Disclosure: Karndean Designflooring partnered with House with Home to provide the flooring materials for this project.
Civil engineer-turned-blogger Katie Decker, perhaps better known as the voice behind “House with Home,” takes followers through the journey of updating her 1990s Indiana home, with step-by-step DIY home improvement and interior design projects. When Katie was approached to be part of the Fall 2020 Better Homes & Gardens One Room Challenge (ORC), one space immediately came to mind – her basement – which her husband Kris has been using as a home office throughout the year.
“My vision is a home with a timeless, classic design focused on room for hospitality and a lot of living with kids and pets. This particular renovation was updating our dingy basement into a functional space for our ‘new’ way of living. As tough as this pandemic has been, one of the blessings for our family has been having Kris home with us every day. He deserves a spot,” Katie said.
Updates to the basement included adding paneling and beams to the ceiling, removing the textured ceiling from the soffits, fresh paint, new lighting fixtures, and new floors.
“I knew I wanted to replace the existing high pile shag carpet with luxury vinyl. Previous owners had kept a pet down here, and the carpet was soiled and dirty. I deal with indoor allergies and prefer a solid surface flooring that can be mopped and wiped for both health and aesthetic purposes.”
“I first discovered Karndean from a list of LVP (luxury vinyl plank) products from The Spruce. After doing a significant amount of research, the Karndean products floated to the top of my list. I knew I wanted a luxury vinyl plank product for its durability, water resistance, ease of install, and overall look. I have a high standard for quality and was on the hunt for a true ‘wood look.’”
Katie and Kris teamed up to install the product themselves. Read more about that aspect of the project here.
The main floor of the Deckers’ home has white oak flooring throughout, and so Katie sought to find a color that matched the aesthetic vision for the basement, along with the existing flooring upstairs. After seeing several samples in the space, Katie decided on North American Oak RCP6533 from the Korlok Reserve rigid core product range. The bleached blonde and frosted honey tones of North American Oak were enhanced by a light finish to highlight the plank’s natural features. The wide grain detailing produces a clean, neutral floor design that allows other home accents and furnishings to shine.
“The transition to the basement where we installed the Karndean North American Oak blends seamlessly. It warms up the overall feel of the basement and provides a gorgeous backdrop for the room’s design.”
Now that all the work is completed, how does Katie feel about the new floors? “We love our newly renovated basement home office, den, and home gym. The updates took it from being a glorified storage room to being well used square footage in our home. The floors have been a breeze to keep clean and looking new. With COVID-19 keeping us home more and the Midwest winter approaching, we can’t wait to have extra space in our home to retreat to.”
Visit House with Home to read more about Katie’s basement renovation or follow her on Instagram.