We’re back with our weekly basement update (here’s where we left off) and this time we conquered the bare-bulb ceiling fixture (by dressing it up with a polished linen shade). We also snagged a vertical balancing bike rack (on sale!) since our cinder block walls make hanging weight-baring hooks and stands close to impossible) and got the ultimate surprise from Flor in the form of an awesome 5 x 8 rug thanks to their amazing carpet squares. Sure we still have to add privacy to the windows, paint the built-in cabinet near the bikes, build a screen to hide our eyesore of a water heater, and more… but here’s what the room looks like these days with the new DIY light fixture, discount bike rack and fun new area rug:
And you might wonder why the fine folks at Flor would offer us a free area rug of our choosing (other than the fact that they’re insanely sweet over there) but we’re actually teaming up with them for this week’s giveaway so they’re also dishing out a free area rug to one of our readers this afternoon (!). It’s a win-win situation. And installing the floor tiles we picked (after careful consideration we went for the fun and durable Ascot Stripe variety) was super easy. They even come with simple little sticky circles that adhere all of the corners from underneath…
… for a seamless and secure end result.
Now for the details on the bike rack. We were on the lookout for a rack that would allow us to store the bikes above one another for to maximize space and create some interest on the back wall… but the impossible cinder block walls made anything that has to be screwed or anchored to the wall totally out of the question. Enter this baby stage right (it was actually suggested by a reader in our last post- thanks Lauren!). Plus when we got to Target it happened to be on sale for $39 (down from $49) so we grabbed it and wasted no time getting both bikes off the floor. It’s kind of industial-chic, no?
The lamp shade also hails from Target, where we were immediately struck by the chic linen look, generous size, and great price. Twenty-five beans later we got it home, removed the ceiling bulb, slipped the metal ring that’s attached to the inside the shade onto the bulb, and screwed the bulb back into the formerly bare fixture box. Basically it’s the same way you’d put a shade on a table lamp, but it hangs from the ceiling instead.
Here’s a detail shot where you can see the metal ring from the shade slipped over the bulb and held in place by screwing the bulb into place in the overhead fixture box. So easy and so much cleaner looking! We also emplyed this method in the den to class up our ceiling fan (here’s that link for ya).
So that’s where we are with the basement. As we mentioned, we still have the windows and the water heater (among other things) to address, so stick around for those updates soon. And we also plan to load up on containers and bins to store a whole mess of stuff in the armoires that we added last week so stay tuned for all the nitty gritty organizing details when we throw open the doors and bare all.
And while we’re on the subject of organizing, what do you guys prefer? Clear plastic bins so you can see everything inside? Opaque bins so you can’t? Wire baskets for Parisian flair? Fabric boxes or cardboard ones in fun colors? Name your favorite organization accessories at the beep. Beeeeeep.
Amanda says
I love the room so far! I just barely heard of the Flor store and they seem like great, versatile rugs. I wonder how one of those would be for a dining room…
As for organizing, I prefer clear bins for the basement, but for places with open storage like bookshelves and bathroom shelves, I prefer either wicker baskets or cutesy-colored cardboard boxes.
Bethney says
I can’t believe how awesome your basement looks already! It makes me wish I had one so I could make it as chic as yours!
Also, we use opaque bins with labels on the outside to store our belongings. I’d rather not see the unorganized mess that is inside them haha.
Jenny @ Words On Wendhurst says
Looking good! I like to use a variety of things to get organized with. I have a ton of those rectangular baskets with cloth liners all over the house, as well as some pretty printed boxes in the dining room, plastic bins in the bathroom and wire baskets and paper boxes in the office. I guess you could say I’m eclectic? :-)
Susanne N. says
love it and love the rug!
Stacy says
The quick lighting fix is awesome! I actually did that same thing Saturday with a 14″ drum shade I found at target for… get this… FOUR DOLLARS! I was one happy camper:)
Christine says
It looks amazing! What a transformation. My husband and I have the same bike rack! Isn’t it great? We absolutely love it, it saved us a big headache from having to drill into the wall in the garage.
Marcia says
Your basement storage is very impressive looking. It amazes me that you are leaving empty space there though. My storage needs would required much more actual shelving!!!
