How do i lighten up my basement?
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You can paint the walls to lighten it up, even the paneling can be painted. We bought a house one time had it in every room! We used calking and filled in the cracks between the panels and on the panels and then painted with aroma free Kilz primer. Then we painted the colors we wanted. Hope this helps.
Paint, almost anything can be painted, a light color to have it appear brighter and airy. Install a multitude of lighting options, decorate with mirrors to bounce light around the room. Use lighter color furnishings.
Can you get at the ceiling wiring to improve the lighting too? Our home has pot lights that don’t use a lot of energy. We have a dimmer switch that’s useful too. We have 5 pot lights and the room is 20 by 20. Our ceiling is not dry walled it is white ceiling tiles.
You could paint the top a lighter color, and as Lenora posted, fill in the grooves if you want to get rid of the panel look. There is also paintable wallcovering that is thick and usually embossed in patterns. We used that over some paneling in a previous house. It applies like wallpaper, no need to fill in the grooves first, and then you can paint it if you want.
clean, give two light coats of primer allowing for each to dry, and then paint
The paintable embossed wall covering is called Anaglypta AmAtHome mentions above.
Haven't seen corrugated wood paneling, but it might be the new fiber 3d stuff... https://www.homedepot.com/s/3d%2520corrogated%2520fiber%2520panels?NCNI-5 this cannot be sanded, as most wood paneling is not real wood so you can't sand it, if its paneling you could pull that off and put something that appeals to you move up on the upper 1/3 of wall.
Painting the ceiling in a satin finish white will reflect more light. Use LED bulbs that are a strong bright light, you can even buy LED string lights and run them along the ceiling line for a much brighter room, you get them on Amazon and they have a remote.... https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_4?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=led+strip+lights&sprefix=LED+%2Caps%2C240&crid=UNX1GXQSE6IQ&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aled+strip+lights this guy went nuts.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4pHIb9NrvQ&t=311s
watch this kid do it.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mq85-5W069Q&t=66s
You could use a coloured emulsion paint on the top (might be MDF or if unfinished wood a wood stain could be used. Hang Mirrors and Bright Pictures and Furnishings.......
Make sure the paneling is clean and dry. Prime with a good stain blocking primer like Zinsser 123 or BIN. Then paint like painting regular walls. If the paneling has grooves you can fill them with non shrink drywall patching compound. Just put on enough to fill the grooves. Let it dry overnight. Next day use a damp sponge to smooth the patch. Then prime and paint.
can you show some pictures