Thursday, December 14, 2006

Please HELP

Why do I need your help? Well, let me tell you a little story first.

I let you all know in The Worst Post Ever, that I had a pool table and bar set delivered on 11/22/06. Here is what it looks like:











While my basement is certainly NOT this grand, it was not that shabby, and was well on its way to being stellar.





In addition to the pool table and bar, I also have a black leather sectional.







And what does every rec. room need? That's right, a 50 in. HDTV.







And just because I have been waiting for an excuse to show a little bit of my wine collection:

A little something for everyone - Bacardi 151, Jim Beam Black, and Grey Goose Vodka. Also, this is most of my wine collection. About 25 bottles counting what I have in another location.

I do plan to buy a wine refrigerator at some point.




A few all-stars from my collection (left to right) 1 - Graham's "Six Grapes" Reserve Porto. 2 - 2001 Paul Jaboulet Chateauneuf Du Pape. 3 - 2000 Louis M. Martini Cabernet Sauvignon. 4 - 2002 Ironstone Meritage (a Cab. Sauv., Cab. Franc, Merlot blend).

I drink the Six Grapes regularly, but will not open the others until at least 2008.

So, what's the problem? Well, this past weekend, my basement decided it was a little thirsty. I went over to shoot a little pool and low and behold, the carpet was soaked. I immediately went and rented a carpet cleaner - mostly to help suck up the water.

That night we had our first "basement specialist" look at the problem. He decided it was a drainage problem on the outside of the house. He wanted to dig a trench inside the basement that would help funnel water out. I do not know a lot about this sort of thing, but this DID NOT sound like what I was looking for! ($2500 estimate plus carpet, wall, and odor repairs - 100% my expense)

The next guy that came out said the same thing, only he wanted to fix it on the outside, which sounded like a lot better of a plan to me. ($3700 estimate plus, carpet, wall, and odor repairs - 100% my expense)

All the while, water is still coming into the basement in a steady flow, which was strange, as we had not had rain in about 10 days. Both guys that came out did not think this was strange at all though - and hey, they are the experts.

Although we are not the original owners, we decided to call the builder, as the house is only 3 years old. The builder representative was there that day, and determined that it could not be due to outside factors - WHY, because there had been no rain, and it was almost impossible.....hmmm. Upon tearing apart the wall (which was a little strange to watch) he found a pipe with a small crack in it that was shooting out a steady flow of water.










We are up to about $8000 in total repairs thus far. Good news, it's covered by our home owners insurance! ($1000 deductible, and the rest 100% covered)

You may be thinking about how sorry you feel for poor Baba. You may be thinking about how lucky I am with the way things turned out. You may even be thinking about shooting some stick and having an adult beverage with Baba.

I am sure though, that you are wondering how I need YOUR help! Seems as though, as part of this process, we are going to be getting all new carpet throughout the basement. We are also getting a fresh paint job on the walls!

I am in charge of decorating 2 rooms in the house. My home office and the basement. While I think I did a very good job at picking out the color scheme and the furniture in my office, I am at a total loss as to what to do with the basement.

I need a color for the wall and the carpet. Keeping in mind the black leather sectional and the mahogany bar and pool table (the felt is black).

Thanks in advance for your help.

Baba Ganoush, OUT!

14 comments:

Evil Spock said...

I think you should install a pond in your basement and raise electric eels. I'll be happy to "hold" your 50 in. TB in the meantime.

Oh, and you've been tagged. Tell 6 weird things about yourself.

Baba Ganoush said...

ES & AB - Color schemes Damnit, I need color schemes!

Angry Ballerina said...

red on black. go with a goth theme

Evil Spock said...

I like that. Go with that.

Angry Ballerina said...

You have no originality ES.

HeatherLynn said...

Question first.....does your basement have any windows? Any natural light?

~hl~

Baba Ganoush said...

HL - Finally, someone willing to give me some advice. There are windows, but they are small and towards the top of the wall (typical basement windows). Also, most of them face a group of trees to the west. So, what little natural light that gets down there, is not very strong.......

Angry Ballerina said...

I soooooo gave you advice!

Baba Ganoush said...

AB - Oh, I'm sorry, were you serious? Just kidding, well kind of. I'm too old for goth!

I am actually considering a shade of red and a beige color.

Anonymous said...

Earthy tones are the way to go... warmth... that's what you need.. well that's what I like.. but I'm more into antiques.. not good with modern.. but I do like your mirror.. ;-)

JLee said...

I would go with a nice neutral berber to help with wear and tear, and a nice mocha brown on the walls. Not TOO dark, but enough to give it the masculine game-room feel.

Baba Ganoush said...

BSB - Thanks for the advice. I agree. I like warmer colors as well. I like the modern stuff, but that's just not me.

jlee - Amen on the carpet. We have a thicker carpet down here now, and it is a pain to take care of (always clogs the sweeper). I want something nice, but still easy to take care of.

I would actually love to get faux hardwood installed down here, but my wife is probably not going to go for that.

Angry Ballerina said...

Listen to ME!

Baba Ganoush said...

AB - There was a day when I would have gone with red and black. Not to go with a goth theme, but more because of my man-crush on Michael Jordan!