Senior style editor Ann Marie Favot's budget basement makeover is fairy-tale worthy.
Style at Home senior style editor Ann Marie Favot favours a crisp, clean look with soothing pale colours and a place for everything. But when it came to her budget basement family room makeover, she also wanted a comfy, fun space for her four-year-old daughter, Maddie. Crisp and clean don't always mesh well with kids, but Ann Marie employed a few magic tricks (bibbidi-bobbidi-boo!) to turn the small 280-square-foot area into a sleek, stylish zone to suit the entire family.
A pet-hair-disguising rug, a large L-shaped sofa (white, yes, but with a removable washable cover) and easy-to-clean laminate floors stand up to the chaos of children and dogs at play.
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Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
Chez Maddie
With a chic style editor for a mom, is it any surprise that little Maddie loves to play restaurant hostess - and that having a beautifully set table is equally important to her as the (imaginary) food she serves?
Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
Artist in residence
How do you like them apples? Homeowner and senior style editor Ann Marie Favot made them herself. “The room needed some colour, and I wanted something graphic, fun and youthful, but I couldn’t find the right piece,” she says. “So I made these with construction paper.” Another budget score? The antique-look rug. She bought it on sale, and it disguises the hair of Loki, the family husky.
Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
Miss. Dress-up
Whether hosting a princess’s tea party or performing an impromptu ballet, a young lady’s work is never done, so a costume closet - with a basket full of hats and crowns - was a makeover must.
Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
All dolled up
With plenty of extra storage space thanks to a customizable system, Ann Marie ensured there was a place to tuck away her daughter’s toys, from the art-supply closet to a drawer for dolls and stuffed animals.
Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
Imagination land
In lieu of a tiny kids’ desk, a large coffee table offers more space to spread out. The massive dispenser on top offers all the art paper an imaginative child could hope for. Maddie sometimes curls up with a book on the banquette behind her desk.
Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
Polka face
This mother-daughter workspace-slash-playroom is perfect for the creative minds at work and play here. Ann Marie can draft a room redesign at the desk while Maddie paints her Disney princess dream house at the table behind it. The long desk is actually custom made using a wall-to-wall kitchen countertop, supported by small ledges and a storage cabinet in the centre. The bold designer polkadot wallpaper would have been a splurge, but Ann Marie saved big bucks by applying it to only half the wall.
Basement makeover: Functional family playroom
Va-va-va vessels
Organized living comes easy when you have a place to put your most-used items. Magazine holders are key for editors like Ann Marie, and a tray for fabric samples, a cup for paintbrushes and a bowl for a measuring tape and pins are always within arm’s reach. But rather than looking cluttered, they appear chic and cohesive.
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