Basement Design Ideas

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Featured, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Uncategorized |

By Francine Maglione

Designing any room can be tough, but a basement can be especially uninspiring for design ideas. Bad lighting, a cold atmosphere and mechanical eyesores popping out everywhere don’t give homeowners much to work with when they’re coming up with remodeling designs. Use these basement design ideas to guide you as you revamp your basement.

Add Your Individual Style
This basement is yours so all of your basement design ideas should reflect your personal style. Not all trends work for everybody, so it’s best to just use them as inspiration rather than copy them completely. Better Homes and Gardens suggests personalizing the items in your basement, such as repeating a pattern throughout the room by adding it yourself to pillows and window treatments. Choose a color and add squares of paint along the hanging edge of a curtain, and then add painted squares of the same color to pillows.

Basement Layout: What Goes Where

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Uncategorized |

By Francine Maglione

How do you arrange a room that takes up an entire floor, has poor lighting, and is usually cold and dreary? Where do you even start? There are many ways to approach your basement layout, but you should focus on a layout that adds convenience, organization and function to your home.

Define the Space
First and foremost you must determine what you’ll be using the basement for. Do you want a play area for your kids? Do you need a craft area, guest room or home office? Define the areas before you decide where they should be located in the room. Also, some things in your basement can’t be changed or would be costly to change, such as a metal beam. As doityourself.com says, your basement layout will have to work around these aspects.

Some homeowners may want to build an apartment in their basement with a living room, bedroom, kitchen and full bathroom. Others may want something simpler like a game room, personal gym or laundry room. The website QandAs.com writes that by deciding on the purpose of the space, you can then determine the basement layout. For example, a bathroom may have to be located near a wet bar with a sink to keep the plumbing simple.

Affordable Decorating: Ideas for Your Basement to Your Bedroom

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Home Improvement, Uncategorized |

By Francine Maglione

Everyone’s feeling the strain in these stressful economic times, especially homeowners looking to do some affordable decorating or any home renovations. When your budget is tight, decorating may be the last thing on your mind. But there are ways to remodel and redesign areas of your home while not wasting all of your hard-earned cash. Make even your most frugal friends jealous with these penny-pinching plans for home decorating.

Like New
One thrifty home remodeling technique is to reuse and recycle materials. Reuse old fabric and material from clothing or blankets to make pillows or lamp shades. You can also take old furniture and redecorate it to make it more modern or to match the current theme or color scheme of your room. You can paint a new finish onto a wood chair, or reupholster an old sofa with new material to make it seem like it was just brought home from the store.

From Basement to Bedroom: Building a Guest Room in time for the Holidays!

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Guest Bedroom, Uncategorized |

Washington Home and Garden Magazine reminds us that it is time to get ready for the holidays and to host the people we love by providing them with comfortable, cozy guest rooms. The article has excellent tips on how to make sure your guests have the best time possible.

Creating a guest room or in-law suite is a great way to make use of your finished basement. It adds extra space as well as a place for family and friends to stay when they come and visit. It could even help if someone needed to stay in your home for a prolonged period of time. Fill the room with comfortable furnishings to make a guest feel at home.

However, not everyone has a room to spare and transform into a guest room.

If you have an unfinished basement, in a matter of days you can turn it into a room your guests will love. All you need is proper basement waterproofing to make sure it is dry and suitable for finishing, and the proper basement finishing system.

Our patented, award-winning drainage system can be installed in a matter of days, complete with the most reliable sump pump system available today, guaranteed to keep your basement dry all the time. You can then finish your basement with Total Basement Finishing wall, floor and ceiling systems that can be quickly installed with no mess.

You will have a dream guest room for about 50% less than the cost of building an addition, and have it all done in time for the holidays.

Contact us for a free estimate and let us show you the options you have to create a dry, safe and healthy environment in your basement, suitable for finishing.

Basement Home Theater

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Renovations, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Home Theater |

 By Tim Manson

While many of the ideas on this website are centered around brightening up your basement and keeping it from looking like an old cave, there is one option in which a cave might be the appropriate setting.  If you’re looking for somewhere to escape the summer heat and catch the latest blockbuster movie, look no further than your basement!

Basements by definition are cool, dark places, so in order to spice yours up and turn it into something the local cinema will be jealous of, you just need the right equipment.  Combine the natural advantages of your basement with the necessary advances in modern technology and you’ll have a theater all the neighborhood will be begging to sit in on.

Turning Basements into Home Offices

Posted by cynthia on Jul 26, 2011 in Basement Design, Basement Finishing, Basement Finishing Contractors, Basement Renovations, Energy Efficient Basements, Finished Basement Ideas, Green Basement Finishing, Home Improvement, Home Office |

By Donna Kshir

Creating the perfect home office is vital to your success while working from home, and your finished basement is a great location to create an office space. Your basement offers familiar surroundings to you and your family, but it also offers a safe and private location to handle your business. 

Before considering or beginning your basement home office remodeling project, here are a few factors to keep in mind:

Waterproofing:

The first and most important step is to ensure that all basement moisture problems are resolved. If your basement appears to be damp, wet, or flood prone then the first step is to contact a good waterproofing contractor. The basement waterproofing contractor will determine your specific conditions and recommend the best option to suit your specific needs.