# Anyone "redo" their basement without fully finishing it?



## Mom4tot (Apr 18, 2003)

Dh and I are trying to make our unfinished basement a more usable and livable space. We have to move the computer down there and store many of the kids toys/ some totes of baby clothes, that kind of thing.

We put down 2 rugs and filled one space with toy shelves, an art desk and the computer desk. We are really trying to declutter and weed out what we don't need to store. Dh suggested painting the walls one at a time, starting with this play space. Our other goal is to get an air hockey table for the kids.

has anyone else kind of put their basement to good use without drywalling and putting in a cieling and all that?

Any suggestions or hints (pictures, even!) would be appreciated


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## StrawberryFields (Apr 6, 2005)

My friends did! Looks nice down there, bright and clean. They have two couches, a table and chairs, a row of cabinets and an air hockey table. They painted the walls with Drylok and I can't remember what is on the floor, I think it is carpet in half the basement and that rubber roll on floor stuff on the other half. No pics, sorry


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## RubyWild (Apr 7, 2004)

You can paint the floor and make that look really nice, too.


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## momma2girls (May 6, 2005)

I need to know also! Our basement is the computer/play/storage room. I have a couple small rugs down but not enough. I have heard of that paint but haven't gotten any yet. How can I keep it warmer? It gets soo cold down here in the winter. I would like to one day completely finish it but that just isn't possible now.


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## EricaLeigh (Apr 25, 2005)

We just had a drainage system put into our basement becuse we were getting flooded! And Dh just painetd the floor & brought down his weight bench & hung his heavy bag. Now we have a little workout area. The paint really brightened things up.


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## annethcz (Apr 1, 2004)

Both my parents and my grandparents have done this.

My parents put down carpet (old carpet from when they replaced the upstairs carpet), and put cheap paneling on the walls. You can even paint the panelling. They have older couches and chairs down there. They also have old dressers in the area, with games, etc. in the drawers and an old stereo on top. As a kid, it was my favorite place to hang out.

My grandparent have a bunch of 'guest rooms' in their basement. Again, old carpet on the floor. The hung clothesline from the ceiling, and then attached blankets to the clothesline to make "walls." It's pretty ingenious, actually.


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## eggplant (Jun 10, 2005)

If it's not finished though, how do you keep the spiderwebs and all from forming? I'd love to use my basement for more than laundry and storage, but it gets so cobwebby - the crawl space opens into it (there are panels in front, but they're not sealed), and the ceiling is open with all the house stuff (like piping, vents, wires) up there. The ideas here look great, and I can see how painting and all would help, but how would you avoid cobwebs and bugs? Is it even possible?


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## sparkprincess (Sep 10, 2004)

In our old house we just had panelling on the walls and carpet squares on the floor (good in case of leaks, just pull up the gross squares and replace). It was nice-looking, but it was very, very hard to keep warm in winter!! We used a kerosene heater and the previous own had a wood stove down there that he used.

I really don't see why you couldn't kinda rig some panelling up for a ceiling if you really wanted?? Or even if you just give everything a good cleaning and then paint it all and then make sure to dust/clean regularly.

I've also seen advertised some type of "panelling" stuff that just kinda clicks together. I think you can get it at Lowe's or Home Depot. Looks nice, but not sure of the cost.

If you wanted to go middle of the road maybe you could do some framing and then put insulation along the outer walls. Then cover with panelling?


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## marybethorama (Jun 9, 2005)

We're planning to do this.

The ceiling is too low to put in a drop ceiling so we can't really finish it.

I saw a basement in a magazine where they had painted the ceiling, and pipes white. It looked amazing.


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