Our basement renovation is done! Can you believe it?
I always knew this day would come I just never realize how excited I would be for it. An entire home renovation summed up into 14 episodes. An era of learning new skills, building a home and designing something beautiful for my family. I know I will always look back on this chapter fondly but my heart is pulling me in a new direction. This basement renovation was definitely a challenging project (especially with a young child and a fraction of the bandwidth) but that only made the rewards so much sweeter. I stand ready for what’s next - A new design and DIY series called ‘Soh At Home’ where I can finally concentrate on turning this house into a home. Before I get into all of that though I have a lot to catch you up on.
Renovating My Toronto Victorian Home - Episode 14!
Introducing Eternal Love by Earth Aengel
Prior to microcement commencing, a beautiful contemporary art piece I had won in an art fundraiser was delivered and installed. It was such a pleasure to host the artist Earth Aengel over lunch and learn more about how the piece ‘Eternal Love’ came to be. I remember seeing it for the first time and I couldn’t take my eyes away. It was so interesting and I was immediately drawn to it. A Willow Tree covered in stained dichroic glass, soldered together with jewelry chain, vintage resin coated butterfly wings, a broach, shells, rock crystals, and Madonna’s half smoked, lipstick stained, clove cigarette. So when I found out it was mine, I was floored! I asked my dear friend and gallery co-owner Emma Bain to come over and join us in finding the perfect spot to display it. The three of us settled on a small wall near the dining room window where it can’t be missed.
I also had a chance to paint the bright red structural pole in the basement matte white. The plan is to turn it into a light, which is a DIY project I look forward to sharing in my new series!
Day 2 of Surface Culture transforming my basement bathroom/laundry room into a pink microcement heaven!
Microcement Bathroom Transformation
The first thing we needed to do following drywall was transformer our basement bathroom into a pink microcement heaven! Having never used or designed anything with microcement before it was incredible to witness this transformation! Unlike tile, microcement ends up being 3-4mm thick so proper application is crucial, especially in a bathroom setting. Experience and expertise is what we got from Surface Culture - masters in Venetian plaster, microcement and decorative surfaces. With over two decade of experience Hubert, the owner of Surface Culture, not only leads the charge when it comes to best practices for achieving a water tight seal, but he lives and breaths elegant finishes and offers certified advanced application courses to anyone interested in learning. For me, watching them work their magic on my basement bathroom felt like a mini crash course. Microcementing a bathroom my size typically takes about a week to complete as each layer requires time to cure and harden.
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While work was being done on the bathroom my electricians stopped by to give us some working pot lights and plugs.
Honed checkerboard White Carrara and Ming Green Marble Tiles for our basement bathroom/laundry room
Checkerboard White Carrara and Ming Green Marble Tiles
We also moved ahead with installing the marble tiles I had spent months sourcing. A checkerboard mix of honed Ming green and White Carrara. I actually could only find the Ming Green tiles in a polished finish and had to place a special order for them to be honed. Despite the extra effort and cost I was SERIOUSLY excited to see them get installed!
Following the tiles came the staircase extension. I had asked my stair installer to turn the existing staircase stringer into a drum. He also needed to attach a winder box that finished with a bullnose step that the drum would then sit on. Needless to say he had his work cut out for him.
Following the completion of tiles in the bathroom we turned our attention to the other two rooms. Adam and I had picked a click-together engineered hardwood that floats above the radiant floors for both the TV room and office. Since it is not glued down it will have room to expand and contract without coming apart at the joints. Although we went with a more neutral colour (I needed it to work well with the incoming cabinetry for both rooms which were very different from one another) we did opt for a wide straight plank for the basement. A combination that strikes a balance between feeling substantial without dominating.
Me applying gold foil to the ceiling
I Foiled The Ceiling For Home Theatre Vibes!
Following installation of the floors I laid floor protection on the basement floors and got to work on foiling the ceiling. Having never gold foiled anything before I was a bit nervous to start but quickly learned how fun and meditative the process can be. Still, with only naps and evenings to work on this project it took me weeks to complete. For those three or so weeks I looked like I was the host of a glitter party, with gold flakes in my hair and on my glasses. I was covered! It was so fun though and I am planning to share the DIY tutorial on Soh At Home if anyone out there is interested in learning more. I think it gives our TV room this enchanting feeling and, when paired with the recessed LED cove ceiling the room transforms into a real home theatre.
Next on the list was fine carpentry. We had three doors that needed to be hung along with all the baseboards and trim. While my carpenter got to work on that I tested my paint colours and after seeing the unexpected colour cast that the green patch sent onto the freshly foiled ceiling, I was starting the rethink my decision of doing three of the four walls green.
I started having doubts about going green on three of the four walls after painted one wall and noticing the unexpected green cast it sent up onto the ceiling.
