Your home’s basement probably doesn’t get the same amount of love that the rest of your house gets. Whether that’s because it’s cold, unfinished, or unsightly, many people use their basements just to store stuff they don’t really need. But with a few tips for making your basement more livable, this large space in your house doesn’t have to remain unproductive for too long.
Improve the Flooring
No one really likes looking at or standing on concrete, especially in their own home. A basement with a concrete floor can feel very sterile and unwelcoming. The best thing to do would be to add carpeting, but this can be cost-prohibitive depending on the size of your basement. An alternative is to use rugs to cover the concrete and make it a more inviting space.
Make It Brighter
If you’re not lucky enough to have well windows in your basement, the space can feel claustrophobic and dingy without proper lighting. Obviously, you can use simple standing and desk lamps to brighten the place up, but you can also hang string lights from the ceiling or down the walls for a different kind of atmosphere.
Insulate It
If your basement doesn’t have adequate insulation, it’s most likely a cold and dreary part of your home. Investing in some quality insulation is a must if you want to make your basement more livable. Not insulating your basement is one of the biggest mistakes you can make if you want to use it for anything more than storage.
Hide the Ugly Parts
For many of us, the basement is where we keep a lot of the machinery that powers our homes. These machines can be unsightly additions to a place where you’d like to spend more time. Unless you like the industrial look, you may want to add a curtain or two to hide these features. Just don’t make it impossible to reach them if you need to in the future.
Make It Comfier
At the end of the day, you won’t spend time in the basement unless you make it an attractive place to be. Get some quality furniture like a comfy couch. The basement is the perfect place to hunker down and enjoy yourself, but you’ll need at least some furniture to do that. Don’t use the cheapest you can find—you’ll never want to use it if it’s not attractive in some way.
