basement, underway-

Top o' the list on moving into this house was finishing the basement, otherwise, we've just moved into a house smaller than the first when we are still growing. So... here we go.
The space is about 2000 sq. feet. What we need is:
- family room
- 2 bedrooms
- bathroom
- art/craft room, sewing room
- storage
No plans for the basement exist, so we get to make it up as we go. This is harder than you think. First, you have to factor in things that cannot be changed like 2 load bearing walls and window placement, the rest is up to us- how many rooms and for what, traffic flow, storage space and closet size, bathroom layout... does the plan we've drawn up make sense? If we were to resell the house would the basement we've finished be a selling point or send people running the other way?
Anyway, I'm really trying to do my best as a jr. architect...
Here's what we've accomplished in a week, thanks to some wonderful subcontractors (and a slow economy)- all the framing is in, ductwork for heating and the gas fireplace in the family room. There is a gas fireplace in the master bedroom upstairs, (along with an awesome bathroom, both major selling points) we decided it would be wise to cozy up the family room/commons room, share the love in the basement too.

A very patient plumber did lots of jackhammering to find the right pipes and get ready to put in the right places. Call me naive or crazy, but I had no idea that this sort of under concrete searching happens all the time when finishing basements. I am kind of in awe that pipes set in concrete can be so readily shifted and moved around. The bathroom ended up rather large, so, we've divided it up- tub and toilet in one part and 2 sinks and vanity will be in the other part. This will be the teens/kids bathroom, divided up space should help keep everyone happy.

We added some angled walls to match a couple of similar walls upstairs. I really like the the way they turned out, it looks much better than square and should make things flow better, visually and physically. Straight ahead is a cold storage area (under the front porch) crammed full of stuff waiting for it's rightful place. This closet will stay concrete, shelved and a metal door added, to keep things cold.

Next on the list is electrical/TV/phone, finishing up moving the plumbing and patching the concrete, running gas lines for another hot water heater and the fireplace, bathtub installed then framing around the tub, framing around ductwork in the ceiling to prep for sheetrock. Here's hoping we can check all of those off by the end of this week.