Basement Renovation – Lighting
Basement Ceilings with Track lighting or Embedded Halogen Bulbs
Ceilings are also a challenge to remodeling your basement because they are often very low. Don’t even think about using lighting that dangles down, such as a chandelier, because this will accentuate the height problem. When remodeling your basement try to use sleek track lighting or embed a series of small halogen lights into the ceiling all around the perimeter of the walls and not just in the center.
In Asia where apartments are often very small, it is a common practice to create a molded ceiling area that may be round (or square or any other shape) and then fit halogen lights into the ceiling around the pattern of the molding. It’s inexpensive and looks very chic. Also consider embedding halogen lights on the walls above where you will hang art or inside open cabinets to give added light to spaces that might otherwise be in shadows.
Brighten up corners your basement finishing project with long, slender pole lamps. Lean poles and simple shades give the illusion of height unlike regular desk or end table lamps with low, heavy shades that make a room look heavy and overstuffed. Getting basement lighting right is a little different than when decorating spaces with natural light. Remember in a dark basement all the things you add will either absorb or reflect light, there are no exceptions. That includes fabric, furniture, tiles, flooring and ceiling textures. Basement finishing is not just about making it less junky but making it breathable, livable and bright!
Maximizing Basement Natural Light
Take at look at some basement remodeling photos with before and after shots. How has a professional basement remodeling company maximized the light of the basement? Although most basements have little natural light, there usually is some. If the basement has small windows that look outside, maximize their light by placing mirrors on the back basement walls that are opposite these windows. Those will double the light in the room so as long as you don’t cover the windows with heavy curtains.
The best window treatment solution for any basements remodeling is to use nothing at all or a soft translucent sheer or a blind that allows light to pass through. You can also have the basement windows frosted to allow privacy but not keep out natural light. There are frosting techniques you can do yourself, or you could make the windows look as if they were stained glass. There are kits to do this and if you use soft colors and simple designs the results can be stunning.
An Inviting Basement Glow
One of the main reasons we find rooms inviting, be they in a home or a hotel or an office or a restaurant, is the lighting. Soft, but strategically placed, lights that give a glow to the room while not burning our eyes, is of utmost importance when remodeling your basement. You cannot achieve this with one bright bulb or fluorescent tube smack in the center of the ceiling. You cannot achieve this with traditional table lamps that cast most of their light to the floor. Light the basement ceiling in many places and give the basement walls spot lights that glow around art, furnishings or open cabinets that you will create space and light.