Basement Remodeling Ideas: Overcoming Obstacles

Other rooms that work well in basements include home theaters, which benefit from the naturally dark character of the room, and family lounges because the sheer open area in the basement gives little ones room to run and explore. "A wide expanse of space lends itself to laying out race tracks or large dollhouses," McCormick says. Let the Light Shine In One of the most commonly cited problems in basement spaces is the lack of natural light. But with some careful planning and creative lighting design, even this seemingly fatal flaw can be corrected. "As you plan for basement lighting, remember you will likely need more light than in other places of the home," says Jeff Dross, lighting senior product manager for Cleveland-based Kichler Lighting. "Because the basement is located below grade, natural light does not provide the baseline ambient light that is found in the above-ground floors." Copyright Sharon McCormick, photo by Sharon McCormick. That doesn't mean, however, that quantity should rule over quality in basement lighting design. Dross says tricking the eye to "see" natural light is one way to make a basement space feel more inviting. "To supplement the light that would typically come from a window, consider washing the walls with light, using recessed can lights close to the walls, or even energy-efficient fluorescent linear fixtures hidden in a cove," he says. When choosing your lighting, think about the room vertically, considering the effect each level will have on the room's feel, says Atlanta-based interior designer Melissa Galt of Melissa Galt Interiors "Light is best created in layers: ambient or general lighting, task or specific lighting, and accent or decorative lighting," she says. "Soffit lighting and bookcase lighting are great enhancers for accent lighting, and torchieres work especially well in corners since they bounce light up the corner and across the ceiling."

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