How to Decorate Finished Basements

Decorate a Finished Basement

Basement remodels can be expensive and take several months or years to complete. Finished basement remodels can almost double the square footage of a small home. You may have spent your budget on adding sheet rock and finishing the floors, which leaves little money for decorating. Decor, however, is what pulls the room together and makes it feel finished. You can accomplish this on a budget. A basement can be a playroom for your kids or a party room for the adults. It's a room to have fun and relax in.

Things You'll Need

• Paint
• Light Bulbs
• Storage Shelves
• French Door

Instructions

Decorate Finished Basements

1. Separate the style of your basement from the rest of your house. The upstairs of your home may be an open concept plan with a combination dining room, living room and kitchen. You may have coordinated the colors of your entire house to match. The basement is separate from the rest of your home, so it is a chance to experiment. You can add fun colors - like red or purple - that you would not use in the rest of your house. You can even use colorful furniture to brighten your basement, like a cheery red sectional. Experiment with a theme, like mimicking a beach house or your favorite club.

2. Turn your basement into a rec room. Basements are places in which to have fun. Your basement can serve a unique purpose, like as a movie theater room. Choose a theme and stick to it. You can even add a wet bar or pool table. Make it a usable, fun space.

3. Build decorative storage. Before you finished your basement, you probably used the room for storage. This can leave you at a loss for space. Bring in large book shelves. These can delineate the separate purposes of the room from each other. Place the shelving on top of cupboards, where you can hide children's toys.

4. Create a basement with multiple functions. Refinished basements can be vast spaces. You might not know how to decorate the entire area, so break it up into smaller rooms by using different colors. Part of the room can be a play area for your kids, while another section can be a home office. Place rugs in the different areas to further separate their functions. A Murphy bed also can transform your basement into a guest room while keeping it functional for the family.

5. Add lighting. Your basement probably does not have a lot of natural light, and you may feel like the room is a dungeon because of this. Purchasing slightly more expensive bulbs can cast a softer, whiter light that seems more like sunlight. If you have an exterior door in your basement, consider changing it to a French door. This will add a lot of light. If you are concerned about privacy, look for a frosted glass door. You can even add a window film on the door so light can stream into your basement while maintaining privacy.

Tips & Warnings

• Use kid-friendly fabrics in your finished basement, such as microsuede, so it can become a hangout space.

References

• Creating a Game Room