Some Illuminating Advice to Brighten Up a Dark Basement!

Some Illuminating Advice to Brighten Up a Dark Basement!

The basement may not be your priority when you’ve just purchased a residence, but this part of the house can easily become your family’s favourite living space. Yet it may be difficult for most people to see the potential of a gloomy basement.

 

A habitable basement has several advantages. For example, it remains naturally cool during a heatwave. Moreover, it can be converted to serve a multitude of purposes: a home theatre, a workshop, a basement apartment for a teenager, a sewing room, a home office, or a professional space to receive clients.

The rub: there is usually very little natural light there; however, you can remedy the situation. Here are our tips for creating a basement lighting scheme that is both pleasant in the evening and functional during the day. 

FOR A COZY EVENING ATMOSPHERE:

Let’s start with the evening ambiance, which we are all more familiar with. Basements typically have lower ceilings. Therefore, ceiling lights are inadvisable: they would create an oppressive feeling in addition to being a hazard for the taller among us. Here’s what you should do instead:

Install LED Pot Lights

Thanks to today’s LED technology, homeowners can install a substantial number of light sources without having the modules take up too much ceiling space. These lights are very thin, lightweight and the 24-volt wiring is very easy to work with. There are even, in fact, models that allow the user to control the light’s colour temperature: the tone can be reminiscent of sunshine during the day and imitate incandescent bulbs at night.

Layer Secondary Light Sources

Furthermore, when you move on to decorating, consider adding pedestal floor lamps, floor lamp balls or sconces on the walls. Such elements help create a sophisticated atmosphere in the evening. Plus, if you can control the light intensity with dimmer switches, you will have the perfect mood at your fingertips!

Use the Television

If you have invested in a large flat-screen television, use it to your advantage. There is a wide range of warm or lively screen backgrounds to choose from. Since your TV screen emits quite a bit of light, these can be an interesting source of illumination. Have a series of tropical landscapes cycle through or play a video of a traditional crackling log fire at night. Whatever takes your fancy!

 

FOR AN IDEAL DAYTIME AMBIANCE:

Preferably, the lack of natural light shouldn’t be jarring when one goes down into the basement. If it is, you will instinctively feel compelled to run up to the surface! Here’s how to optimize your lighting.

Maximize Natural Light

If you are lucky enough to have windows, keep them obstacle-free! Or hang curtains or blinds that are white and as diaphanous as possible. You can also simply not use any window coverings as the windows’ inconspicuous location means that passers-by are unlikely to be able to peer through them inside your basement.

Reflect the Light You Have

Choose lights that, while not dazzling, will illuminate the walls or floor. Forgo carpeting: epoxy flooring or a high shine varnish are your best bets. Mirrors are likewise excellent reflectors.

Focus of Lighter Shades

Finally, lightly coloured, even glossy furnishings, such as a white leather sofa or white-painted bookcases or shelves, are ideal when brightening up a dim room. Pick a pale shade of wood for the floor.

Open Up the Space

If you can live without certain walls, do it! Take out as many as possible. This will allow the natural light you do have to fill the space and will minimize shadowy areas.

 

We hope this article has shed some light on this topic and has given you ideas on how to brighten your basement!

RE/MAX Québec

By RE/MAX Québec

By RE/MAX Québec

A leader in the real estate industry since 1982, the RE/MAX network brings together the most efficient brokers.