School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

Basement Drywall

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

May 14, 2012 By Jackie

The drywall stage of our basement finishing project is the most exciting part of the project so far!  I was very excited when the framing was complete, but that excitement pales in comparison to seeing drywall hung in our new space.

Basement Finishing

You start to get a hint of how the space is shaping up during framing, but since you can still see through all the future walls you, you cannot actually tell how the finished space will look.  Once the drywall goes in, you can get a true sense of the space.

We loved walking through the space with drywall for the first time.  Even with drywall still in progress, it all suddenly felt real.

Basement Finishing

One thing that took us by surprise was the change in light once the bedroom wall was drywalled.  The bedroom is through the door on the left in the photo above.  The light from the bedroom window no longer poured into the main space.  Luckily, there are plenty of other windows in the rest of the space.  As soon as we got used to the walls, we realized there was no shortage of light.  The bedroom is bright with a large window and the rest of the space gets plenty of light from the door and 3 other windows.

Basement Finishing

The kitchenette area is such a unique shape.  With the drywall in place it is easier to see the true shape.  You can say where the pipes are for a future sink.  To the right of the sink will be a fun, retro-style fridge like a Smeg or Big Chill.  The low outlet to the left is for a microwave below the counter.  The angled wall to the right (where the piece of drywall is leaning) will be some sort of bar with a couple stools.

The drywall on the ceiling and soffts made a huge difference towards shaping up the space.  The basement instantly felt clean and clutter-free with the joists, wiring, plumbing, and vents covered up.   It also helped us see where the lights are.  We have recessed lights throughout the family room and kitchenette.

The greatest part of the ceiling drywall is the raised triangular area above the game table.  We asked the builder during the planning process to keep the ceiling in this area 9 ft high.  The soffit running in front of it is 8 ft high.  I love this unexpected popup in the ceiling.  I think it will be a fun surprise over the game table.  We will have a pendant light drop down over the table and I plan to do something fun and unexpected for a ceiling treatment in this triangular space.  The larger hole is for a heat vent, so I will have to work around that.

Basement Finishing

Basement Finishing

The playroom and exercise room are shaping up nicely, as well.  Unfortunately they are difficult to photograph, since there are no lights yet.  Here are a few shots of the playroom.  The room is a big triangle bordered by the utility room, exercise room, and stairwell.  The dark room in the back is the future exercise room.  The light is coming in from the utility room, which houses the furnace and water heater.  The last shot is standing in the playroom looking back out into the family room.

We are nearing the end of the basement finishing project, at least the contracted portion anyway.  The builder will finish taping, mudding, sanding, and priming the drywall.  They will texturize the ceiling in a knock-down finish to match the ceilings throughout the rest of our house.  Then they will turn it over to us.  That is when the real work will start…haha.  We will be DIYing most of the remaining work, including trim, tiling the shower, installing the kitchen, flooring, and painting (not necessarily in that order).  I will bring you along for the whole journey.

 

Previous Post
Dinner Bell
Next Post
My First {and Probably Last} Garage Sale

Comments

  1. [email protected] Design for Living says

    May 14, 2012 at 4:15 pm

    So exciting. Electrical is going in today for us and then it’s on to dry wall!

    • Jackie says

      May 14, 2012 at 8:27 pm

      Shauna that is wonderful. Our just got primed today and it is so amazing to see the space coming to life. Of course there are still a zillion things to do, but it is amazing to see the rooms and to start truly planning how we are going to place furniture, plus being able to get accurate measurements to buy some new furniture :)

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.