Basement Blues

First off, let me make it clear I love having a basement.....BUT with basements comes some negative aspects as well.

It started about two weeks ago when my son comes up explaining to me the basement carpet was wet.  So I head down to see why and what was wrong.  It was one long line of wetness and that was all I could see.  So I grabbed a towel and began soaking it up saying "ellie must have spilled her sippy cup of water".  Well, about 3 days later my son comes up once again and says "mom, the same spot is wet again".  This time I rush down and do a bit more searching.

I open up the basement closet that goes under the stairs and wow.....stench galore!!  Smelled like stale water.  Once I walked into the closet my socks get soaked!!  Then I notice this.....

 so I pull up the carpet just a bit and see that the entire nail boards that hold the carpet down are drenched.

So I call nick and ask if its ok I start pulling up carpet so this can dry?  He doesn't think its necessary actually and so I get out the fans and start drying it out as best as I can.  In the meantime I figure out where the leak is (from the heater) and put a dish under it to catch the water and will let nick figure that out when he gets home.

Ok, so I really really knew this needed dried out properly as the baseboard was soft from the water sitting there and the closet smelled so bad.  I was afraid of mold to be honest so I went ahead and removed the door.  (solid wood mind you!!)

 Well, I didn't stop there.....I pulled up the carpet anyways.

 and propped toys under the carpet to allow air flow underneath.

 And I am happy to report two weeks later the door is back on, the carpet is laid back down without any damage done and our kids are happily playing in the basement again.
Oh the joys of owning a home with a basement!!!

Ellie's Bedroom DIY

Back in August I tried my hand at my first ever furniture DIY projects.  I accomplished bookshelves and also a kitchen table for our basement.  Then when school started I decided to attempt an entire bedroom set for little miss Ellie Mae.  This was my furniture when I was living at home.  My parents so kindly gave it to us for Ellie and because I wasn't very careful as a kid with water glasses I ruined a lot of the woodwork.  Here are some pictures of the process and the finished project.

filled in with wood putty where the old hardware was and then primed it with 3 coats!!!

Nick has a sprayer so that made the process so much easier.  No paintbrushes involved for the paint.

cant really tell here but have two different turquoise knobs

Ellie's first night in her new bed.  She loved it and we had NO problems in the transfer!!