Libby’s Basement Makeover Ideas:

Summer’s over and it’s time to cover the grill, store the porch furniture and head indoors. All outdoor relaxing during the lazy days of summer has now turned to watching football on TV, curling up under a cozy throw and reading a great book or watching a wonderful movie. Fall is the perfect time of the year to makeover your basement, it’s a manageable project, there are simple things you can do that will completely transform it and it creates an entirely new area to gather when activities move inside the house. Roll up your sleeves for a couple of weekends and add valuable square footage and comfy living space to your home.

Watermill Basement:

This particular basement is really the kid’s domain, they’ve grown but the space hasn’t grown with them and it needs some serious updating. The room is great but as in most basements there’s very little natural light, the ceilings are low and there’s no color anywhere.

What exists in the basement now:

Florescent lighting, standard acoustic ceiling tiles, low drop ceiling, industrial carpeting, white walls, 2 small crawl windows, odd columns and door placement, nooks and dark unused areas, a large pool table with mauve felt (YIKES!), an air hockey table, several large scale freestanding arcade games, an outdated leather sofa, a small bedroom off to the side that houses a TV for video games, small plain bathroom.

Obstacles with the basement as is:

– No natural light, only two small crawl window that give you a view of a little grass
– Bad fluorescent lighting
– Low drop ceiling with standard unattractive acoustic tiles – the drop ceiling needs to remain (as in a lot of basements) to have access to the pipes and electrical for the rest of the house in case repairs are needed
– Lack of “hangout” space, they need seating to watch TV and relax but it still has to be kid-friendly
– The pool table is great but the mauve felt needs a facelift and they play air hockey a lot but it’s just sitting in the middle of the room, it needs to be moved
– The big arcade games are fun but unorganized and create a cluttered, crowded feel
– They need additional sleeping space for the kids friends
– There’s no color on any of the walls and no artwork – this basement is lacking personality
– There are unused areas that are dark and inaccessible, they could be functional instead of wasted.

Libby’s Plan to Makeover this Boring Basement:

My vision for this basement is a hip yet luxurious lounge area for these teenagers to hangout in. I want it to function for them as an arcade, a party room, a screening room and as a guest room for their friends.

Change the lighting/ceiling:

1) Replace ugly acoustic tiles with more elegant raised panel acoustic tiles
2) Lose the fluorescent lights and replace with recessed cans and dimmers
3) Add modern, sleek wall sconces
4) Add hip brushed nickel pendants over pool table
5) Cover the small crawl windows with sheer, frosted Solyx film. It will still let in any natural light that may come in but you won’t have to look at the gutters and it will add a contemporary look.

Re-felt the Pool Table in black.
This is not expensive to do at all and it can completely change the look of your pool table.

Add a seating/ screening area:

1) New sectional sofa with a sofa bed, in chocolate brown micro suede- provides lots of seating, an updated look but also very wearable
2) Adding two chocolate brown micro suede ottomans on casters to act as coffee table, foot rest or additional seating; very versatile
3) Adding a subtle, geometric black and brown rug to define seating area and soften the look of the space
4) Add a large screen TV on the chocolate brown wall

Add some color and life with paint:

1) Will paint the walls a rich golden cream and the one accent wall that will house the TV will be painted a deep chocolate brown
2) The bathroom will be painted a rich chocolate brown with brown and white accessories
3) The small bedroom will be painted khaki and one accent wall will be painted a deep, rusty red

Add some personality with Artwork:

Each of the kids have given me a list of their favorite movies, I’ll be using large movie posters framed in large black frames with white mats to give a uniform yet distinct look. This adds an element of fun and also makes the kids each feel like it’s really “their” room.

Modern Accessories:

I will incorporate some modern accessories; throw pillows, floor cushions, small ebony side tables and other small items to add a hip yet comfy feeling without seeming cluttered.