one thing leads to another

my basement is now cleaned out. 

everything put in place.

(except some wall art that i'm still not quite sure what to do with)

so now that i feel much better about my basement's organization - - i feel much worse about it's style.

and it's looking a lot better than it did here, but it still has no design.  no color pallet. no warm fuzzies.

i basically hate everything about it.

we never painted the trim white like we did the rest of the house.

the walls are not repaired or painted.

the mauve carpet (which i feel is the worst thing) is straight from 1993 - - i'm guessing.

and i hate mauve.

so now i have a project list a mile long. 

paint, paint, new doors, paint, build a bar, paint, new carpet.

i think i might start with the wall color and move to white trim.  hopefully somewhere in there i can persuade ronnie that new carpet is a must and it should be done as soon as possible.  so far, he is hating the idea. but i'll keep on him.

in my design plan i am thinking gray walls and white trim with a shabby chic feel. 

on YHL they visited a young couple in DC for a house tour.

basically their whole house was painted gray with white trim.  i love the fresh light feel, while staying so neutral without going to cream/khaki/beige.  this is my goal.  this is their house:

of course all my current furniture from upstairs will move down. 

in my dream world this would be my basement couch. (via restoration hardware)

but this is what will really be there.

i have so many ideas on how to bring in the cottage (shabby chic) look:

idea 1: hang old window frames as art.

idea 2: use old doors as a headboard.

idea 3: use old shutters for the bar

idea 3: use mason jars as candle holders

are you seeing a pattern?  basically, take old things and put them everywhere. then add a feminine touch. 

yes, i came up with that myself.

we have no plans (so far) this weekend except for a double date to a hockey game - - i'm hoping to start painting. cross your fingers and say a prayer.