Since the holidays, I have been watching a bunch of videos on YouTube from The Potted Boxwood, and Homeworthy to get some ideas about how to design the basement. (If you enjoy home design/decor, these are great channels to watch.)
Now that we’ve lived with the stairwell painted for a while, I have been thinking that I want to give it some real design oomph. Since we are going for a 1930’s English pub vibe, I started looking at some William Morris wallpapers because the colors and patterns in those could have been seen in a pub of that era. I had several samples sent to me from Jane Clayton & Company out of Jamaica, NY. They just came in and they are gorgeous!
So after I was thinking about the wallpaper in the stairwell, it really did seem a shame to stop there, so I was trying to figure out how to use it a little more. Then I had a great idea, based on a house that I saw in my video bingeing–that we should add a cased opening at the end of the narrow section of the basement beside the stairs.
Then we could make this little section like a cozy little library–we were already planning to put the built in glass front bookcases there. To amp up the library feel, I want to add beadboard about 2/3 of the way up the wall and put a stool (little shelf, like a window sill) on top of it, which we can use to display pictures and things.
I was already planning to use a vintage chair with a leaf print in that part of the basement, so I used the fabrics to make a decision about which wallpaper to choose. The winner is Pimpernel Bayleaf/Manilla.
I also am working on painting a pine tavern table to use with these pieces.
Once I have the table fully primed with two coats of primer and sanded smooth, I will paint the table with Farrow and Ball “Bone”. I will post more about this little project when I get it finished.
Anyway, I can’t wait to get the stairs installed, so we can get wallpaper, light fixtures, and a new railing put up.
Cathy At Home on the River 