When you go down to our basement, you may at first think you took a wrong turn and ended up in a different house. I'm hoping you feel like you've arrived in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. My husband and I both grew up in Colorado, got married there and had two of our three children there. It is home and these rooms make me feel like I've taken a trip and am back home.
The walls in our basement are rough cedar set at an angle in some areas and vertical in others. They were this way when we bought the house and we've always loved them.
The fireplace is a mix of unique stone - every one different from the other. There is quartz and granite and even some fossilized stone. My husband and son-in-law, Ryan, built the mantle a couple of years ago.
My brother-in-law, Fritz, made the eagle that sits on the left side of the hearth. He passed away several years ago so it is a treasure to us. The art that sits on top of the mantle is of cowboys riding through an oilfield town. My mom-in-law gave it to us. It used to hang in my father-in-law's and husband's office when they owned an oil consulting company. Our dad is retired now but we have a lot of oilfield memorabilia.
This is the view as you look towards the stairs. When you come down the stairs you see this family picture wall.
The baby pictures are of each of our children. The black and white photos are me and my husband when we each were about five years old. Laura and Ryan are pictured when Levi was about 8 months old. I need to get a new family photo of them with our Rhynn in it. The bottom sign says, "GrandKids always welcome." (A gift from my sister-in-law, Jean.) The top sign says, "Share Faith, Offer Prayer, Gather Hope." To the right of this wall is a hallway to a half-bath and bedroom.
The entertainment center also holds a lot of Colorado treasures - a carved wooden eagle, some Indian pottery and a bust of horses that I got at HomeGoods. The little wooden vase on the shelf on the left was carved from a piece of wood by a dear friend of the family.
Around the corner is a game table that's perfect for a thousand piece puzzle. You can see the corner of pool table in the bottom right of this picture and the left side of the door that goes into the weight room in the back corner.
There's a wet bar and a mini-fridge in this area for snacks. I've gathered the cross collection over the years. The two with turquoise set in them were bought on vacation trips to Colorado.
We love the cow hide rug that's on the floor. It was also purchased in one of our favorite shops in Estes Park on a trip home.
This is the view when you enter the basement. A stained-glass church window from Colorado hangs over the couch. I had to wait until night to get a picture of this angle because of the glare from the wall of windows and the patio door. I'm sorry that it's still not very good.
Behind the pool table is collection of eagle pictures. My husband started collecting eagles when we left Colorado and moved to Auburn for him to get his Ph.D. "War Eagle!" We like them because of Auburn but mostly because of what they represent in scripture. ( The bottom right one is etched on mirror and would not photograph well.) All of these pictures are gifts from family members.
This room is cozy in the winter and cool in the summer. It's a nice change from the bright openness upstairs and a perfect place to hide out and watch a movie. I love the warm feel down here all year round.
Love and blessings~
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. [16] For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created through Him and for Him. [17] He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." Colossians 1:15-17
P.S. - I just want to be honest here. Our basement doesn't look this good. As I took pictures, I had to keep moving the stuff I didn't want you to see. Like the toy box, and my exercise bike (which I rarely ride) and some other stuff. I vacuumed the room and then moved stuff around as I took pictures and I stepped back and fell over the vacuum cleaner. Then my husband came downstairs and wanted to get in the weight room and moved several things that I had hidden in there and I had move stuff again. As soon as the picture taking was done, we went back to real life. Just wanted you to know! ;)
