Our new basement storage room

February 24, 2012

It’s a little ridiculous how excited I am about this part of the basement. I’d be more than a little embarrassed if you had seen the happy dances I’ve been doing in this room over the past couple of weeks. ;)

But there have been many happy dances.

Welcome to my little piece of heaven…the storage room:

basement storage room

Isn’t it BEAUTIFUL? No? Well, I think it is. ;)

I wanted to share it now, before drywall, so you can see the whole thing. (I know you would be sad if you couldn't.)

That pic above is taken standing in our future laundry room. (I know many of you are curious about our reasoning on that, so that’s an upcoming post.) I am full of absolute JOY at the thought of a dedicated laundry room, but let’s talk storage for now.

This part of the basement was framed in last week, and we did this first so we could decide how to make the laundry room work. I’m finding I’m SO GLAD we are dragging this process out a bit…doing one step at a time has allowed us to figure out exactly where we want to put each wall, each outlet, each light. I’ve changed my mind where one wall was supposed to go three times, and the final result is perfect.

If we had done it all at once I am pretty positive I would have wished we had done something different. Because we’re taking it slow we get to live with it for a bit along the way and figure out exactly how we want things.

Anyhoo, her she is, the beauty, my “store”:

storage room with shelves

This room houses our drain and sump pump, so it will stay unfinished. There won’t be any drywall on the interior, no flooring, no finished ceiling.

But I think it’s beautiful. ;)

They weren’t even going to frame out the back wall, but I know I wanted to hang shelves everywhere, so I asked them to do that as well.

I wanted to maximize every bit I could, so I made a small bench that I put over the sump (tall enough to clear the pipes) and piled a few bins on top:

These are the only bins that don’t fit in the under the stairs storage. I am delirious. :)

I made the bench with scrap wood from the garage and extra butcher block from our kitchen island. (And all I gotta say to Stink Eye Sis is nannynannybooboo, told you I’d use all that scrap wood! Booyah!)

I got the wood at Lowe’s and cut it down, then hung the shelves with simple, cheap brackets:

I went as high as I could, knowing there wouldn’t be a ceiling going in. The tall stuff goes up there in between the rafters. Beams? I have no idea what they are:

And I had room to store all of my paint along the bottom:

Why does this make me so happy??? It does.

I used to tie back all of our drapes, so I have a ton of hardware left that I used. Years ago I came up with a way to use it for organizational purposes:

storage tricks

I hang them high and then put long, hard to store stuff across. Like curtain rods, cord hiders…whatever.

I’ve had this pretty pair for about ten years:

I got them on clearance at Pottery Barn, and have kept them all these years cause I think they are beautiful and I want to figure out a way to use them. For now, they hold more long stuff. ;)

Remember my craft area down here?

basement craft area

I’ve purged and reorganized SO MUCH. Most of the items on the shelf to the right are still in the basement, just in another spot. The next shelf was tools and all of those went up to the garage last year. The rest? PURGED. It used to take four sets of shelves (plus a small table for paint supplies) to hold everything.

Now it’s all in this six by seven foot space, neatly organized:

(Plus TONS of other stuff that was elsewhere!)

What’s even more awesome is that about a third of this will go up in the dining room when it gets the big transformation this year.

So there will be more space on the shelves so I can buy more stuff keep it really organized. ;)

Our house has always had plenty of storage space (hello, unfinished basement!), but it’s never had a storage room – a room with a door and walls that I can close off and not have to look at. THIS is what makes me giddy!

And seriously, if I’m this excited about a totally unfinished room, the basement is only going to get better from here, right? :)

This weekend I hope to get an actual pretty project completed. It won’t be as awesome as this (what else would be?), but pretty. (I hope!)

Hope you have a great one!!

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Comments

  1. Love it! Man I need a place like that to store all my decorating goodies! I can't wait to see your basement all finished!

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  2. I have a huge room like this that I don't know what I would do if I didn't have it. It, like yours is not beautiful to look at but it is organized and I know what is in there.

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  3. I would be happy too! It feels SO good to get all your decor stuff in one spot. No more hunting it up all over the place. There is nothing like working from an organized space. Finished or not, who cares! I made a whole room in my house decor storage (no garage) and it has been bliss. ENJOY =)

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  4. I heart organizing so....so awesome ;) I would be just as giddy. My storage room is literally in a state of shock...since Christmas. OY!!

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  5. Oh! I love it! And I CANNOT wait to see your laundry room come together!!

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  6. We have about 6 different dedicated spaces like this around the house. One day.... one day, I hope to have them all organized into one. Right now one of them is one of our spare rooms. Oops! Congrats on getting your ducks in a row!

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  7. Those of us with basements really know the excitement you feel.

    ~Bliss~

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  8. Having only a dirt floor basement and no garage, I have not trouble imagining your excitement. If I ever move, the first thing I'm looking for is storage! ~ Maureen

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  9. I'm jealous of your basement! If my garage was this organized, I would be a happy camper! Too much thrifting I tell ya:)

    Ps, thanks for the Happy Birthday on my blog! And yes, Memphis is now my favorite play/musical!

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  10. Thanks for sharing your basement story...I really enjoy being part of it. One day I will have a house!

    After seeing the unfinished walls I was wondering if you will put a small window on the (coming) door or on the wall next to the door?
    I know you want to maximize the wall space, but a cute little window might go well down here...not really for light (it is basement, after all), but for looks. Or maybe you do not want to be able to see inside after you close the door for the storage room!
    Looking good, keep on going down there!

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  11. Wonderful storage going on!! Great blog ~ I'm a new follower!!
    Anne ♥

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  12. I am eagerly following your basement re-do posts. We have an unfinished basement that I am trying to talk my husband into turning into a comfortable living space. I have one question for you: what is the heat source in your basement? is there heat currently or are you going to have to add that with the re-do?

