Crusty Basement Love

Hey guys! We’re Jamin and Ashley Mills with The Handmade Home, and we’re honored to be here today to talk all things Jeffrey Court, and crusty basement love.

What on earth are we talking about, you may ask? Well, once upon a time, our basement/garage combo was kind of crusty. Because crusty is just the very best way we can possibly describe our entire situation. We’re pretty sure the last owner used said basement to gut his hunting finds, {ew} and there may have been a whole murderous-clown-in-a-crawlspace kind of situation going on. It was bad, guys. Sometimes, love doesn’t make sense, but fall in love {with the yard and school and location} we did, and we decided to take it on.

Because we knew it would be worth it in the end.

While we redid the entire upper level of the house first, we waited for our permits locally {we’re unfortunately on septic and the codes here are crazy} to begin on the basement. A split level circa 1978 that hadn’t been touched since then, it sat untouched, waiting for a little love. In retrospect, we’re glad that the basement portion of said renovation took the amount of time that it did, because it gave us time to really think through everything we could possibly want in the space: a play area for three growing elementary/middle school kids, a family room for movies, a place for our kids to entertain {especially as they grow older} and so much more.

So we went from this…

To this!

We have to say, after taking this one on, I’m pretty sure nothing will intimidate us ever again. It’s one thing to flip a space, and make it “pretty”. It’s quite another to decide what you want from it, and make it actually feel like home.

One of our favorite elements is Jeffrey Court’s fabulous tile. Their tile ultimately made it feel like home, and nothing gave us greater pleasure than covering those gross, crusty floors. The tile name is Oakwood Lilly, and we have to say, a complete show stopper.

We love giving it a modern edge with fun, geometric lines, but the first question and the number one thing people notice when taking in the space? Jeffrey Court’s tile! It’s so fun to share while people marvel at the floor. And it’s the perfect pick for durable character when it comes to all things comfort and style. Bonus: if you have dogs, {especially two giant 70 lb, fur babies, all the tones in the tile hide the fur, until I can clean it. Sorry not sorry}

Those deer heads though.

We love our perfect spot for a rainy day – a library for the kids, and a place to stash all those legos underneath! From the entryway, to the extra fridge, family command center, and more.

We’re more than glad to be home.

If you have more questions or would like to check out the space in more detail, be sure to check out our original post on it, here! We’d absolutely love to hear from you.

Have an inspired day!