Ultimate Basement Renovation: Furniture, Tech & Lighting Setup

The Ultimate Basement Renovation: Our Favorite Makeover Yet

The Transformation

Buy it's been 4 months since we've renovated this entire basement. Honestly by far my favorite makeover yet there's just one thing that really bothered me about that video and that's the fact that I feel like it didn't get enough screen time. I feel like today is a day we should probably go over every single item that really puts all of this together and make a video about it so you know what grab some popcorn and uh enjoy the show to Jan this feels like another house I mean it's now his man cave the place he brings his friends too. I'm not going to lie I'm pretty jelly because the thing I love the most about this setup is the audio system it feels like you're in a movie feeder really.

The Furniture

Like sitting here is so relaxing this is a sofa we got at a store called must I think we spent like a couple of hours at that store shopping for sofas is by far one of the hardest things to do especially because they are not cheap and this one is no exception in our vision board we really wanted to push for a modular sectional sofa something you can arrange as you wish and really build the L part the way we wanted it more because of the way the pillar and the wall in the basement were going to squeeze this in here we really got lucky with the length let me tell you that Jan ended up getting a few things like some pillows and a cover for it.

Key Furniture Pieces:

• Modular sectional sofa from Must store
• Wooden accent chair with fabric seat
• Walnut media unit with lift-top storage
• Matching coffee table to complete the set

My favorite decoration though are these soft knot balls these are actually pretty cool they are from Amazon I think it's a great way to decorate anything by the way when I first saw this chair oh my I knew this was it these are quite popular right now these sort of slant wooden chairs with different materials on the seat and back rest are everywhere on Pinterest they make great accent chairs and if you pick the right one they definitely sit you well to go with this we wanted to finalize that blend of fabric and wood with a couple of Walnut units more specifically the media unit and the coffee table the thing that made me fall in love with this unit was The Lift Top storage it's literally built for you to eat and work in the comfort of your living room I do wish the top of the media unit was the same color as the body of it but we chose it because we thought it would add some nice contrast with the accent while we had painted to finish off the furniture we thought it was best to have this sit on something that could match the fabric of the chair the Automan and the color of the sofa so we got a rug to tie everything up rugs are very tricky especially when it comes to choosing the size and color of them.

The rule of thumb when it comes to placing rugs in a room is that an area rug should should fit under all of the key Furniture pieces in a room which is what we did aside from the media unit of course at the time of building this whole basement this was our base this was the foundation of how we were going to decorate things and the color patterns we were going to go with it was definitely a success because his friends and family seemed to love spending time here.

Acer Chromebook Plus 515

Now Jan actually wanted to replace his dad's Chromebook this year however he was hesitating as it can get a bit confusing trying to sh for the right one turns out we got lucky because Best Buy did send us the Acer Chromebook plus 515 I know you're probably wondering what in the world does plus mean look I know you've been there sitting at a Best Buy trying to figure out which Chromebook fits your needs these come in all shapes in different sizes different specs I mean things can get confusing well Google have put together a new set of standards for devices labeled Chromebook plus you get twice the processing power twice the RAM and twice the standard 64 GB of storage they are used to having it makes this I3 1215 U with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage are really good candidate for people like Jan's dad like really for your average consumer or your average student.

Chromebook Plus Features:

• Intel Core i3-1215U processor
• 8GB RAM and 128GB storage (double standard Chromebook specs)
• Full HD IPS display with 1080p webcam
• 10-hour battery life and virus protection
• Access to Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom
• AI-powered Magic Eraser for photos

The standard also needs to meet requirements such as having a full HD IPS display and a 1080p webcam with noise reduction Chromebooks in general also allow you to hit the ground running out of the box benefiting of never having a virus and a 10-hour long lasting battery life basically you get this and more with the Acer Chromebook plus 515 and you know what Google is capable of a lot with their devices we've seen it with my pixel 8 Pro review laptops like these are capable of quite some with Google's AI technology and this new specification exclusive features like the AI powered Magic Eraser that easily removes unwanted background distractions is one of of them having video call controls Dynamic wallpapers and screen savers access to different types of adobe products like Photoshop and Lightroom even the ability to work on some live video editing with Luma Fusion all features that can fulfill more of what you need and at the price that you want check out Best Buy where you can purchase one of the eight Chromebook plus models available now including this 13th gen Intel core I3 processor Acer Chromebook plus 515 all starting at $3.99 look for anything office or web related a Chromebook is going to do wonders especially for students and Casual users and now with Chromebook plus you can really take it to another level and help you do some of the heavy lifting if you're interested get your hands on Google's new Acer Chromebook plus 515 I'll leave a link down below for you guys I'm giving this one to janad because he really seems like he needs it.

