Extreme Makeover: Basement Edition

We were supposed to go to the zoo yesterday with some friends.  But when it started pouring in Denver, we postponed our trip.

And instead, we cleaned the basement!

Because it's almost as fun as going to the zoo, right?

But actually, it was a GREAT day.  When we started, it looked like an episode of Hoarders.  Boxes everywhere.  Toys strewn about.  Outgrown clothes piled up all over the place.  But now?  Now... it looks amazing!  It's clean!  It's bright!  It's a place you might really want to hang out!

Aside from getting everything organized and thinning out a lot of STUFF (14 boxes of Christmas decorations?  Really?) (and does anyone else LOATHE sorting kids clothes?), we finished a fun project for the kids in the basement.  And when I say "we," I actually mean my amaaaazing hubby!

"We" built the kids a stage!

Our basement is unfinished, so we had a completely blank canvas to work with.  The alcove in our basement from the breakfast nook upstairs is the perfect spot to house a stage, complete with curtains, lights and a backstage. 

So the night before, we started cleaning up the area.  Gary painted the floor, walls and ceiling of the alcove black.

And then he started building and painting the stage.  He also hung up two metal rods:  one for the backstage curtain, and one for the stage curtain.

While I worked on the curtains, the kids pitched in to help!

The boring, gray, cement walls on either side of the stage needed some cheering up, so the kids helped to paint them a bright, happy yellow!

My small part of the project was the curtains, which were a breeze.  I just used the flat sheet from a cheap set of Walmart sheets.  I slit the sides of the large hem at one end to hang on the rod.  That was it!  No sewing, no trimming, just easy peasy curtains.  For the  top valance in front of the red curtain, I used the fitted sheet.  I took out the elastic and used that small hem to thread a string through which we stapled to the ceiling beams.  I "eyed" how long to trim it and didn't measure first, so... don't look too closely!  But hey - it's done, no one will notice, the girls don't care and I'm happy with it!

Backstage, there's just enough space for the girls' dress-up trunk, and a storage shelf for musical instruments, props, shoes and more.

Since their plays usually involve costume changes, this was a very necessary feature. (Notice Brody's drumset back there?  You can imagine how sad I am that it will no longer be in my living room.  Those drums are L-O-U-D.)

The girls love, love, love it!  Last night, just minutes after its completion, they performed their first show for Gary and I.  They regularly perform plays and shows for us, so we know this stage will get a lot of use.

The last thing we need to do is mount some hooks or something so they can open and close the curtains without tying them each time.  

Seriously, how awesome is my husband for making this?  He could've had the perfect man-cave there, but instead launched the girls' Hollywood career by making them a stage.

I may start selling season tickets to our theater.  Interested?    :)