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Lake House Basement Family Room

So, I’ve decided I missed my calling as a contestant on Super Market Sweep. Last week, my daughter had an ortho appointment and I was 10 minutes early by some miracle. Target just happens to be right next door to the orthodontist, so I decided to “just browse’ for 10 minutes. Cue my crazy fast walk through the throw pillow aisle frantically grabbing all the cute blue pillows. 7 minutes later, I was all checked out (self checkout no less), five perfect throw pillows in hand, and bonus, all on sale! 7 minutes, 5 throw pillows, and under $100. I pretty much felt like the other moms should have high fived me as I triumphantly fist pumped my way out of Target (or I would have if I wasn’t carrying massive bags of pillows).

A living room filled with furniture and a large window

Maybe I should back up and say I’m finally sharing our lake house basement family room today!

A living room filled with furniture and plant on a table

I’ve had so many questions about how our house looks so clean with kids and it’s because they have their own kid zone downstairs. This room is located right below our upstairs living room, so it has the same pretty lake view just on the lower level. I’ll have to reshoot this room in the summer so you can see how pretty the water is when it’s not frozen.

A living room filled with furniture and a large window

White sectional in a basement family room

I apologize for the photo overload, but this is a large space with a lot going on and I couldn’t figure out a good way to break this down into two posts.

A living room filled with furniture and a large window

Kind of like the last house, this more kid friendly space is my Everest. If you remember the many, many forms of the playroom at our old house, you will know what I’m talking about. For some reason I struggle to decorate spaces that are supposed to be more kid friendly, mainly because kid friendly tends to mean practical and that’s just not my strong suit…

A table with baskets underneath

I don’t have this room 100 percent done, but I thought I would show you where we are at today at least.

A living room filled with furniture and a large window

This is our main TV watching hang out spot (it even survived bbq meatballs this weekend from the Super Bowl!) hence the massive TV on the wall. Which is kind of made less obnoxious with the little set in skinny lap detail we added.

A living room with modern furniture

You may think white furniture in a kids space, really? While it may not seem practical, it is all from Ikea. So, (a) it’s slipcovered and I can throw it in the wash all the time, and (b) it was inexpensive, so when they are eventually trashed beyond repair in a several years, I won’t feel so bad trading them in.

A living room filled with furniture and a large window

My one nod to practicality that I’m not sure worked out for me is this dark blueish grey (and to be honest it’s a lot more on the blue side than I anticipated) carpet down here. We did the inset carpet thing like we did in our last house, because we didn’t want carpet right up to the slider doors off the lake to get soggy with wet feet and we also didn’t want carpet by the wet bar.

A room filled with furniture and a large window

My kiddos still hang out on the floor and play legos, so I wanted some soft carpet down here and the inset seemed to make the most sense. I thought the blue would hide all spills and be kind of a fun punch of color in a kids space…and it has hidden juice spills and marker scribbles, BUT it also shows every stinking crumb and fuzzy! Which is easy to vacuum up, but I guess what I’m saying is there is no winning! :)

A living room filled with furniture and a bed

I layered in this jute/denim rug, which hides some of the crumb situation. Plus it just kind of anchors the furniture in the sitting area portion of the room.

Lake House family room blue and white decor ottoman and accessories

This ottoman was a great find from Wayfair (I’ll link it below) it’s perfect for us all to put our feet up on and it opens up for extra toy storage.

A living room filled with furniture and a book shelf

This table back here was a $40 thrift store find that I painted white. This is the craft table that is constantly covered in hot glue, melted crayons, and perler beads so when it get’s really bad I just sand it down a bit and add another coat of paint.

White sectional couch in a basement family room

You can see the wetbar back there behind the couch, which I’ll talk more about that in an upcoming post.

Lake House family room blue and white decor blue white throw pillows

We added these bookshelves last minute when our cabinet maker was building all the other cabinets, and I’m so glad we did. They fill up this massive wall and I absolutely love books and am constantly adding to the collection. I still want to add a library ladder like we had in our last house.

A living room filled with furniture and a large window

Ok, last you may be saying, kid zone?! Where is the kid stuff? Just like in our last house I put in some massive closets to hide all the clutter and toys –

A room filled with furniture and a large window

Oh and truth be told 99% of the time our kiddos are hanging out in the Harry Potter closet/discarded pillow land/blanket storage under the stairs – I had grand ideas of making a fun book nook down here but they love to use their imaginations and change it around all the time. It has been a candy store, a library, a restaurant – you name it.

A room with a wooden floor

So, there you go! I would still like to hang a few more things on the walls and style the bookshelves a bit more, but we love hanging out down here and it doesn’t feel like a basement at all.

A living room filled with furniture and a window

SOURCE LIST – You can click on the bold words below to take you to the exact links or scroll through the images and click on the image too. (contains affiliate links)

Wall Color – Agreeable Grey by Sherwin Williams

Trim Color – Extra White by Sherwin Williams

Couch and Chair – Ikea

Ottoman – Wayfair

Ottoman Tray – Wayfair

Dragonfly accessory – Target

Sofa table – Wayfair

Sofa Table baskets – HomeGoods

Sofa table metal tray – Target

Wood beads – Target

Candle – Target (can’t find them online but they are so cute and come in different patterns)

Fiddle Fig basket – Target

Table and chairs – Thrift store

Navy Pillow – Target

White Navy sprinkle pillow – Target (can’t find a link so I think it’s sold out online)

Textured Geo Blue pillow –Target

Striped Pillow – Target

Patterned Navy Pillow – Target

Rug – Wayfair

Throw blanket – H&M

Wood Floors – Build Direct Vanier Engineered White Oak in the color Robin

Stair carpet – Shaw Tuftex Herringbone carpet

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58 Comments

  1. I just found your blog, and I love this space!
    Could you tell me how tall your ceilings are in your basement? It looks so airy, it looks like higher than normal ceilings and I’m so curious!