Jessica M says
We love FLOR at our house! We have a large one in our dining room (it’s awesome that we were able to custom-design it to match our walls and furniture), and 3 of the brightly colored round rugs in our toddler’s room. If you’re in Atlanta, you can visit their showroom to see the tiles in person AND get a discount on shipping!
I like clear bins for storage, mostly because they’re usually pretty cheap if not on sale! We don’t have a lot of open storage elsewhere in the house, so decorative choices aren’t really necessary.
tammylee says
I bought this same shad and made my own pendant fixture for my foyer. gotta love Target! everywhere else this size shade was 50 and up.
Sally says
I’m a huge fan of pretending that my life is in perfect order. This usually requires opacity. :) … Although, there is a certain place for the non-opaque in the pretending scheme. If everything is behind closed drawers, you might tip people off. Sometimes you have to show a little, in highly organized fashion, of course, to keep up the charade. :)
kelly@TearingUpHouses says
i’ve been dying to try carpet squares! i like how flexible and (i’ve heard) easy to clean they are. i’m curious what the approximate cost of yours (or something comparable) are…
kelly
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Kelly,
Just follow the links to “Flor” and “Ascot Stripe” in the post to check out tile square costs (they really vary depending on what you select). And you’re so right about the easy care and flexibility! Hope it helps.
xo,
s
Jill Stigs says
Looks fantastic! Love the flor tiles……….may have to look into that for my kitchen since my family room and bedrooms are carpeted. I have all different colored bins in my garage……one of these days, I will get organized enough to label the outsides. Seeing as though I am the complete opposite of a packrat, I don’t have all that many.
Eric says
Even though we all know about your L O VE / H A T E relationship with ikea, my suggestion would be to get some more matching boxes to tie everything in together.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha Eric! We definitely plan to bring in more pops of bright green to tie in with those darn Ikea boxes!
xo,
s
Jen says
I’m beginning to think we’re the only ones who did not have a good experience with our FLOR rug. Maybe it was the type we got? Not sure .. but after just one day with our cats it looked awful – covered in cat hair and scratched to pieces. I’ve never had a rug wear so badly/so quickly. It never looked clean to me …. And it’s sad, because I love how they look in photos
Caralouise says
I love flor! In addition to their cool designs, it’s super easy to replace a square if it gets a stain.
Amanda Wright says
We installed one of Ikea’s ceiling curtain tracks about 1.5 ft away from our basement wall. Then we put shelves behind the curtains with labeled clear plastic bins for storage. So we have a whole wall of storage, but when you pull the curtains closed it hides everything!
Mrs. Limestone says
Looks great!
Does the Flor tiles slide around on the floor at all? I could use these for my office but they are kind of pricey if they don’t work really well.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Mrs. Limestone,
Good question! The floor tiles don’t move an inch on our concrete floor thanks to super grippy rubber backing… plus once you anchor them all together at the corners with those sticky circles (from underneath) they become super secure and weighty (they’re pretty substantial in width so when you join them they’re pretty hefty and ready to stay precisely where you put ’em. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
TheClassyWoman says
Your basement is looking really great! I can’t wait to see the final photos! I love that you got free FLOR tiles. I was looking at some area rugs for our living room area and have ordered a few online and they just aren’t the way they appear, so I’ve had to return them. I think FLOR tiles would be such a huge advantage in our busy space. Can’t wait to see the contest details so I can enter! :)
Amanda says
Looking great! We picked up those linen shades from Target this spring as well, love them!
Katie says
I can’t believe I never thought to stick a lamp shade on a non-lamp lighting fixture! Genius. That’ll be a great way to spruce up some of my drab rented apartment lightbulbs.
Wendy says
I love Flor! I got their catalog because I work in commercial real estate and instantly wanted to buy some for my house! All of the choices are amazing! your basement looks great!
Alyse says
The FLOR tiles look great! We’re planning to buy some this week for our dining room.
