The Man Cave

This may be the worst time of the year to be so pregnant!  Baby is roughly the size of a butternut squash and is beginning to take over the space inside that was formerly reserved for my lungs.  That combined with the heat and humidity makes it hard to breath and even harder to stay perspiration free.  All day I have been plugging away in my craft room, now dubbed "The Sweat Shop," because it is on the second floor and even though there are vents that should shoot out cool air, it is sweltering up here!  So, here I sit, GLOWING profusely! (Women don't actually sweat, we glow.  Its kind of the same as how we don't fart.  I know, perfection is hard to understand!)  All this to get ready for Sidney's Farmer's Market in the morning.  Come out to see some new items (that I haven't had time to photograph) and get some delicious cupcakes.  Yep! Brooke is back tomorrow with her cupcakes!

 

Now, on to Freebie Friday.  I have been promising to post pictures of my hubby's latest project, the basement renovation, so I'm rolling the two into one.  First the free part...

 

This is a heaping pile of FREE old barn siding.  Here is what I turned a small portion of it into...

Here's how...

 

Here's why...

 

In the middle of the main living area in the basement is our electrical box.  What an eye sore, right?

 I hated the thought of putting a lonely ugly cupboard door right in the middle of the wall so I decided to cover it up.  However, anything I hung over it was so off center that the whole wall looked lop-sided.  The solution a three a paneled piece of art, and this week's freebie!

 

 If you are interested in some of this patriotic goodness please let me know, the hubs is tired of looking at my pile of barn siding!  Now on to the rest of the basement.  

 

My husband, who loves us dearly, started this project with the intention of creating a "man-cave" so he could have a place to get away from Little Miss and me.  Man-cave-shman-cave.  I told him he could have the space but I get to design and decorate it.  I started with the ceiling.  I wanted to paint it black because I didn't like the feel or the price tag of a drop ceiling.  This left all the duct work exposed and created a kind of industrial feel.   

 

What's more industrial and warehouse-like than brick?  I priced wallpaper all over the place and it was going to cost around $270 to cover this one little wall.  Well that just wasn't an option, but neither was not getting what I wanted.  I found this fabulous stuff at Menards.  It comes in 4x8 sheets and will run you somewhere around $20 a sheet.

 

These lights are also from Menards.  I found them on sale, a set of 2 for $5.  I'm still drooling over this deal!

 

And finally, my last "you-can-finish-the-basement-but-you-must-do-as-I-say" requirement, a built in book case under the stairs.  Even without the right decor lining the shelves, I LOVE IT!  The best part about the new basement is that it is nice and cool.  Ahhhh!

My husband has never, I repeat, NEVER, tackled a project of this nature or magnitude ever before in his life and yet every time I walk down the stairs I'm blown away by his work! He completed every last step on his own, with a bit of help on the drywall. (Thanks Dad!)  I love the new man cave almost as much as I love my smarty-arty handy-mandy husband!

See you all in the morning in Sidney!