There's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be
As we starting sorting through what items we were keeping with the move another room found it's theme; The Music Room. It is now home to our turntable and album collection, Tim's guitars and amps, Tim's electronic drum set and our Hard Rock Café guitar pin collection. It's also home to many of the 3D printed designs Tim created at work over the years.
Initially we didn't even think we'd be able to have an area for all of this in an actual room. The space that eventually became The Music Room wasn't even in the count of bedrooms on the initial house listing because it was not a 'legal' bedroom in Minnesota (no egress!). My first plan was to blow through our master bedroom closet and create a walk in closet and master bath. It wasn't long before I realized that a fourth bedroom adds more value than a ridiculously large closet, and we set about getting the room finished before we moved in permanently.
The first task is getting a quote. Over the years we completed a lot of projects in our previous house - and most of them had been undone and redone by professionals who knew what they were doing. So while we discussed doing it ourselves, or having friends help, we decided to find a pro to do the job. I was able to get two bids and ended up using Diamond Willow Construction (Keith Norstrem) - who would eventually be completing our deck (the music room came first).
First, let's make it a legal bedroom. It is somewhat of a specialized task - so much so that general contractors won't do it. I was able to take a few photos, take some measurements, and get a quote online using Egress Window Guy. I had to wait a few months for my 'turn' but they did a great job, took care of the permit and the inspection. Keith was very impressed with their work.
I then needed to finalize the design, work with the contractor to order supplies and determine when the work would be done. Since we weren't living in the space full time yet, we were pretty flexible. My goal was to make this new room look like the rest of the house - and leverage the closet space for holiday decorations. Two walls would have the same tongue and groove knotty pine, and two walls left as standard sheetrock. Since the room was smaller and in the basement, I added canned lights on a dimmer for a brighter room.
After removing a huge hornet's nest and a smaller yet still substantial mouse nest during demolition, the work went rather quickly. An extra layer of insulation against the brick foundation would provide much better defense against a cold winter. As with many construction projects, the team would get a huge chunk of work done, then a period of waiting. First the wait for the electrician, then taping, which of course needs time in between layers of tape and sanding to do it right. Then waiting for the painter's schedule to free up - they are very busy around here. I was extremely happy with the outcome!
Besides the music theme coming together, once Tim mounted his similarly colored guitars, a color theme emerged....ORANGE. I brought in some pillow covers that weren't working in another room, it just seemed right! I recalled a photo I took in Boston of the boys - at the time Tim told them to pose like it was an album cover. So I had a canvas print made of it and gave it to Tim for Father's Day. More orange! Add in the shelf my dad had originally made for toy bins; we painted it black and used it to store our albums. Then added our old futon with a black cover and bang - we have a room! (One of our favorite rooms)
The last step was to have carpet we selected at Home Depot installed. We had decided to carpet our own room, which is on the other side of the music room. It just made sense to carpet both rooms on the lower level, adding another layer of insulation. We have been very happy with how the room turned out - it's very cozy and the extra space is definitely a plus. I love that almost everything was items and décor we had on hand, and with a few items such as futon and pillow covers, it looks brand new. One yet unsolved challenge has been to cover the egress without blocking light or making it not safe from the inside...we've had a few "overnight guests" get trapped in the well - frogs, mice, etc. Our workaround has been a small piece of wood that serves as a ramp for the critters to get out. Simple but effective - and free.
Have you ever added an egress to your house? What do you think of making the room design fit in with the rest of the house? Would love to hear your thoughts - leave your comments below! Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us.
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