Your Basement: Buried Treasure or Junkyard?

by Jeannine Miller, Moss Building and Design

With all the square footage a basement provides, it’s surprising how often this area of the home is overlooked.  Once your basement becomes the catchall for everything you don’t quite know what to do with, it can be hard to see a way back to a space you can be proud of.  Perhaps I can offer some inspiration to get you on the right track. 

A great way to transform the look and feel of a typical basement without changing the footprint is by adding texture.  You can do this on the ceiling, the walls and the floor.  By adding texture, you gain dimension in your basement thereby making it feel more like an extension of the upstairs.

Ceiling texture can come from a number of sources such as exposed beams, tray ceilings, coffered ceilings, textured panels or tile.  The beams shown below also add depth and architectural interest.

Basement walls are typically painted and forgotten.  Look how much presence the above walls have now that faux brick has been added.  In the McLean, VA basement seen below, the featured brick wall provides a focal point from which the rest of the basement design can grow.

Metal work on the walls of the Ashburn, VA basement pictured below not only provides a focal point, but also adds dimension to the room in the way the metal interacts with the lighting throughout the basement.

And last, but not least, the floors.  Using a variety of flooring materials will create more interest and can be used to define separate areas without having to put up walls.  In addition to typical basement flooring choices such as carpet, ceramic tile and wood, consider cork (pictured below) which is very resilient and can add a lot of personality.    

It’s time to let go of the basements of yesteryear.  By redefining the space with texture, you can add a ton of personality without sacrificing any of the functionality.

Moss Building & Design specializes in basement renovations, additions, kitchen remodeling and bathroom remodels. In addition to our Northern Virginia remodeling services, we also offer handyman, plumbing, electrical, tile roofing & siding with Moss Home Services.

About the Author

In addition to blogging about all things home and family-related, Jeannine Miller manages Moss Building & Design’s Community Relations Department, which includes the popular HandyMOM 101 and HandyGirl 101 workshop programs.

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This is a sponsored blog post. We were compensated for sharing this information about Moss Building & Design and believe highly in their services.   All opinions are our own.