Basement Before and After

How I transformed my scary basement with before and after pictures.

Basement before and after - So Much Better With Age
Do you have a scary basement? I know a lot of us do. What about a low ceiling basement? Do you ever think you can’t do anything with that space?
Well, I’m here to tell you that you’re wrong. I apologize.
Look at this before photo.
Basement before and after / before picture of cluttered basement - So Much Better With Age
And see, even though it’s really low, we still made it into a playroom!
Basement before and after / low ceiling - So Much Better With Age
See…that’s me. And I’m not very tall. Really tall people will not fit in our basement.
  That’s why it’s a kids play room! Kids love forts and tents and unusual spaces so my
hubby thought it would be a great idea for a playroom. I was really skeptical. Especially
 since that ‘crawlspace’ was my painting and sanding studio.
Basement before and after / kid friendly playroom - So Much Better With Age
There was a lot of work to do before this space could become like this. Our water
heater, heating system, and ductwork all had to be moved to the other half of our
crawlspace {yup, this is only HALF of our crawlspace}. But the other half has many more
pipes to navigate through so it’s our Christmas and summer storage area and new home to
our new heating/cooling system.
Okay, enough about that. Let’s see some more photos!
Here is the reading area with just a few of my kids books.
Basement before and after / after picture of basement with shelf and chair - So Much Better With Age
I painted on a little chalkboard paint as a sign to watch your heads!
Basement before and after / chalkboard sign in basement - So Much Better With Age
The back area is often used a stage! And everyone loves the circus tent {from Ikea}.
Basement before and after / back area of basement with tent and rocking horse - So Much Better With Age
The light fixtures are all kid-friendly. They are cool to touch.
Basement before and after / kid friendly light fixtures - So Much Better With Age
We stick our old Halloween costumes in this trunk for dress-up time! And there’s a little
 mirror to check your cute self out 😉  I got the mirror and trunk from Ikea too.
Basement before and after / kids pretend dress up area in basement - So Much Better With Age
We had tons of storage made for all the toys, blocks, and musical instruments.
Basement before and after / toys on shelf - So Much Better With Age
My kids and all their friends LOVE spending time in this playroom. It’s definitely not a
 grungy old basement anymore!
Basement before and after / kid friendly playroom - So Much Better With Age
It’s so bright and welcoming! Want to come over for a playdate?
Basement before and after / light and bright basement - So Much Better With Age
Some more before and afters:
Basement before and after / before picture of cluttered basement and after picture - So Much Better With Age
Basement before and after / dark basement before picture and bight after picture - So Much Better With Age
Check out these other playroom posts:

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How a playroom can transform into a cool man cave at night!   A few days ago I showed you the amazing transformation of our scary unfinished basement to our beautiful new playroom. But did you know this playroom turns into a man cave at night? Now I know the real  reason why my hubby wanted…

77 Comments

  5. What an awesome space for the little people! I can imagine the memories they will be making down there.

    Reply

  10. auhmazing! i can’t believe that crazy bulkhead! i love that there is some adult seating too; it’s nice to feel like you can spend time in the playroom without sitting on the floor

    Reply

  16. Locking the TV cabinet is a great move. Kids get plenty of TV but play? You have to plan for play!

    Hey, please come to my Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop on Ducks ‘n a Row. It goes live Tuesdays at 7pm EDT and stays top of the fold till sometime Thursday.

    Blessings,
    Sinea
    Ducks ‘n a Row

    Reply

  20. Great job! Would you mind posting a price breakdown of how much (roughly) this overhaul cost you? We are thinking about refinishing our basement and I have no idea what to expect.

    Reply

    1. It was a lot! Only because we had to move our hot water tank and furnace and all the ductwork to the other side of our crawlspace. And blowing out the window too. It was pretty reasonable though otherwise. My hubby is not a DIY-er so we had a contractor. Did you want the cost of our contractor minus all the furnace updates? We live in Vancouver, BC Canada so not sure if the pricing will be the same. I’ll ask my hubby about the costs. Let me know if you’re still interested!
      Jamie

      Reply

  22. Wow, that is an amazing change! It looks great the kids must love it 🙂

    Angela @ A Typical English Home

    Reply

  26. What a amazing transformation! I actually showed this to my hubby and asked him how big our crawl space is, LOL. He said he will start digging tomorrow. Thanks for linking this up this week. I will be featuring this on my next party, Hope to see more from you soon.

    Reply

  28. Looks great! So inviting and I agree that kids love those little short spaces that feel like they are just for them. Thanks for sharing your playroom makeover. It’s featured this week at A New Creation.

    Reply

  29. WOW Jamie!!! I’m short for words…. AMAZING!!!

    Thanks for linking up at The DIY Dreamer last week! Can’t wait to see what you link up tomorrow evening!

    Reply

  37. Hi there! Love, love, love your basement! I was wondering how tall are the ceilings down there? both in the kids play area and the higher ceiling area? We have really low basement ceilings and are brainstorming ideas. Thanks!!

    Reply

  38. Love this transformation! We are in the middle of transforming our scary basement into a playroom. It’s hard to tell from these pics. What color are the walls (name/brand)? And what about the carpet- brown or gray? Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Ashley,

      I used Benjamin Moore French Canvas on the walls and the carpet is more brown than grey. Good luck with your transformation! It’s definitely worth it 😉
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply

  39. Hi Jaime, awesome well done looks great. Very inspiring. We have a loft space that we have been thinking of turning into a kids playroom but their is no where for adults to stand.. Would be a sit down space. I wasn’t sure of what we looking at converting would
    Be too castrophobic.. Do u know what measurement from floor to ceilin the lower part of you room is?
    X
    Heidi

    Reply

  40. Wow! We’re looking at a house with a 6 foot crawl space and I was daydreaming of how to use it without the obscene cost of underpinning the house. This gives me hope! It likely wouldn’t be as cute as how you did it, but if it was even partially as cute.. I’m game!! How tall would you say the ‘tall’ part of the room is?

    Reply

    1. Hi Janet,
      I’m 5’3″ so it was the perfect basement for me, haha. I think the tallest part was 6 feet. I don’t live in that house anymore so I can’t measure but I remember friends coming over that kinda had to duck but it was fun to visit in with the kids nonetheless.
      Hugs, Jamie

      Reply

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