is also ready and waiting. The Kitch doors have been installed and we've put on the handles from Build.com. The backplate is a bolder look... it seems to be a theme in this basement! Bold accents and bold colours.

Now that you've seen some of the bigger elements like the fireplace and kitchenette, let me share some of the furnishings, art, and accessories that will bring this entire coastal basement look together. 

The Art

minted art, coastal art, vintage ship painting

Art is one of those things that can solicit an immediate response. In designing the basement, I knew that I wanted a wide variety of art, from affordable prints, thrifted finds, to original paintings. Many of the art pieces you'll see in the basement come courtesy of Minted. I'm especially eager to hang the Beach Houses print above the sofa. It feels breezy and summery, and I love the pastel colours. The Stormy Palms, Calm At Sea, Surf print, and original painting will form part of a gallery wall. I envisioned hanging the art pair, Sacred Beginning I and II, in the stairwell leading down to the basement. I always try to have something to draw you into a room, some sort of focal point or intriguing accessory. Having art right at the top of the stairs will beckon you in and entice you to want to see more.

The Furniture

What makes for a comfortable basement hangout? The furniture. One choice I made early on was to keep our Ikea Karlstad sofa. This was for a few reasons: firstly, because a normal sized sofa won't fit down our narrow stairs, and because the sofa is still in good condition. I find myself increasingly reluctant to throw things out just to replace them with something newer, especially furniture. No need to contribute to more landfill! But our sofa could use an update so I'm excited to give it just that with a slipcover from Bemz.

Are you familiar with Bemz? They make custom cover for all sorts of Ikea sofas and chairs, made to order in Europe. To change up the look and modern lines of our Karlstad sofa, I opted for a Belgian Linen Blend unbleached slipcover in a regular fit with a long skirt. The long skirt will hide the legs and give the sofa a more traditional look, while the linen colour brings a lighter style suited to our beachy basement. I love that Bemz covers are machine washable as well.

loloi klein rug, bemz karlstad slipcover, wovenbyrd striped ottoman, couture lamp alamont

A few other furnishings, namely the Klein Ivory/Charcoal rug from Loloi and the striped pillowtop ottomans courtesy of Wovenbyrd add to that casual air. The Alamont table lamp (it's ceramic!) is so beautiful and will bring a sculptural accent to the room. I've also made space for the Ault Dining Table. It'll be the perfect spot for family game nights.

But really, most of our basement time will be spent with eyes on the Hisense Canada 58" 4K UHD Smart Roku TV. We spent much of our time and effort updating the fireplace with a spot for a flat screen TV above so I was thrilled when Hisense Canada reached out wanting to partner. Our existing 6 year old TV just wasn't cutting it lately and was incapable of handling all the streaming services we subscribe to. The built-in Roku hub gives us instant access to our subscriptions - Netflix, Disney+ AppleTV, Prime video - plus cable, in one easy menu. We've already hooked it up and I am in LOVE! It was super quick to set up and it's simple to use. I'll share a sneak peek in my stories in case you're curious. 

spoonflower home decor, spoonflower pillow, le creuset meringue, jill rosenwald pripet, couture lamp alamont

The Accessories

Looking at the accessories, it becomes clearer that we have a blue and peachy pink colour scheme planned for the basement. I love blues and whites for a coastal space, but since the basement can feel cold, I wanted to add in an accent colour to warm it up. This pale peach pink hue felt just right. It's the colour of sunsets and sun kissed skin, rosy cheeks and hazy beach breezes. This pillow and this pillow add colour to the neutral sofa and this blanket from Spoonflower keeps us cozy on chilly nights. I opted for the Celosia Velvet fabric and it was definitely the right choice! 

I've also added some accessories to make the most of this entertaining space. The Le Creuset pitcher,  mugs, and bowls will bring some minimal colour to the kitchen area. I can't wait to style these on the floating shelves! Carrying more colour around the room, I'll decorate with these Blair boxes from Couture Lamps and this gorgeous ceramic bowl created by Jill Rosenwald. Even though we're in a basement, I don't want the space to feel like an afterthought. I want the basement to feel refined, classic, and beautiful.

Come back next week to see if we accomplish that! I hope we do.

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Thank you to these wonderful sponsors who have provided product for use in this project!
Build.com • Kitch • Hisense Canada • Wovenbyrd • Spoonflower • Minted • Bemz • Couture Lamps • Jill Rosenwald • Le Creuset

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Head over and see how the other Featured Designers are faring on their projects. I CAN'T wait to see all the beautiful reveals next week!


A Glass of Bovino | Beginning in the Middle | Beth Diana Smith | Clark + Aldine | Coco & Jack
Deeply Southern Home | Design Maze | Dwell by Cheryl | Erika Ward | Home Made by Carmona
House of Hipsters | Hunted Interior | Kandrac & Kole | Kate Pearce | Katrina Blair | Liz Kamarul
Veneer Designs | Rambling Renovators | Renovation Husbands | Studio Plumb | Media BH&G


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