We moved into the basement of our friend’s Colorado homestead September of 2020. There is a lot of potential to make this basement a bright and cozy living space. It started out as most basements are, smelly and ugly. Surprisingly, the basement gets plenty of sunlight from six windows on all sides. Colorado is so dry that the basement was in great shape, besides the smell. The three cats loved to hang out down there and the carpet reeked of cat urine. First thing we did was open the windows and rip up the old carpet. The carpet left a thick layer of old glue that we tried to remove, but then just decided to paint over the whole thing instead. We used a couple gallons of Kilz to seal the basement floor in order to prevent any further odors and moisture.
The basement is the same size as the upstairs and it already had one complete bedroom in one corner, beside the staircase. There is an unfinished utility room on the other side of the staircase, with the water heater, furnace, and plumbing already installed for a toilet and laundry. The rest is open space with two pillars in the center. We knew we needed a large storage closet right away, to hide all the metal shelving that was already down there and needed to stay.
We painted it white to brighten up the space and the plan is to use the longest of the new walls for our projector. The basement was previously painted a cream, almost yellow color. The lighting was also very yellow and it didn’t seem very clean or bright, even though there was plenty of sunlight with the windows. We decided to give everything a fresh coat of white paint, even the ceiling!
Because the windows were placed so high and the ceilings felt lower than normal, I wanted to come up with a design for the walls that would make the ceiling feel taller than it really is. I also wanted to make the concrete walls feel warmer and more inviting.
We decided to cover the walls in wood paneling that stops right below the windows. I think this creates a visual illusion of higher ceilings. Rather than having to nail or drill into the walls in order to hang art, we opted to top the wood paneling with a ledge that runs around the entire room. Our goal is to source reclaimed wood for the paneling to give it a more distressed, rustic character. We placed studs around the room and drilled them into the concrete walls. An added bonus will be the fact that the wood walls will end up being flush with the radiator heaters that also run the length of the entire room.
The last major change we did before moving in was the floors. We decided to install engineered hardwood floors. They were the most affordable option for the look we wanted and the install was so easy! The basement floor was already pretty level, all we needed was an underlayment for added comfort and moisture protection. The flooring pieces float on top and just secure to each other. The snapping sound of the boards clicking together was so satisfying! Each box of flooring came with varying lengths pre-cut, all we had to do was put it together like a giant puzzle! There was very minimal cutting needed and in the end it looks beautiful.
Next step will be installing new windows before it turns cold! We’ll
be on the lookout for wood for the paneling and the ledge. Trim, doors, and new lighting are in the works, as well as much needed storage and organization.
aspen mitchell 