House Projects: Basement and Deck

I haven’t posted many pictures of the basement yet, mostly because I’m still plugging away at the little finishing details. I swear, the last 10% takes foreeeeevveeer.

One of the things I like about my parent’s house and in-law’s house is that they have mudrooms and spaces for wet coats and muddy boots. It’s practically a requirement here in the soggy Pacific Northwest.

Actually it’s not but it should be. Case in point: We don’t have a mudroom. But! We do have lots of space in the big room that’s right off the garage and is our main entry way into the house.

So last weekend I scrounged around for some extra trim pieces and made myself a little soggy coat storage rack.

Two levels: for the talls and the smalls.

I also installed some shelving for shoes and other misc. items in our adjacent utility closet but those aren’t as pretty so you don’t get to see those.

Eventually we’ll add a bench under the window with storage bins for gloves and hats but that requires a trip down to Ikea and that’s an undertaking I have to work up to.

And I put in shelving in the guest room closet. Viola! And we even have curtains! They’re not the world’s prettiest curtains but they’re blackout shades and that’s a requirement. We want our guests to be cosy in their subterranean ~~dungeon~~ concrete box.

PS: Yes, that is a real fur coat and no, it’s not mine. Actually, I guess it is mine now. It belonged to my nana and I have no idea what to do with it. Dress up for the kiddies? There’s no way I could wear it out and about town. It seems like such a shame to not put it to some sort of use.

In other news, we removed the big utility pole that was looming over the deck for the past five years:

This small change was a long time coming: we have to move three phone lines, one cable line, and one electrical line onto a new mast.

[Also, please don’t mind the messy deck furniture, I was trying, unsuccessfully, to dry out the cushions]