Once fine carpentry was complete Adam and I could move onto cabinetry! Before it could be delivered we first had to remove all the floor protection we had put down during the renovation. And I’m talking main floor too! It was so gratifying to see the floors again! It had been over a year since we first underpinned the basement and our son had never experienced the house without floor protection so it served as both a relief and reminder that we were nearing the end!
No more protective flooring! Felt so good to clean and organize prior to cabinetry install! So excited to finally cover the bench footing for good too!
Round Slim Shaker Cabinetry for the TV Room
The more the cabinetry got pulled off the truck, the more excited I got about my final decision to go with a cream colour on three of the four walls and keep only one wall, the cabinetry wall, green. For the TV room I had decided on a round slim shaker profile which we would use on both the facia boards needed to conceal the bench footing and cabinetry doors. I had only seen this profile done in a solid wood material before so I wasn’t 100% sure how they would look in a custom paint finish but I actually really love them! It kind of has this mid century modern, 70’s feel to it but it also works well with the cove ceiling, TV arch and lighting, and the bullnose staircase. It’s that perfect mix of traditional and contemporary that I just love so much.
Following cabinetry install my carpenter returned to complete the under stair cabinetry which required some finicky work that could only be done on site. As always he did an amazing job and made it feel seamless with the newly installed fascia boards.
After that the painters got to work spraying all the baseboards, trim and doors. Adam and I were especially impressed by the transformation of the knotty pine staircase, so much so that I’m not sure I want to cover them in a runner anymore.
Once painting was complete we could move onto electrical finishes! This was such an exhilarating moment watching the TV arch, cove ceiling and all the other special features we had been working on for months come alive! Within the same week we also had our countertops and plumbing fixtures installed, leaving us with nothing left to do but enjoy!
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An incredible transformation by Surface Culture! So happy with my pink microcement bathroom and laundry room!
Final Thoughts on Our Finished Basement
Adam and I are so happy with how the basement turned out. I love our little microcement bathroom/laundry room, so much so that it’s almost a shame that we decided to try microcement in the basement and not in our master bathroom. It was also such a pleasure to partner with Surface Culture on this project as they did an extraordinary job and absolutely nailed the colour I wanted. Having working laundry machines in the house after so many years feels like such a luxury! I also love having a utility sink, and such a cute one at that! I actually look forward to washing a sweater by hand now and being able to hang it up to dry on the hidden bar above. The honed Ming green marble tiles and cabinetry are also the perfect colour match and when paired with the warm wood accents and hammered brass cabinetry hardware the whole room comes together perfectly!
This room is totally giving home theatre vibes!
The TV Room really feels like a theatre. I am so happy with the ratio of cream to green and how the indirect LED lights, ceiling cove, and gold foil really transform the room into a home theatre. I honestly can’t wait to start decorating this room and know it will soon become one of our favourite places to spend time together as a family and host get togethers. I’m also super excited to set up a little indoor jungle gym down here for our son and have already bought him a rope swing to try. The vintage Bang and Olufsen speakers I inherited from my parents also work so well in this space. Although vintage, they are still of a contemporary style contributing to that perfect mixture of traditional and contemporary that I can’t seem to get enough of. I also love that you can’t tell there is big concrete bench footing hiding behind the fascia boards under the TV arch and am so happy with the use of that space. We now also have tons of storage and an entire dry bar area to set up. You might notice that we ended up going for a butcher block style countertop for the bar. Since this is the only area in this room that required a countertop we decided to go BOLD with the countertop to help it really stand out from both a horizontal and vertical viewpoint. I’m planning to fill the beverage fridge up with a range of refreshments and even add a snack basket to create a proper ‘refreshment station’. Adam was super impressed with the staircase transformation! Our painter Ariel did an fantastic job filling in all the knots on the knotty pine staircase and finishing it so nicely.
The office also has a warm, bright contemporary feel. I really love the look of the prefab walnut material we used for the cabinetry and how much storage we now have. I also love that my desk can transform into a Murphy bed should we need an extra room for guests. I can’t wait to set up my desk and get settled into the space and I know Adam is too.
With that being said, if you are interested in seeing how I DIY and decorate my Toronto Victorian home post renovations I encourage you to check out my new series ‘Soh At Home’. In episode one I tackle a master bedroom refresh which you can now watch on my YouTube channel! I also have a new Instagram account @SohAtHome where you can follow my DIY and design journey so make sure to check it out and give it a follow as well.
Other than that, it has been an absolute pleasure to share my basement renovation with you and want to reiterate how thankful I am for all the support we have received along the way!
Before I sign off, I’d also like to say a big thank you to Surface Culture for partnering with me on this project. I’m so excited to be working with local industry experts on our Toronto home renovations but want to reiterate that, like always, all opinions remain my own.
Until next time,
- Soheila
