A few months back, my husband and I took a leap - we put our house on the market. Incredibly, it sold within a mere four days. The swiftness of it all left us utterly stunned. Suddenly, we found ourselves on the brink of a major downsizing adventure, trading our sprawling 1500 square foot home, complete with a fully finished basement, for something much smaller. That something turned out to be a basement. My parents' basement, to be exact. That's right – my husband, our furry companion, and our little bundle of joy were about to embark on a journey of boomeranging back to my childhood abode.

But what followed was nothing short of extraordinary. Months of relentless effort, with my mom and husband leading the charge, resulted in a jaw-dropping transformation. Take a look at what we managed to create! And guess what – we accomplished it all with a budget of under $1000.

After photo with all of our renovations

Let's start with the bathroom. This bathroom has not been updated in 45 years. Most recently, it was used as the dog-wash station for my parents pup. It needed a mega-gut.

Bathroom BEFORE

Bathroom BEFORE

Just look at that laminate floor (below)! During my first round as a boomerang kid, which was about 9 years ago, I somehow survived with this bathroom. I'll take credit for all the paint colors, which included terrible, blues, greens, and yellows.

Bathroom BEFORE

We recently acquired a new shower for our bathroom, while the vanity and tile were remnants from a previous project. Back when we completely renovated my bathroom in our previous home, we wisely chose to preserve the vanity, envisioning its potential use in a forthcoming basement bathroom. Although that basement bathroom never came to fruition, our foresight in retaining the vanity paid off handsomely, as it seamlessly found its purpose in our apartment's design.

Bathroom floor AFTER, along with new vanity and shower base

This is the finished look. I love it! It is clean, new, and we utilized many fixtures and finishes that my husband had on-hand. The American Standard toilet was a refurb from a demo, and the light fixture, towel racks, and mirror were all from a demo/past bathroom as well. The only thing new was the shower.

Bathroom AFTER. New shower along with reused vanity, floor, mirror and light fixture

Oh - and our fabulous toilet tank flush levers! Did you even know you could purchase such an upgrade? Well, you can! Fluidmaster rolled this line out recently, and they have an amazing selection. My mom got one too! Talk about an upgrade!

New FLUIDMASTER flusher

These PerfectFIT(TM) levers can work with any toilet. They come in a variety of finishes, styles, and materials. I chose the chrome finish and my mom went with brushed nickel. Installation was a breeze - the provided instructions were straight forward and easy to follow. Instant upgrade!

BEFORE (left) and AFTER (right) from the upstairs bathroom

Next up was the ceiling. The old ceiling was a water-stained drop ceiling. My Mom and Dad tore out the 45 year old ceiling, which was full of dust and mold. It had to go.

Ceiling BEFORE

The wood underneath looked great! My mom was going to take on the task of painting the ceiling. After the purchase of a paint spray gun, and many many hours spent tarping the walls and floor (and also researching how to use a paint gun on a ceiling) the paint gun was a fail. Click here for all the painted ceiling details! 

AFTER ceiling tear down.

In a determined effort, my mom undertook the task of meticulously hand-painting the ceiling using a brush. After an extensive investment of over 100 hours and the application of 9 gallons of paint, the ceiling transformation was complete. The outcome was nothing short of spectacular! Leveraging their network, my parents enlisted the expertise of a skilled electrician friend, who diligently revamped the entire electrical system (a dire necessity due to the inadequate lighting in the old apartment). The pristine white ceiling, complemented by the addition of contemporary can lights and fixtures, culminated in a truly stunning and visually captivating result.

This is the new ceiling - love this look!

Exposed ceiling AFTER fresh paint and new electrical work. New can lighting!

The basement has a small bedroom. Very small - it is 6x8. It was a mess. This room needed a new ceiling, new floor, and new window trim. 

Bedroom BEFORE. Old laminate flooring, moldy walls, and ceiling

The final outcome was truly fabulous. Leveraging remaining tiles, we artfully adorned the floor, while simultaneously refreshing the ceiling with fresh drywall. Notably, Mike undertook the task of removing the lower foot of the walls, a strategic move to preempt any mold issues lurking behind the drywall. In its stead, he skillfully incorporated oak boards and trim, resulting in an unequivocally superior transformation from the previous state. Our efforts bore fruits that exceeded expectations, and I can't help but express my adoration for the charming "Never Stop Exploring" sign from The Wooden Word, adorning Theo's space with an irresistible touch of character and flair!

Bedroom AFTER. WOW!

Then there was the kitchen. The kitchen was one of the worst rooms in the basement. Check out that old back splash! And the paint - what was I thinking with the bright colors when I painted years ago?! Electric green and yellow!?

Mike did a new back splash for the sink using marble subway tiles, and put in a new faucet (using materials we had on-hand). He also needed to patch several holes. What do you think about this refrigerator? We took a 20 year old fridge and gave it a big make over. You can see all about it here! 

Kitchen sink, refrigerator, and paint BEFORE

Kitchen BEFORE, after cabinets were taken down to be painted

The cabinets were in great condition, so my mom painted them contrasting colors. After painting the walls, Mike re-hung the cabinets. Slowly but surely, the room was coming together!

Middle of kitchen renovation. Freshly painted cabinets being installed. All cabinet hardware was cleaned and spray painted for a fresh look.

I loved the new light fixture above the sink! This "after" pic is before our faucet was installed. But already, it looked 1,000,000x better!

Kitchen sink BEFORE (left) and AFTER (right). New marble backsplash and light fixture

Mike constructed a gorgeous shelf in our kitchen. The wood was rescued from a 100 year old porch in Hyde Park.

Kitchen cabinets BEFORE (left) and AFTER (right). Fresh paint as well!

Functional kitchen shelf added. Love the mug hooks!

All finished!

Kitchen AFTER

Kitchen AFTER

The rest of the apartment was ready for paint. It was difficult to choose colors - it always is. You are NEVER going to know what paint will truly look like until you have the whole wall painted. We went with a light green color.

Wood paneling BEFORE fresh paint

BEFORE paint

BEFORE paint

AFTER paint and wall decor

AFTER paint and wall decor

The AFTER. Ready for move-in!

The light green on the walls brightened up the whole room. We ended up hanging up the artwork from our home that sold, which really brought the entire basement apartment together. We were ready to move in!

Our new family room!

We intentionally saved our front entry makeover project for a later date, ensuring it took place after our settling-in period. I personally undertook the task of painting the stairs and walls, while Mike skillfully installed a cedar ceiling and a delightful tile floor. Remarkably, these significant enhancements came at a remarkably low cost.

In totality, our upgraded front entryway is a source of great satisfaction for us, as well as my parents! The project's expenses were minimal, primarily comprising Behr paint, light fixtures, and a new shower. These costs totaled $960, while the rest of the project utilized repurposed or readily available materials that Mike had wisely preserved from previous endeavors.

Here's to the unique experience of cohabitating with parents! While I anticipate this being my final "boomerang" living arrangement, only time will reveal what the future holds ;)

Front entry BEFORE (left) and AFTER (right). Coat hooks added as well

It's not every day that you hear about a family living in their parents basement, which made for a hilarious bit on The Ellen Show last year. I still cannot believe this happened!

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