    Thanks,
    Kristia

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  13. People too often finish their basements and only think about the living area and not storage so good for you. My only concern is that if you are going to drywall down there all of your things not stored in plastic bins may get covered in drywall dust. Make sure you seal that room up really well and leave it that way for a few days. I look forward to your progress.

    Robin
    Robin Flies South

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  14. Glad I'm not the only one who does a happy dance when I get organized :)

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  15. Michelle @ Life on the Funny FarmFebruary 25, 2012 at 8:29 AM

    I am so excited for you and I LOVE the storage room. (wiping away drool) I can't wait to see all that you get done. I've been spending time in my basement dreaming of future projects myself so I' sure I'll draw some ideas from you.

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  16. Very cool! A closed off storage room is something to be happy about!

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  17. I would put something under the paint cans. That way you wont have rust rings.

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  18. Looking good! And, I can totally appreciate how excited you are about your storage room. I cleaned mine out last month, and was just as giddy. Sadly, some critters decided to take up residence there this week and now I'll never feel the same way about the basement :(

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  19. I am doing happy dances with you. (I have shingles, so that also includes some shimmy's of burning and itching. [not really dancing~ just joyous with you])

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  20. I'm inspired. Inspired to GET ORGANIZED. And inspired to BLOG. I've been following you for a bit and was so excited about what I was reading, that I started my own blog. It's a definite learning curve for me. But one that I'm willing to embrace. Thanks in big part to you.

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  21. Oh, the organizational bliss!!! You have inspired some unanticipated, but evidently much needed changes to our garage...such that we may actually be able to (GASP!) park in there!!

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  22. Did you guys pull a permit before you started your project. I ask because when we finished our basement this past year, we had to drywall our unfinished spaces that are used for storage. So both this room and the space under the stairs would have to be drywalled in our state. Also, the codes fir the placement of outlets and light switches are pretty stringent. If you ever intend to sell your house and something wasn't up to code, you would have to redo. To have everything grandfathered in under current guidelines, you would have to show proof of permit and inspection at time of construction. I know it's a pain to go trough the extra step, especially when you're piecing together the project, but it's definitely worth it in the long run to be able to count your basement as finished space.

    Of course, if you've already done this, disregard. ;-)

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  23. I am envious. My basement, which is HUGE, is starting to look like Hoarders Basement. I have shelves with Christmas stuff that stretches about 12 feet along one wall. I have an area that also has shelves that contain all the stuff that I used to decorate a friends wedding. My husband has his LP record collection that runs in the thousands. There is stuff everywhere.We are drowning. I guess I should take some pictures and write a blog about it. Thanks for the push to clean it out. It looks wonderful.

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  24. Love your new room! Man, I would kill for a room like that of my own, but alas, I am basement-less in Cali!
    So living vicariously through you with your basement reno!
    Hope you have a great weekend! And wanted to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for hosting the closet link party! You are my top referring site this week! Very exciting traffic this week for a newbie blogger like me! Hope you can stop by and take a look too! I would love any comments or suggestions you may have!
    xo-LIsa

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  25. organizing makes me dance to!!! love that space ... you r so lucky enjoy it!

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  26. This is amazing! Great space.

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  27. I have a room in the basement that houses the water heater and the downstairs ac/furnace and could be a bathroom but I use it as storage. My brother in law built in some shelves recently and I am in LOVE!! I so know how you feel!

    One of the things I love the most is the space above the top shelf. Always for the tall stuff to go between the floor joists.

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  28. Oh it is beautiful! I'm jealous. :-) Our basement is small and yucky. Our house is about 85 years old and it doesn't have a full size basement so me at 5'9" has to hunch over a bit to do laundry so I don't hit my head. I can't even get the kiddo to do it as he is 6'3"! We dream of moving to a house with basement potential. For now we have plenty of storage in the garage, its just a pain to get to it and I have to make sure its boxed up well so the mice done get into it. More yuck!

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  29. I really wish we had a basement!
    Beautiful!

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  30. We are trying to accomplish something similar, but it's taking forever! It's so hard to finish a project a weekend at a time. Can't wait till my stuff is in an enclosed room like yours and I'm totally gonna "borrow" the bench over the sump idea! Brill!
    -Jess

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  31. I love how nice and organized all your stuff is in your basement. My basement is currently a wreck and it's very overwhelming. Maybe your post will spur me on to tackle a little at a time!

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  32. Sarah, I think your storage space is wonderful! Being organized is a wonderful thing. xo P.S. only two days left to enter the Sweetheart Giveaway :-)

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  33. Its the simplest little things that make us the happiest. I think your space is awesome

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  34. Oh how wonderful for you, yay!!! It looks incredible, I can't wait to have my storage organized, it's a good goal! thanks for sharing!

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  35. OH, I so want a room like that no not want need. Love it .

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  36. I hear you when you say you want to be able to close he door and not have to see all that stuff. You're going to love it! It's great to have a place for everything and everything in its place.

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  37. Looks great! One suggestion: unless you are absolutely sure that your sump pump crock will never overflow with water (like during a bad storm and the power goes out, or you get so much rain the sump can't keep up with the flow -- I've had it happen to me several times during the 21 years I've lived in my house and that is why I will never have a finished basement) I would move your paint cans and, really, anything off of the floor. They could get wet and then start to rust. It doesn't take much. If you prefer not to move them, I would store them in some plastic bins. I can't wait to see the future transformations!

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  38. Truly favorite rooms very creative design. I like it.

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  39. I love your store!! I would be thrilled to have something like that so I think the happy dances are well called for.

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If you have a specific question I will do my best to answer you back here!

You can find our paint colors and links to items at the "Our Home" tab at the top of my site.

THANKS so much for reading!