Basement Decorating Ideas

For most people, the basement or cellar conjures up pictures of the dark damp place reserved for quick trips to the washing machine. But for many people, the basement can be much more than that and today more people coming up with creative ways to turn this space into a new living area.

One popular basement decorating idea is to turn it into a sports room where you can really let loose and have fun watching and, perhaps even participating in, your favorite sports. You can paint the basement in your favorite team colors and hang up posters, team jerseys and other coordinating accents to set the mood. If you're really on a tight budget, try using coolers as coffee tables and end tables which can also double as places to keep your drinks cool.

If you are into crafts and are sick of having all your crafting supplies all over the house, the basement could be a perfect place for you to get away and be creative. Of course, no one really feels like being creative in a dark, damp space so you better brighten it up with light cheery colors and plenty of great lighting. Decorate the walls with your creations or other pieces that might inspire you and be sure to have plenty of cabinets and shelving to hold your crafting materials.

Another great basement decorating idea is to make a place where the entire family can go to relax and have a good time. You could turn it into a home movie theater as a basement is often quite ideal for this purpose being that it usually doesn't have a lot of windows. Make sure you have a lot of comfortable seating, a good stereo, TV and DVD player. Don't forget about video games and maybe a little refrigerator for snacks to.

If your family likes to play games then you can turn your basement into your own family game room. Whereas you might not be able to fit a ping-pong table, pool table or foosball table upstairs, the basement could be the perfect place. It's also ideal for a dart board, especially if you're not that good at darts and you will mind hitting the base walls. You can paint the floor like a monopoly board or Parcheesi board and hang old game boards all over the walls for some great decor.

Most people have their laundry in the basement and for a lot of folks, trudging down to the basement to do the laundry is not one of their favorite tasks. But you can make laundry fun, or at least not as much drudgery, if you set up the room properly. Make sure you have areas for folding clothes, and a place where you can put clothes on hangers. Adding a television or stereo to this area might even make this chore a little more palatable.

No matter what your budget or family lifestyle, they is sure to be a basement decorating idea that is perfect for you. Just be sure that you map out your plan ahead of time and set your budget. You can try shopping at yard sales and consignment stores to get the items you want for less and, of course, doing the work itself will save labor costs.

Basement decorating is a great way to turn unused space into a whole new room. If you really do it up nice, it can add a new dimension to your house! Granted that this idea may turn some people off because a basement is stuck underground, but in reality this fact is an advantage for certain types of rooms. Here are a few remodeling ideas used by some people for their basements, the pros and cons of each, and a few tips for you if you decide to go with any of these ideas.

With just a little bit of work, your basement can be the perfect music or home theater room. Perhaps the biggest thing about this makeover is the acoustic lining that you'll want to put on the ceiling and walls. This assures total sound quality in a closed room. Basements are great for home theaters because most of them are already pretty dark, but you need to make sure you have a good dehumidifier to protect the electronic equipment.