Lara says
You mentioned wire baskets in your post… which I love! Trouble is, I can’t find them anywhere. Do you have suggestions? I am looking for more industrial type versions. Thanks!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lara,
Ikea actually sells them for certain systems (but you can always buy them separately and use them alone) and we’ve seen some at The Container Store, Target, and places like TJ Maxx. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
CarMaj says
LOVE the FLOR rug!! Everything looks great – awesome job!
Erica Harless says
I LOVE FLOR! I have been considering their shag tiles for a rug in my living room. (hint…hint..I’d love to win a free rug ;)
The basement is looking great!
Katrina says
WOW – what a transformation..I love your light fixture – very chic
Anne says
WOW!! What is the wall color?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Anne,
It’s actually just tan colored Drylok on the walls (a waterproofing product available at tons of home improvement stores). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Hanna says
I was wondering what color Expedit desk you were going to go with! White it is! I like it!
LISA says
Love the whole basement!
Sarah says
Basement looks great! So jealous… Everything we store has to be in plastic bins (I prefer not to look at it all, but what ever we have will do) due to a temperamental sump pump. After two floods – plastic it is!!! :)
Katy Campbell says
I love the room- the details really make the room just come together! As far as storage that I like – I’m definitely an opaque kind of a girl. I like baskets for linen storage and accent storage in the living room and dining room. But I’m a huge fan of the Kassett line at IKEA – and I use them in my office like they are going out of style. I am also planning on using them for my tool storage space once I have it complete. I actually posted about it today. I want something that looks nice enough for a closet that gets used by guests from time to time, and seeing a bunch of tools is probably not what my guests want to see, so I’m going with the large Kassett media boxes to help hide my paints, rollers, wood glues…etc, and of course the ugly compressor and shop vac…oh what I would do for a shed or a garage!
Jen Z. says
Love how the basement is coming out. Love the Flor tiles, great choice. I have all different types of bins for organization. Clear, colored and leather, even some wicker baskets on shelves.
heather s. says
It looks so much better with the bikes off the floor! Your readers really are the best! Love the FLOR tiles, too. I’ve been thinking of getting some to define the sitting area in my basement (it is entirely carpeted already but I want to define one area). Great job.
Tawny says
Wow, now even your basement looks so put together! Great job!
Laurie says
looking great guys.
I like the bins to be cleanly opaque, but color coded and well labelled if necessary. Holiday bins are easy, they sell seasonal: orange & black for halloween, red and green for christmas, that way I can just say, let’s grab them all and sort upstairs. Although if my basement looked like yours is shaping up I might linger. :)
tara says
Genius! So, I just have to find a lamp shade that has the ring at the top? I went back to your living room post where you did your ceiling fan. It said click top right hand corner for additional instructions and photographs, but I am nut and cannot find it apparently, am I missing it?? Cannot wait to try this. So, it should work for a regular ceiling mount right?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tara,
We were just teaching people how to access the comments of that post for more info but you clearly know how to comment so just go back to that post and scroll through the comments for more tips and pics. This solution can definitely work for virtually any bare-bulb ceiling fixture. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Julie says
Looks great! How did you decide on that style/color flor tile? They have so many choices… it can seem overwhelming! Was it the color/pattern you liked best? Did you think that one would be extra durable? Just curious how you made your choice..
YoungHouseLove says
Julie- We definitely weighed durability and design to find something fun, textured, and durable. They do have lots of options but it just means there are definitely more than one “right answer.” Hope it helps!
Amy- Art is definitely on the agenda. Stay tuned!
xo,
s
Amy @ Renovation Innovation says
The basement is looking great! Quick question – are you planning on bringing in any art to make the space feel more ‘homey’? Or is that going to be a problem given that you cannot hang things directly from the cinderblock walls? What about some large art pieces that stand on the floor and lean against the wall? Or things that can be hung from the ceiling? Keep up the good work Youngsters!
SusanMC says
Wow- its really coming along quickly. You are going to have a very nice space down there! Love the rug. I’ll have to check out that website for a new entry rug. Lately I’ve been buying several wire “locker” type baskets. Love them. The trick is to keep the fun/pretty/colorful stuff in something see through and all the “junk” in the opaque/cardboard containers where I don’t have to see it!! :)
Kathy W says
I love the Flor carpet squares..we’ve been considering them for our basement as well! Looks awesome..keep up the inspiring ideas!
