How to Hide a Sump Pump

Back in the days I participated in the One Room Challenge, I did an extra room in our basement that I called the Zen Den.  It was a bonus space that we ended up using for extra kids sleeping over, or cousins who came to visit.  The trundle bed worked perfectly in here and it was a sweet room that gave us extra sleeping room when we needed it.  

The Situation

Well, it’s been a bit of a situation down there for awhile, which started with a water issue that we could not pinpoint, despite a lot of time and money trying to do so.  We removed trees, added drainage, cleaned gutters, installed new windows, dug out the space outside of our dining room window, waterproofing and regrading.  All of which didn’t solve the problem.  You can imagine my frustration.  Finally we had a basement waterproofer come and look at it and work their magic, and they were the winning ticket.  I can’t even explain exactly what was happening – but our sump pump was overloaded, they needed to redo the drainage under the slab and add a second sump pump.  We have not had an issue since we did this, but it made for a big mess in what was once my sweet basement Zen Den.

At this point, I didn’t even care, because I was so thrilled to finally have the problem solved since it had been such a mess down here for so long.  Now we were left with this…

The Sump Pump Problem

What do you do with an ugly sump pump in your space? How do you hide a sump pump? My contractor suggested a closet, but I wanted something that looked a little more intentional.  I asked him if it was possible to do built-ins and hide it that way.  He gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up.  While this issue has been such a hard one to figure out, I was secretly happy to have the opportunity to install built-ins down here, as I’ve always wanted them.  This space was turning into a space I had always dreamed of when I was using it as an office.

They were able to pull together the built-ins in and brought my vision to life.  Thank goodness I am a cabinet painter and can pull this together with paint, right?

I absolutely love that the sump pump is totally out of sight, as if I planned it this way from the beginning. And nobody is the wiser that the sump pump is hidden away.

The Paint Question

Now the big question – what color do I paint it? I am really loving a dark moody vibe down here, and am considering painting the entire space in the same color.  But for now, I’ve just painted the cabinets.  Hello handsome…

The paint color is Sherwin Williams Eclipse.  It’s a beautiful muddy green and I absolutely love it.  I added hardware from Signature Hardware that is similar to what I installed in our kitchen remodel.  

The question is – what color do I use on the walls?  Same color? Something lighter since there isn’t any natural light in here?  I have been on the fence, thus the reason the walls are still unfinished. 

There is still work to be done in here as to how I see it being used.  It could be a great office, but it could also still be an extra sleeping space/hang out space with a pull out couch.  And I have to say that I have found a great pull out couch that is actually comfortable from La-Z-Boy.  Who knew?

I’m just happy to have this space in some semblance of order again after living with so much chaos for so long.  It’s never fun having a project with so many loose ends without a finish line in sight! Never thought I would have to worry about how to hide a sump pump, but here we are.

Jenny