Laundry Time

I've been working on many projects lately in my mostly unfinished basement. I actually spend a lot of time down there.  Its's a huge space, probably nearly 1800 square feet, and it includes my workspace, studio, a tv area and a ping pong table!  

I decided to to spruce up the laundry area because unfortunately I spend a lot of time in there too. 

I bought these masonite letters at Michaels. They were on sale and already painted black.  I was not crazy about the serifs on the letters, but they worked out ok. And the price was right.

I decided to customize the finish on the letters to make it look more like metal or the galzenized ductwork that is visibile on the basement ceiling.

I used a combination of metaliic craft paints from Folk Art. First, in Gunmetal Gray painting in one direction and then in Sterling Silver in the opposite direction.  The paints are more like glazes so the color beneath shows through. They came out pretty good, although I probably could of added a few coats to make them even lighter.

Here Is what the wall looked like before.  I had painted the wall a light Tiffany Blue.  I hung a pendent light cord set, with a cage shade, over the ironing board for extra light.  The ironing board is my mom's very sturdy original from the 1950s.  It was always that blue color.

And here is the finished project.  The picture doesn't really show how metallic the letters look, but they really do look like they are made from metal. I just attached them directly to the cement basement walls using Scotch Permanent Mounting Tape.

wine bottle chandelier

My basement is a work in progress.  I have not posted pictures of it yet because the space has not been fully released. 
Basically it's a half finished space that spans the entire legth of the house.  Its probably over 1800 square feet.  I put in a nice quality carpet and spent a lot of money on a french drain system outside which has made the basement dry even in the worst rain! The ceiling and walla are left unfinished.

Here is a fun DIY project I just finished in the basement.  
I made a glass "chandelier" out of wine bottles which I hung around the pull chain lights. I just used a macrame ring, old bottles, corks and copper wire.