Finishing a basement

Sarah
by Sarah
We have an unfinished basement we're trying to finish ourselves.
*Options I considered for this project:
We considered many different things such as drop ceilings vs. painted, carpet or faux wood flooring.
*Questions and unexpected events that arose during the project:
So far it's been fairly smooth but we have wondered if we should use trim along the edge of the painted ceiling and then have found it a mild challenge to work around all the pipes and wires.
*My motivation to do this project:
So we can enjoy the extra space it will provide.
*Project Steps:
We decided to go with a painted black ceiling, bringing it down a bit on the walls and then trimming it with molding. We like the results.
Advice:
Don't try to paint an unfinished ceiling unless you have a very good paint sprayer. Start with the ceiling first when painting so you don't have to touch things up later. We also found that painting the molding with the same color as the walls made a smoother transition to the ceiling.
Materials:
Flat black paint - $20.00
Tan paint for the walls - $20.00
Discounted Bamboo Molding - $30.00
Beadboard - $10.00
High gloss white paint - $8.00
Sheetrock - $300.00
Lighting - $50.00
Our basement when we bought the house.
Original basement.
In the process of putting up the walls.
The hall leading to the main room.
Our ceiling.
The original ceiling with primer.
Painting the walls with a soft tan.
The ceiling painted black and the trim painted the wall color.
The hall transformed into a home salon.
Our finished hall into the main room, minus the flooring.
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4 of 9 comments
  • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Oct 17, 2010
    You can always add drywall to the ceiling later to get a more finished look...I wonder what the salon client's will think staring up at open ceiling joists while the get their hair washed?
    • See 1 previous
    • KMS Woodworks KMS Woodworks on Sep 26, 2013
      @Laura MacDonald I spent my first two years at NMU....before finishing up back in my Hometown of Kalamazoo...Many great memories of time at Presque Ilse
  • Ann S Ann S on Sep 26, 2013
    i would just paint the floor and use area rugs and dry wall in the ceiling and paint it some pretty color to match the walls and floor.if for some reason the water gets to the floor you havent had a whole floor to have to be replaced
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