Y’all remember it. The day the world shut down. For me it was a Sunday, St. Patrick’s day. Wisconsin and Minnesota had shut down all the schools early in the day. Our local parade was cancelled. We spent the afternoon with friends trying to decipher what was happening in the world. I didn’t get it. It didn’t make sense. By that evening, Iowa had joined the rest of the country, shutting down schools, restaurants, businesses. What started with two weeks quickly became two months which has now led to almost two years. We will never return to the “normal” life before. We are now in a new normal. A post-covid normal. And we are all adjusting. It has been hard. I have struggled immensely with my mental health. We’ve struggled with my children’s schooling. There have been crazy changes.
My family has been very blessed in that my husband has never had to stop working. Our finances are secure along with our medical benefits. I never forget how lucky we have been. We have been able to tackle some pretty awesome projects with the extra time and stimulus benefits. My husband has put in a LOT of hours and done an AMAZING job taking on all my crazy ideas and making them a reality.
Since I moved into our home, 11 years ago, I have wanted to remodel the basement. Ross was given our home handed down to him from Ross’s grandma. She build this home as a retirement home and it’s lovely. But transitioning a home built for empty-nesters into one for a family of five has had it’s challenges. We had one main living space, a large kitchen, one bathroom and three bedrooms. After the months of being home all day and night with my children with limited places to go… I NEEDED more space!!! It was time to finish the basement!
The basement had cement floors, wood panels on one side that had mold on it from water in the basement. There was drywall on a few walls but it needed to be remudded. There was also a small, dingy bathroom that was never used and was the definition of ugly. I had a vision of a living area, office nook, full bathroom and master bedroom. Ross made my vision come to life.
We gutted the bathroom, tore out walls, put in new drywall and fixed the other walls. Ross put in an egress window and a wall to separate the large room that ran the length of the house. We stained the cement floor. Ross used pallet boards to create awesome accent walls in the stairwell and on the new wall. It turned out exactly how I had envisions.
Ross also rebuilt the bathroom, adding a large, tin covered shower, moved the door and made a beautiful vanity. I love the tranquility and rustic feel.
One of my favorite features are the four doors Ross made. Two are sliding barn doors that lead to our closet and storage/laundry room. The other two are to the bedroom and bathroom. They are gorgeous. I decorated the room adding special family pieces including my grandmother’s secretary and the gun cabinet from Ross’s family. We added a long bar table with three stools, a couch for snuggles and a giant beanbag that opens up to a king sized bed. Ross insisted on a LARGE TV and he got no argument from me!
Ross also built our beautiful bed. This room is my sanctuary. It’s a place for rest, for love, for recovery, for decompressing. It’s beautiful. Our bedside tables were purchased by Ross’s mom just before her passing, she never got to see them. They had been in the box since that time. After his dad’s passing, Ross brought them home to see if they might work. They are the perfect addition to this truly special space.
This has become my favorite place in the house. I can’t wait to celebrate holidays here, have lots of movie nights and sleep overs, and continue to spend time with my favorite people here.
Happy Harvesting,
Leah
Harvesting Roots 
Give that handsome hubby of yours his TV for your remodeled basement. Your pics are great and the remodel is simply stunning. You have a keeper hubby and love to hear about your marvelous journey together with your tribe of kiddos. You all take good care now.