Accessories & Home Decor

When it comes to the accessories that really put the furniture all together we went with a local brand that offers thec core products for homes I realized while shopping for our makeovers that no matter where you live in North America things tend to look the same when it comes to decorations there are lots of ceramic vases you can probably find to decorate right now these type of vases are extremely popular when it comes to home fashion using books along with candles can help adding a sense of luxury to a room texturized vases are always the best you pair that with some bouquet plus some accessories in them and it can add volume with character to empty spaces and so that's what we did for the media unit the coffee table and next to the sofa well next to the sofa actually there is a bit of greenery going on that's always great especially to fill corners and add some colors fake plants are good for adding to the overall aesthetic and even better if you can pair them with those fake bouquet on floor faces it'll definitely fill empty spaces quite well.

Decorating tips:

• Mix different types of plants at varying heights
• Use large prints (24x35") for wall decoration
• Combine ceramic vases with bouquets for texture
• Add books and candles for a luxury feel

Sound System

Oh trust me if I could I would so I'm heavily debating on having something like this at the condo the issue is that this is so loud and intense that it's probably not a good idea the sound that comes out of the setup is unexplainable I don't even know if that's a word but what I'm trying to say is that it's really good and accurate the setup consists of the Sony HTA 5000 Soundbar wirelessly paired to the s s W3 subwoofer and the rear s R3 speakers one thing to note about Subs is that you really don't have to worry about positioning this thing as much as the rear speakers for example subwoofers are low frequency emitters meaning that the wavelengths are wider so putting it in a corner or furthest away from you is kind of good very different from high frequency meters like the rear speakers or the Soundbar this is why most sound bars sit below the TV and the rear speakers are very well positioned to create that sound capsule in the room.

Sony Sound System Components:

• HT-A5000 Soundbar with 9 speakers
• SA-SW3 Subwoofer for deep bass
• SA-RS3 Rear Speakers for surround sound
• Auto spatial audio mapping technology

Sony TV of Choice

As for the TV we W with the Sony A8L you guys know I'm a LGC series fan boy I love my C2 at home and I love my C1 at the studio but recently I was told to give the AA ADL a try especially because Jan isn't a console gaming Advocate it's the competition of the C3 again reason as to why we decided to bring this one here this is a 65 in Bravia XR OLED 4K HDR Google TV it's a gorgeous form factor its limb has very minimal vessels the Google TV interface is great since it's a white OLED panel there has been no issues with either brightness or glare in a well- lit environment Sony is known for having great picture processing and improved 4K upscaling when it comes to handling movies and TV shows so unless you don't need that extra brightness something like the C3 delivers as well as the hardcore Competitive Gaming features that has this here really is a great TV to get I say this to those who really enjoy having a full-blown movie theater at home something very different to what I have at the condo.

Key TV Features:

• 65" Bravia XR OLED 4K HDR display
• Google TV interface with excellent upscaling
• PS5-optimized with VRR and motion blur reduction
• Rich colors and deep blacks typical of OLED

Lighting Setup

The last thing I want to touch upon is our lighting setup here it's a bit complicated but not really it's based off the same principles I use for my comp and our Studios so if you guys watched our latest automation video you know what I mean one accessory that's very important to this living room is the Google Nest Hub this here controls all the lighting automation this room has except for some of our Amron light sources but when it comes to our Hue products like the TV light strip all the spotlight bulbs and our main flank light these are all powered by Google home it's a very simple setup that really changes the atmosphere of the room Jen is thinking of buying the H play HDMI sync box to really sync them all together in order to deliver a crazier Movie experience I told him to save his money but hey at the end of the day it could be a really cool idea.

Lighting Components:

• Google Nest Hub as control center
• Philips Hue light strips and bulbs
• Nanoleaf light panels for accent lighting
• Amron 60 XS compact source light
• 300 C dome light with Hue smart plug

Final Thoughts

This to me honestly it's the ultimate living room area yeah we spent so much money renovating this whole Space 4 months ago but I think Jan and his family really appreciate it everything Blends so well together in the transition area where the Sony vinyl record player sits is so nice it's a well put together set that really finalizes the living area in a very classy way in my opinion look if you are doing renovations at home I hope this video helps it's that time of the year to shop for things and get great discounts Best Buy really offers nice Black Friday especially on TVs I used to work there a long time ago so I know this for a fact thank you so much for watching this video don't forget to check out the Chromebook it could be a great little addition to your living room especially if you get a TV with a Google interface.