PART 2: The Big Reveal

OK, are you ready for Part 2? We'll explore the laundry/mud room and powder room AKA Bear room (you'll see) upstairs first.

We've just entered the laundry/mud room. The door you see at the back leads to the garage. To the right of the door and behind the mirror wall is the Bear room. The laundry/mud room is pale yellow with a red accent wall. The octagon window on the red wall looks onto the porch.The ceiling is also beadboard. I raised the washer and dryer a foot so Dick would have less bending when doing laundry. There is a collapsible clothes hanger to the right of the deer mount. The sink is industrial in depth with a tall faucet so Dick can work on his hunting trophies here.

This view is looking back toward the hallway. The sliding doors you see on the right of the entry door are for the pantry and broom closet.

The mud room is tucked next to the garage door. There is room for the coats, shoes and a bench for convenience. The black container is a trash can. The bench is a split log with branch legs I found in Virginia on our way to N.C. at Christmas.

You can easily see the raised washer/dryer. The cabinets above have pullout shelves to make reaching easier. You have a better view of the beadboard ceiling here. The floor is ceramic tile that I had laid on the diagonal to visually expand the room. There is a pocket door that can be closed to keep the noise contained.

OK, are you ready for the Bear room? Here it is, just off the garage, very practical and totally manly!! 

We decided to include a urinal, why not? The light in this room is a red industrial pendant which unfortunately doesn't show. Dick had requested wallpaper border and since it isn't so 'in' today, I wanted to honor his request but struggled as to where it should go.  I think I found a perfect solution, don't you?  Easily viewed here and with a theme that fits the owner and the bathroom woodsy look. Wolves in a birch forest! I used beadboard wainscotting on the powder room walls to tie it into the laundry/mud room.

Above is a closeup of the wolves border.

Follow me out of the laundry room and down to the finished basement. You can see the polar bear art here in the hallway outside the laundry/mud room.

We designed two guest rooms downstairs. One with two full size beds and one with a queen bed. Dick wanted plenty of room for family and friends to visit. We decided to go with full sized beds because although his grandkids are still small, when friends visit, especially hunting friends, they need to be in a comfortable sized bed.

The yellow room has grey quilts and grey/white ticking bed skirts. This bedroom has an egress window which we will add a 'scene' to this spring. One can purchase an outdoor scene to place on the tin sides of the wall to dress it up and not look so dreary. I'll send pictures once that is installed. The blinds here are partially open. They are Allure blinds, the newest in fabric blinds, which we've used throughout the house.  

The large white shelf to the right is to set luggage on. The bottom two shelves can be used as a dresser. We thought of the convenience of guests.

I added fun pictures that I purchased online to each of the guest rooms. Most of the furnishings were ordered online including the headboards, kitchen table and all the light fixtures and cabinet knobs and pulls.

A night shot of the cozy yellow bedroom.

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, you can see into the two guest rooms. The bathroom is just to the left at the bottom of the stairs. The closed door on the left is a storage closet - a huge storage closet. The basement is totally carpeted for a cozier feel. You can see into the red bedroom that has a full garden window so therefore the brighter light. The family room also has a 6' garden window. It certainly doesn't feel like a basement at all.

 The red bedroom is ready for guests.

As you can partially see, the red bedroom has a large garden level picture window so the view and light is marvelous. It also holds a chair and the suitcase shelving. Also both bedrooms have large closets.

The guest bath is fun. The round mirror is leather, the pictures over the toilet are watercolors of a bear, fawn and fox. The shower curtain is a huge butterfly. The bath is roomy and convenient.

I added hooks instead of towel racks along with a couple stools for little ones to reach the sink or moms to sit on while bathing the little ones.

Behind the door is an open linen closet. It holds towels and bedding but also contains empty shelves for the guests to place their cosmetics case, shaving kit, toothbrushes etc. I always notice the lack of open space in guest rooms and especially baths; so we wanted to ensure that those spaces were available for his guests, large and small.

A fun space is Dick's hunting room. I found this mural and placed it on the wall like wallpaper. He mounted a fish and also a deer in this space. It includes tons of storage and workspace. There is a door inside this room that leads to the mechanical room. The house has geothermal heat, instant hot water, great insulation and other energy saving ideas throughout.

I've left out the family room and game table area because it's not quite finished so I'll send that another day along with outside view shots. This last shot is looking up the stairs to the front entry.

Speaking of view shots, I found this one looking from the kitchen window that gives you a glimpse of what Dick sees out the east windows of his new home. Double-click on the picture to see it larger.

I hope you've enjoyed Part 2. Part 3 will be the finished family room and some outside view shots.  We'll begin working on the landscaping and finishing out the front porch as soon as it begins to warm here. Part 4 will be the landscape and outside house views.

Delores