The Delightful Home {A Boy Cave Basement}

This space is nothing spectacular as far as all of the beautiful spaces shared on Instagram and Pinterest.  There are 7-8′ dropped ceilings (a necessity in this old house), two of the three windows are located under the porch (which is just a lovely sight to look out on), and there are structural poles that cannot easily be moved.  Putting a crazy amount of time and money into this space is like putting lipstick on a pig.  So, we have made the most of working with what we have.  Honey finished the entire space himself years ago by watching YouTube videos.  Since then, it has evolved with our boys and has been a great, no-frill, low-budget space for them and their friends every step of the way!

The TV area is now home to the x-box.  And the boys figured out how to dismantle the sectional so it is just an illusion of an L shape right now.  They spend lots of time down here with their friends and still love tossing all of the pillows on the floor for sleepovers.

The cute yellow coffee tables I originally had are long gone and darling polka dot rug also met it’s demise.  But you know who couldn’t care less about any of that? The kids!  :-)

At some point I need to come down here with my museum putty and stick all the pictures in place.

What was once our bar is now a “trophy case”.  It is so much more practical with boys, or any kids for that matter.  We no longer keep alcohol or breakables down here.

The dining table has been so handy for holding chips, snacks and pizzas when the kids have friends over.   The mini fridge is stocked with kid friendly, self serve beverages and we use all of those cabinets to store games, puzzles and art supplies (and a few serving pieces/dishes).

The kids have also learned to slide the entire table and chair set over towards the cabinets in order to have room for games of “mini basketball”.

The last time I updated y’all on this space the three males were all asking only for a foosball table for Christmas.  Well, Santa delivered!

The pool table functioned as a fort and then a giant lego table for years until just a few months ago.  Now the kids actually try to play pool.  I wanted to get rid of this thing so many times but Honey kept telling me that one day they would like it for its intended purpose.  (It moved with us from our old house.)  I couldn’t see past the days of entertaining two toddlers in an indoor basement bounce house at the time.  Man, it is crazy how time flies.

My favorite thing down here is still the built in seating area.  I wish I had room for this upstairs in the kitchen!

We have cleaned out so many small toys over the years that much of this storage is not even in use.  (Which feels kind of great, you know?!)

So, that about sums up the space.  It is perfectly functional and just good enough looking.  I’ve toyed with updating the fabrics many times lately but just can’t really justify it.  Since I haven’t changed the decor down here in 7 years, I didn’t think pulling together sources would be very fruitful.  Almost everything came from Ikea and Target or was built by Honey.

Also, I should note that it is almost never this tidy.   There are constantly pillows, toys, balls, clothes, random toothbrushes, books, games, water bottles and blankets strewn all over the place.  The sofa is never pushed together and the dining table is usually not where it belongs.  But, my favorite thing of all about this basement is that at the end of each day I just pull the door at the top of the stairs closed and forget it even exists.

The Delightful Home {Dixie Delights Home Tour}

DIXIE DELIGHTS DELIVERED

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11 thoughts on “The Delightful Home {A Boy Cave Basement}

  1. I love your simple and practical basement. With all your GT mementos, trophies, and ribbons, it is a PERFECT spot for your boys.

  2. I remember those days. In fact, anytime I complained about the mess, my hubby would remind me they would be gone for I knew it. He was so right. By the time the teen years were over I really dreaded going down there. Now, it is all clean after an overhaul and very empty!!!
    Great space for the boys and they will remember the good times.

  3. Such an awesome space. Wish we had basements! My twin 10 year olds would LOVE it. And I would love not having their stuff strewn all over the dining room/entry with NO door, and front and center to every single person who walks in the front door. Someday… sigh.

    1. Amen to that! As does hanging things above the bed!

      I just love this space, Amanda and am so glad to see it again. It looks better than ever! My, how the years have flown. :-(

      Cherish every second….it won’t be long until Georgia Tech frat brothers will be using the pool table (and the fridge will be full of beer!)

  4. I love this bright yellow space, so cute!! All the football and sports memorabilia looks great, I bet all your boys love having this basement :-) Having a place to store snacks and drinks is perfect for the kids.
    Have a great week!
    Lindsey

  5. I love how it has evolved as the boys have grown. We have been using our pool table for the past couple of years too. We bought ours before kids and it’s hard to believe that they are now old enough to enjoy it. Time really does go too fast! You are lucky you have some light from the outside – even if it is under the deck. The finished part of our basement has NO windows so it really is like being in a cave. My kids use it all the time though so I guess it doesn’t bother them. I think the most important thing is that the kids have a space of their own to entertain and play. You really did a beautiful job with your basement!
    Shelley

  6. I love your basement! 8 foot ceilings! That’s what I have in my main level.

    Our basement is fun for gross motor games that boys play and the 50×25 space has room for table games but I cannot figure out how to break up space cozify it. I love Love what you’ve done.
    Kitchen is great idea! DW taboot! Love it.

    Yes the years fly! It is something to see how space gets used differently as years go on. I will be saaaaad when it sits empty

  7. SO glad you reshared this space. We must’ve been finishing our basement just after you finished yours because I so remember showing my Honey how a relatively boy-friendly sports-themed space could also be pretty. Ours is red where yours is yellow, but I promise your influence was quite strong! I’ll send pics sometime!

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