Here's How Erin Trafford Created a Cozy and Functional Basement Space

Blog written by: Erin Trafford     ​

Well, here we are. A beautiful light-filled space that, at least for me, is the stuff of dreams. If you'll permit me to be emotional for just a wee moment - I never thought I'd see this day. I never thought I'd prioritize myself and my burgeoning business over all the other (million) projects in this house and I never thought the wall in this space would come down.

Before

I chose this photo as the before, even though it's technically a couple of versions beyond the original because I think it at least shows I was 'trying' to make something out of the space, right?

The things I want you to notice is the light pouring in through that steel door and the horrific situation with the flooring.

Now let's go through that steel door (which was the actual exterior of the house) and into what used to be called the garden room.

It is/was an uninsulated indoor/outdoor porch that we converted into living space. It was always freezing in there in the winter and boiling in there in the summer.

After

Well here it is now. I'm still in shock that we pulled this off. It's honestly the happiest room in the house. It's so cozy!

We ended up pulling out what little insulation was in the walls and adding new R24 insulation. Holy moly, it’s made a giant difference.

We ended up walling off the laundry space and adding in a gorgeous pocket door. Initially my plan was to have this all be one giant room, but then Dan pointed out that I probably didn't want to stare at piles of laundry all day while I was working.

So, I'm giving credit where it's due - the pocket door was his idea and it's my favourite thing!

I chose to paint it this stunning teal colour - which is called Joyful Tears (C13-1-0683-0) by Beauti-Tone and I laugh because I had joyful tears when I saw how gorgeous this door was!!

Here's the two things I learned about pocket doors:

One: kids love them. They are way more fun than normal doors.

Two: it's best to install them into a new wall or plan for them when your walls are open. Our contractor said it's much easier to install the kit and hardware before the trim and such goes on.

The other last-minute switcheroo I made was the sliding exterior door. The old door (which was 30 years old and original to the house) opened as a right-handed door. It always bugged me because it meant I could never put anything beneath the giant windows.

So, I chatted with Home Hardware and they helped me find a left-handed sliding door and I made the upgrade and it's just a small thing, but it's actually a big thing!

It means there's better flow in the room. I can now have a pretty little plant corner under the window and the new door has a much better seal on it, which means fewer cold draughts and such.

When people see this room, they almost always comment on the pops of colour! The colours only really work because they are bouncing off the white walls. For the white, I chose Beauti-Tone's Love Letters (WB002-0) and honestly, it's like the best white paint ever (And I've used a lot of white paints in my time as a DIY Blogger).