The perfect basement flooring and other fun changes!

Oh wow, I'm so excited to show you the changes we've been making in the basement! If you remember, we had a water issue in my husband's office earlier this year. This was probably the tenth time this had happened and was the worst too. We had to replace walls, ceiling and baseboards and the carpet in that room was toast. 

We knew the carpet had to go for many reasons and were looking for something water-resistant to replace it. I was intrigued by vinyl flooring I had heard about that looked like wood and we decided to try it. 

Well, it turned out we LOVED it: 

That room is done now and looks great! I still need to share that with you. 

Our plan was to extend this flooring to the rest of the basement eventually. We are pretty sure (crossing fingers) we've made appropriate changes to our HVAC system (it was the culprit when it came to the water issues and we thought we had it fixed over and over) but it does make me feel better that this flooring will not be destroyed if it happens again. 

The bigger issue was our sweet old cat who ruined the carpet in other parts of the basement. No matter what we did to clean the carpets he kept coming back -- if you have cats you know it's pretty much a lost cause if you have cat urine anywhere. The carpet was a mess...from the cat, the kids spilling and because of dirty spots all over from when the carpet in the office was pulled out soaking wet. We were SO over the gross carpet. 

Even though I loved the soft feel of carpet in the basement, we've realized over the years we just prefer hard floors in our house. They are so much easier to keep clean and make our spaces feel so much bigger (every. single. time). 

Our plan was always to extend the this Allure vinyl flooring (the color we picked was Teak) to the rest of the basement so when they contacted me about providing more of the product, I was SO thankful. Yes please! What a wonderful surprise. We've had it for a couple months now and just last week started the process of putting it down. I did some of the floors myself but we had help for the rest of the bigger room because they were able to finish it all in one day. This is a HUGE space and that just shows you how easy it is to lay down. 

We are so incredibly thrilled with the flooring and I've been excited to share it with you: 

I shared how to install this flooring when we did the office, and it really needs very little explanation. There are sticky tabs along the underside of each piece of flooring that you fit onto the sticky side of the flooring on the floor...it's actually kind of fun to do. It's easy to cut too -- you can use a razor to score and snap it or use heavy duty scissors/tin snips. EASY. I promise. :) 

I wondered about a few potential issues with this stuff when we installed it months ago and I've been pleasantly surprised. I worried it may be too cold underfoot and it's absolutely fine. It's nothing like the tile we have in the basement and there's no need for socks on it at all. 

Also, when I researched Allure years ago (I had actually considered it way back when I saw Candice Olsen use it!), some people mentioned a smell after installation. Our basement doesn't have windows so I was concerned we'd have to deal with that, but nothing! We didn't smell a thing in my husband's office and don't in the larger part of the basement either.

When we put items back we noticed a few scuffs on the flooring: 

I contacted Allure and they mentioned using the green side of a Scotch Brite sponge: 

And it disappeared! I was so excited to find out this trick!: 

This floor holds up GREAT and those few scuffs are the only thing that I've noticed, even after moving furniture around everywhere. I'm thrilled they come off so easily. 

We rearranged a lot of furniture when the floors were done. I've been wanting to try a new layout for a year now and this was a good time to try it out -- the sectional used to face the built in cubbies: 

It just created a little bit of a jam when it came to the area by the fireplace. Also, my husband's beloved recliner (that I love to sit in but hate to look at) was always in the way. Above we had it off to the right but it was in the way over there. Usually it sat right next to the sofa and it was all too tight with the support pole. 

We wanted to move things around for another reason too -- our plan has always been to build in the electric fireplace in that bay window area and the sectional was right next to it. When we had contractors here working on another project they threw in framing out that area for a crazy good price so we went for it: 

By the way, look what a difference the daylight bulbs make down here! No more editing pics forever and still not getting the real color of everything! (And of course, these are still on a dimmer.) This space is going to be SO GOOD! It already is but we are really excited about the fireplace area. 

The flooring makes the room feel huge. The new furniture layout is going to be even better when we finish that fireplace too: 

There's much better flow now -- you can walk around the whole sectional and there's a lot more open space. We all love it! Here's a view of the fireplace wall before: 

And here it is now, all ready for tile!:

My vision for years has always been more modern look with floor to ceiling stacked stone and a chunky wood mantle. I'm so stinking excited to get this project started! This is the tile I found that we'll most likely go with: 

Oh my goodness, I love it. It goes so well with the flooring, the walls and the whole feel of the room. I won't be able to do that till our budget allows -- I'm hoping in the next month or two. 

We also have plans to extend the kitchenette area a bit. Here's how it's looked for awhile now: 

Evertything is still unhooked because we're eventually adding a corner cabinet and more cabinets along that wall: 

The wood wall will stay because I love it. :) We hope to add a wine/drink fridge under the counters as well. The basketball hoop is moving and I'm thinking up storage/decor ideas for that wall. 

We're pretty excited about these changes! The flooring is the best part though:

I hung one of those IKEA mirrors for the future bathroom renovation and I love it down here! :) 

Overall the whole basement is going to be a little more sophisticated and edited quite a bit. Our son is getting older and wants to make this space feel more grown up. I'm both thrilled and sad about that...sniff. 

I'm pretty sure these shelves will go and I have an idea in mind for the TV wall above the cubbies: 

Those cubbies will stay because they are AWESOME storage and I love them. Our son doesn't play with the toys as much but we have a grandson (my older stepdaugher's son), nieces and nephews and friends with younger kids who will play with them for years and years. This will always be a kid's space -- I don't want to make it too sophisticated.

We'll definitely add a rug under the sofa eventually: 

I love that the new layout allows us to enjoy both the TV and the future fireplace wall. :) How fun would that be to have that done by Christmas? I'd love another mantel to decorate! 

This flooring change is so awesome, we're thrilled with it. If you are looking into vinyl flooring that looks like wood, is easy to clean and is water resistant, I highly recommend it. We've had it in the office for six months and it's held up great there. It makes this room feel so much larger!: 

Be sure to check out this post to see how it's installed -- it is so simple. We chose this design because it was in stock at Home Depot but Allure has a ton of other pretty colors and finishes to pick from too. 

Have you tried this vinyl flooring made to look like wood? It's perfect for basements, kitchens and bathrooms but I think it would look great anywhere! 

Allure provided some of our flooring for this project but all opinions and experiences are my own. I only share products and brands I use and love!