2016 Summer Home Tour – Part 1 (The Basement)

Summer is finally here!  It’s been a long winter here in Colorado Springs and I always look forward to our beautiful summer months.  Today, I am so thrilled to be a part of the 2016 Summer Home Tours hosted by the lovely Marty at A Stroll Through Life.  I look forward to her tours every time they come around when she lines up 30 inspiring bloggers to share their homes. If you’re here from Kristin’s lovely home tour at My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, welcome! This may be your first time visiting so let me give you a little introduction.

My husband and I are raising three boys in Colorado Springs, CO.  Since I’m a beach lover at heart, we also bought a little beach cottage in Naples, FL almost eight years ago and it’s where we escape to as often as we can. We have lived in our Colorado home for six years and although it was a new build, we are constantly working on rooms and renovating spaces.  The most recent renovation that we finished last summer is our basement.  I’d like to think that we don’t have a “typical” dark and dungeon-like kind of basement. Fortunately it’s a walk out with doors and big windows that allow the light to pour in throughout the day.  Most of our gatherings happen here.

I always like to change the vibe of the home with a few summer touches.  One of the easiest ways to do that is by changing out the pillows. This year, I went with some bright fuchsia and yellow patterned pillow covers.  Come on down into our family room.

My favorite mid-century style club chairs because they add that pop of color to an otherwise neutral gray room.  I kind of have a weakness for fun chairs.

Mixing patterns spice up a room and keep the space a bit more lively.

I wish I could actually keep a plant alive, unfortunately I seem to “forget” to water them. Summertime calls for a green plant somewhere in the home so a little “faux-style” suits me just fine. Besides, I’ll be at the beach cottage and on vacation for a good portion of the summer so no living plant would stand a chance.

The family room joins the rec room where our billiard table is and the modern bar we built.  That renovation still goes down as one of the fastest in history among all our renovations (the pre-renovation photos and story HERE).

You can see we built a large island in the bar area with a waterfall edge of quartz.  We get so much use out of it when we host parties and can spread all the food out or when the boys decide to make it their spot to put puzzles together, or even the occasional ping pong game.

Bar Chairs

Nothing screams summer more to me than pineapples and fruity drinks.  I can’t wait to whip up some yummy concoctions this summer!

The bar is more like a mini kitchen, fully equipped with dishwasher, beverage refrigerators, ice maker, microwave, sink and disposal.  We love to host gatherings down here so it made sense to add all those conveniences.

Rug | Cabinet Hardware | Bar Refrigerator | Drawer Dishwasher | Ice Maker | Full Bar Source-HERE

Pineapple Decanter | Pineapple Beverage Glass | Copper Mug

Normally, I wouldn’t shoot photos with lights on, but I feel like the bar needs to be lit up for you to see the fun detail of this wall.  We can turn the lights to any color of the rainbow which is kind of fun to play around with depending on the season or mood of the party.

I love having our guest bedroom downstairs, like a private retreat for our guests.

More color…I need a dose of it in every room.

My office is part of the new addition to the basement.  As you enter the large hallway that leads to the office, we had unsightly plumbing running from floor to ceiling in an odd spot. We resolved that eye sore by building this built in shelf unit around it and now no one would be the wiser in knowing there’s a hidden plumbing pipe underneath.

It’s always fun to have one room to go unexpected and playful.  My cheetah print wall and green drapes are the signature of this room.  You can see the full tour HERE. 

Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed my summer home tour of our basement!  You can see the rest of our home {here}. Be sure to come back this Friday when I’ll be giving you a summer home tour of our beach cottage as part of the Blogger Stylin’ Home Tours.

A special thank you to Marty for inviting me to be a part of such a fun summer home tour series! Next stop on the Summer Home Tours is Doreen at Hymns & Verses.  I love how she repurposes old pieces of furniture and her home is downright charming and full of creative ideas!

Be sure to check out the other tours as well, all week long!

Monday

A Stroll Thru Life//Life on Virginia Street//Remodelando La Casa//Thrifty and Chic//Rain On A Tin Roof//Duke Manor Farm

Tuesday

Life Love Larson //Haneen’s Haven//Claire Brody Designs//My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia//The House of Silver Lining//Hymns & Verses

Wednesday

Dimples And Tangles//Our Southern Home//Simple Details//Decore To Adore//A Thoughtful Place//Rosemary Lane

Thursday

Our Fifth House//Decorating Delirium//Driven By Decor//Making Home Base//Simple Stylings//Cuckoo4Design

Friday

Refresh Restyle//Splendor Styling//Monica Wants It//Life & Home At 2102//It All Started With Paint//Far Above Rubies

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