Amy says
I am SO going to Target this afternoon to get a lamp shade. I swear, I have begun so many conversations with my husband lately by saying, “So, I saw on Young House Love…” I think he gets a little frightened when I say that with a gleam in my eye. But, anyhoo, this lamp shade treatment will look fantastic in my kitchen!
As for storage, when I first read your post I didn’t really think I had any one key component to my organizing. And then I took a look around… there sure are a lot of baskets in this house, lol!
Tammy says
We’ve got an eyesore of a storage room in our basement, and you guys are really inspiring me to add it to the list of the many things we want to do to fix up our house.
Becky says
OHMYGOODNESS A FLOR RUG! I LOVE THEM!! I’m screaming as you can see. I have a FLOR rug and I’d LOVE to add to it. They are amazing!
So … favorite storage options. Any and all. I am a storage freak. I have baskets where it shows, family room and laudry room, but plastic tubs in the closets and garage. All marked heavily with details of what is inside. Christmas decorating is a snap for me. I even have one that says “Open me first!”
Heather says
Personally, I don’t like storage bins that you can see through. I think the purpose of storage bins is to hide away your clutter and if you can see what’s in the bins, that kind of defeats its purpose. I like fabric storage boxes or baskets.
The basement looks great!
Pamela says
Two words of warning when using cardboard storage boxes: SILVER FISH. Maybe the colorclad boxes don’t attract the critters, but I dumped every corregated box I owned in favor of clear and opaque plastic (depended on which was on sale).
Kelly says
Love, love the green and white boxes. I was actually thinking about getting some of them myself. Ikea is annoying, but you can’t beat the prices! :)
Alyzande says
Boxes: Wicker baskets. Bamboo lid-less boxes. or Cardboard. Basically anything natural and eco-friendly, with a very earthy texture. You could even get some of those white kassett boxes you have from IKEA and simply glue some neutral fabric on them to match the light shade.
And please please tell me you’re going to add something next to the white ANEBODA wardrobes like a large plant or some artwork, so that they look a little less like a police waiting room?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Alyzande,
Yes, yes, yes- we’re not done by any means! There are definitely a lot of finishing touches to be added (art, window stuff, smaller accessories, etc) along with big things like a screen to hide the ugly water heater so stay tuned!
xo,
s
Beki says
Flor! The perfect giveaway at the perfect time because I need to replace my bedroom rug. Fingers crossed on that.
I agree with Sally “pretending that my life is in perfect order … requires opacity” and Katy Campbell. But I did just buy a clear acrylic mini set of drawers from Muji for some of my jewelry. Right now the bottoms are lined with paper but I’m planning on getting some felt. Muji’s storage somehow has that Kartell expensive minimalist look without the price tag. I needed bins to fit in a very shallow bathroom cabinet and their stackable polypropylene bins were the only ones that fit the bill (not seeing them in the online store).
A variation on the Expedit desk theme is Muji’s desk/shelving combo (http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/01/08/garden/20090108-desks_5.html). I’ve seen it in person and it looks really durable and designer. I would probably cough up more money than I actually have for it if the desk weren’t too low (27 inches). That might be perfect for some people though. Sherry and John, can you tell me how sturdy the Expedit desk is? I’m looking for a project surface, so I might put some pressure on it while cutting mat boards, etc. Do you think it can stand up to that?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Beki,
Definitely. It’s a super solid little desk so it’s a great place for cutting boards, etc. Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Anastasia says
It looks great! Thanks for including the close up the lamp shade, LOVE THAT!
I am thinking of getting the Flor tiles for my sons bedroom but wasn’t sure they would stay together. Thanks for filling me in.
Abby says
Looks so great guys! Of course even your basement is now chic and amazing:)
I am on a tight budget most of the time so I buy all sizes and types of baskets from thrift stores or garage sales and spray paint them white…to unify them even though they are different. I group them together on shelves or spread them out around the house. The different shapes and sizes make them great for storing all kinds of stuff.
Love the blog! Thanks for all the tips and ideas:)