It’s been a long time since the basement of a home was thought of as a damp, drab, somewhat spooky place where the water heater, furnace and other somewhat menacing appliances were kept. Now, the room can serve as a cheerful and welcoming place where the whole family loves to spend time. Alair Homes Kelowna gives you ten ways to make your basement anything but boring.

1. More Light

One sure way to keep the space from being dreary is to simply light it up. This means adding a window or enlarging the windows that exist during a renovation. This can be achieved by a general contractor such as Alair Homes Kelowna. Adding more or brighter artificial lights and adopting a lighter color scheme of pastels and shades of white are also options.

2. Make It Multi-purpose

Basements that weren’t just afterthoughts have often been used as recreation areas. The well-used pool table, home theaters and play areas for young children can be found in these rooms. Basements can contain sewing or craft centers near the laundry room, be a place to have a home office, or be a workshop space.

 

3. Make it Cozy

There’s no reason why the space can’t be as cozy as any other room in the house. The homeowner shouldn’t be afraid to add wallpaper, overstuffed furniture, artwork, carpeting and area rugs.

4. Add a Fireplace

A fireplace can be added fairly easily during a renovation if there are already fireplaces in the upstairs rooms. Moreover, the addition of a fireplace makes a cozy room even more cozy than before.

5. Rent it Out

Renting out the lower rooms can add a bit to the bank account, even if it’s to a relative who’s temporarily between more permanent lodgings. The space is even more tempting if it is truly an apartment with a bathroom and a kitchenette as well as places for sleeping and recreation.

6. Display Artwork and Souvenirs

Homeowners may be proud of all the trophies won by their kids for this or that endeavor, and they may find their kids’ artwork endearing. The gewgaws found in flea markets all over the world may fascinate the entire family, but they still might not want them displayed in the more public areas of the home. Basements are the perfect places to arrange and display all kinds of artwork and mementos collected by family members during their travels.

7. Have a Style

A style can also be a theme. The family may decide that they want the basement’s rooms to have a Victorian theme for example. This may mean light fixtures that resemble old gas lights, furniture with elaborately carved frames and horsehair upholstery or floral displays under glass domes.

8. Add a Bathroom

Adding a bathroom that’s below grade, which many basements are, is challenging because the waste water has to somehow find its way to the main drain or sewer line, which may be above grade. But engineers and plumbers have found interesting ways to solve this problem.

9. Add Room Dividers

If you don’t have the inclination or the money to add entire walls to section off the space in your basement, half-walls, see throughs and floating partitions may be the answer. If the you want to add a 60’s theme, try bead curtains.

10. Grow a Fernery

Ferns are plants that love humidity and do well in bright but not direct light. A corner with a window can be dedicated to growing these plants and plants similar to them.