  2. I’ve been looking for the blue jute style rug… looked on wayfair… no luck… any additional info? Thank you!

  3. Love the room! Gorgeous colours and furniture. If you store your board games verticals they are easier to access and to keep tidy.

  4. Hi Kelly! I am in the early stages of building here in Michigan. Using a floor plan very similar to yours, with the secondary bedrooms in the lower level / basement. Did you add radiant heat flooring, is it cold down there? I am worried about the lower level being colder. We are planing on having zoned heating throughout the home and laminate flooring in the lower level. Do you have any other tips to make it cozy? We also have a full walk out with lots of windows. Thanks! -Fellow Michigander

    1. Hey yes we did do radiant heat in the basement and it’s way warmer down there that it is on the main level, I’m a little jealous of my kids ha! Lot of pillows, a fun rug and throw blankets always make a basement feel cozy :)

  5. Hello, beautiful room! I was wondering how your floors are holding up to the wear and tear and traffic of kids. It looks like the Varnier floor is oiled, how has the maintenance been? Thank you!

    1. I don’t dry them in the dryer. I air dry them and put them back on the couch when they are slightly damp still. I use a hand steamer if needed.

  6. So gorgeous! Absolutely love it!! We have a similar basement family room but it’s not half so bright because the builder didn’t put in enough windows. Boo! We tried to have more added last summer but it was too complicated with plumbing/electrical etc. through the walls. It’s so exciting that you got to create your home from scratch, Kelly. You guys must just absolutely love very bit!

  7. HI – I myself have Ektrop sectional and 2 sofas love them, slip covers are the best way to go. With that being said cannot find online or at the ikea store the slip cover option your showing … Are they from Ikea ? Love the linen look of them would be a nice refresh for my family room . Any help would be so appreciated – Thank you ,Donna

  8. Beautiful! The blues and the fresh clean bright white are so uplifting! Sweet deal with the throw pillows too. I love the look. LOL at the Harry Potter closet :)

  9. I have a large lake house basement that I have been finishing and decorating. I thought I liked it until I saw yours. WOW. I’m ready to redo mine and it isn’t even finished !

  10. Wow! You have this view upstairs AND downstairs! I love it! A library ladder will be awesome down there! Please show us a photo when you have the ladder. It is all so pretty! I love the pillows too!

  11. I loved the sneak peak on the insta. but to see it all…GORGEOUS!
    I love how bright the whole space is. Super stylish yet real..
    I just love your whole house!!!

  12. Love your blog, love your taste. your basement looks very much like my sunporch addition we put on last year. i have been looking for a white, slipcovered sofa and keep going back to the ectorp sofa from Ikea. it actually has really good reviews so i think a road trip is in order, as soon as weather permits– we got a foot of snow today. thanks so much for helping me make this decision! Wishing you much happiness in your beautiful home.

    1. It is hard to find a good slipcovered white sofa but we have been really happy with this one from Ikea especially for the price point. Happy road tripping!

  13. I actually love the blue carpet. I would invest in a carpet sweeper (the cheap manual kind) and make it a daily kid chore like sweeping the kitchen floor. I used to work at a clothing store where the high school kids would argue over who got to “Hoky” that day.lol!

  14. When I saw your IG post, I was looking forward to this blog post. The room looks amazing with the beautiful colors and amazing light! Our basement playroom has NO natural light so I am so envious of your gorgeous view! Your kids must be loving that space!
    Shelley

  15. This looks amazing. Love the idea of inset carpeting. What brand/style did you use for the inset carpeting?

      1. Please Kelly, I need that rug, please help even if it’s just the brand – Thank you so much!

  16. If I had had a ‘basement’ like this when I was a kid in our little brick bungalow in Chicago, I would have thought I’d died and gone to heaven, lol! What a glorious, well-designed space! Nowadays, everybody expects to see a big, black TV screen in a room like this but if it doesn’t stick out too far from the wall, you could install cute, sliding barn doors to conceal it when it’s not being viewed. :-)

  17. I would also like to know where you got your slipcover for your ektorp sectional?? It looks like a linen cover. It all looks beautiful!! i want to see so much more from you but I
    know you need to put God, husband and family ahead of us:)

    1. It’s just from Ikea, it’s their more expensive slipcover option. I bought it a few years ago but I think it’s still available?

  18. Love your bright room and the blue and white color scheme. Where did you find the runner for your stairs?

  19. I love this room! So bright and fresh. I like the ikea chair and have been looking at that new line. Are your slip covers from ikea as well? They look so different from mine, and your cushions look more fluffy. If they are ikea, can you share what style or name the slip covers are? Thank you! And love your insta feed too!!
    Colleen

    1. The slipcovers are from Ikea they are the more expensive option. I think they still have them? They are a few years old now.

  20. What a great space. I love a basement that has natural light coming in. I’ve been thinking of an IKEA sofa for my basement as well. You can’t beat the price. Do you remember what style your sectional is?The Swedish names or difficult! Also in an effort to declutter and simplify my life, I’ve donated many books that have no meaning to me. Sort of wishing I had more around now! I have a large bookcase like this that now seems sort of empty.

    1. I thinks it’s the Ektorp? It’s a few years old now. Books are the one thing I always hang on to, because I love to lend them out.

  21. Hi! What a beautiful room! Is the cabinet the same color as your bathroom vanity? I love it!

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