The Basement... Not as bad as it looks.

I promised "before" photos of the basement, and here you have them. For some reason when I look at these on the computer everything comes off a little more scary than it actually is. The truth is that the rec room area is actually pretty okay and we spend lots of time there comfortably. Of course, we have plans to make it more comfortable, but it's nice that we have an acceptable hangout place for the time being.

It was reallyyyy important to me when we were house hunting that we find a place that had a distinct "den" area that wasn't too open to the rest of the house, where we could put the TV. I guess that kind of feature isn't all that hard to find, but some newer style homes are a little too open-plan for my liking. The isolation of the TV is important to me not because I'm one of those people who's all "Oh, I don't watch TV. Blar blar blar, downfall of society," but rather, if the TV is too close and visible, it sings its siren song to me and four hours later I've watched a Lifetime rerun of Mother May I Sleep with Danger? and the whole night has slipped away.

So now I'm super happy that our upstairs is quiet, with a few great places to read, and downstairs is its own separate TV zone. It actually makes for better TV viewing too, since one of us doesn't have to turn up the volume if the other is banging around in the kitchen (which actually happened a lot in our condo).

But enough blathering. Here's the goods:

The den. Someone along the line one of the previous owners did us a favor and pulled up the old-school asbestos tiles. The lines you see on the floor are just imprints of what used to be, but this is actually an unfinished floor. For now. We've got an area rug in front of the TV and it's working.

Basement fireplace! La di da.

The rest of the basement is utility space. Here's an old laundry sink that I'd be totally into without the rust. The washer and dryer are to the left of this but I'm not posting a picture of them because they look like... a washer and dryer. Trust your imagination.

This soap dispenser would also be really awesome if it were not a tetanus shot waiting to happen. I looked these up on eBay and they go for around $20- $30 in good condition. Would it be really weird to buy one on eBay and swap it out? I guess I have better uses for $20 right now.

Broken water softener. Soon to be replaced.

This fridge actually works, but... no. Don't want to touch it. Xcel is actually doing a program right now where they'll give you $50 for these old beasts, so I have to call to see if we're eligible. I'm going to theorize that our seller's son was the one responsible for the embellishments. Or she herself was just really into Deftones.

This storage area is actually separate from the laundry room, but there's a little walkthrough that connects them. It used to be blocked with a sheet of pegboard but I tore it down last night with my lady muscles. There is a laundry chute! I know it is a fire hazard. However, counterargument: Laundry chutes are friggin' awesome.

The pièce de résistance of many a basement... the toilet with no walls. I have not used this. But I did stock it with a toilet brush, plunger, and antibacterial hand-wipes because Eric and his friends use it once in a while. To those friends I say: You are always welcome to come upstairs and use a normal bathroom. 

Aaaandd... a fourth bedroom! Someday! (Just like the toilet will be a third bath, someday.) The walls are framed and partially insulated, so this would just be a matter of a little electrical work, walls, closet, ceiling and flooring. You know, your basic afternoon project. I guess we'll keep it as our box storage room for now.

Ta-da, the basement.