Basement Ideas on a Budget: Chic Convenience for the Home

Be it for?extra storage, an additional living room, a gourmet kitchen or an added workspace, more space is always welcome at home. Oftentimes, spaces like attic &?basement?offer valuable extra space. Lots of homes have the luxury of a built-in basement. However, very few homeowners actually utilize the space efficiently. Some of the homeowners may consider the basement simply a storage area for old junk & a dump for disused household items. Then there are many of us who don’t know what to do to employ the space usefully. Moreover, fully developing these spaces could be expensive. Adding up the costs of flooring, framing, drywall, electrical fixtures & finishes?can easily make the project incur a huge expenditure. And if you intend to introduce new decor, it will be even pricier.?

But there are plenty of ways to pimp up & enjoy that below-grade basement space while avoiding a costly full remodeling. Of late, paucity of space has led to a revolution in creativity for home inspiration & basement ideas on a budget are no different. And that is why an unfinished basement is a really practical idea endorsed by?experts?as well. Sounds interesting? Read on to have a detailed insight… …

1. Unfinished basement: customized to comfort and utility.

Before contemplating a basement remodel to render it useful & contacting contractors to estimate the costs, it is important to look carefully at the big picture. All of us want that extra space to suit our convenience & comfort and add to the dwelling functionally while respecting the budget constraints. Therefore, it is essential to think if a total basement remodel is AT ALL required.?

Partially finishing the basement can offer the desired extra space full of style, warmth & comfort,?saving on a total rejig too. An unfinished basement with its exposed joists & concrete flooring may seem cold, uninviting and dreary. But in reality it is nothing less than a huge blank canvas waiting for some innovative, inspired ideas & artistic vision. Lots of unfinished basement ideas are there to ensure that it is not reduced to just storing the utilities/ storage boxes. Using these creative ideas & some sincere effort a dingy basement can be converted into a wonderful home space. The small basement living area in this image boasts of restrained furnishings & creative lighting to make it a cozy relaxing space. Old, disused sofas, couches, coffee tables, rugs & lamps can also do the trick.

Practically speaking, one doesn't really need elaborate embellishments & niceties like drywall. Plus, the ceilings can be left exposed for that raw appeal. Industrial decor is a good idea to affordably adorn & doll up a new functional area in the unfinished basement.

2. Inexpensive basement finishing ideas: pep up with paint!

Whether it is for a private dining room or a private lounge-cum-mudroom,?inexpensive basement finishing ideas can help create a personal sanctum.?A clean coat of paint is, more often than not, the least expensive & the quickest way to freshen and update any room. If you must use drywall,?its limited use can efficiently demarcate spaces, add style & keep costs low.?

Another key aspect is the smart use of the color white.?This basement living area gets a lot of natural light with the brightness further being amplified by the neutral palette mainly dominated by whites & pastels.?

3. Absolute repose in budget basement.

In order to provide the illusion of light and add to ceiling height, a great & inexpensive basement finishing idea is to paint everything white.?This snug basement bedroom shines in a fetching designer interplay of white walls, comfy golden lighting, light wood floor, sparse furnishing and open, white-painted ceiling that lets in a good deal of natural illumination through the narrow skylight; all these make it a superbly appealing restful space.?

4. Basement kitchen: hearty possibility of an added gourmet space.

Utilizing that dark basement to make it into a kitchen seems somewhat challenging. But it is a smashing idea to have a gourmet kitchen in the basement, one that plays host to the family get-togethers. Painting the concrete floor in a muted tone, using old chandeliers & disused vintage utensils for a classic touch, installing wooden cabinetry, and adding those unused wrought iron stools, you could save a lot on kitchen accessories. Leaving the ceilings exposed will make for a sumptuous complement.

Using a small nook of this kitchen to have a mini bar, you can add to this inexpensive basement space. Here, you can employ an old coat rack & couple of wall hooks to store the coats & hats. A salvaged wooden pallet box is great idea to hold the empty bottles to be recycled/ reused.?

5. Vibrant kiddie zone: a wonderful option for unfinished basement.

Accommodating kids' stuff could be tricky. From toys to books & crafts, all belongings of your little ones deserve proper storage. A neat little work area in the basement is the ideal spot to organize it all. Creating a focal point is very important; everything can be accordingly arranged tastefully. Here, the focus is the white worktable with those bright bean bag chairs. The walls painted in light tones like whites & pastel hues can ring in a soft suggestion.?

Against the white ceiling & walls and white colored shelves of the bookcase, the books & toys inject bold pops of color to make it a trendy space. Using the colorful old area rugs kept unused in the almirah since long, the floor can be creatively covered to give it a stylish touch. Here, the blue & green rugs garb the old yet shiny wooden floor, also taking care of the possible slippery surface of the flooring. Any colorful piece of furniture for which you cannot think of a suitable place to put, can be conveniently employed for this new kids's room in the basement.?

If your basement has exposed ceiling joists, they can be painted?a deep charcoal, and the modest concrete floor a fun red. Adding interest & utility with wood shelving & quirky or eclectic furniture goes a long way to pep up the space without pricey options.?For reclaimed wood board flooring, throw rugs add warmth making it?cozy & inviting as well as practical. Additional cabinetry can be installed for the never ending accessories that catch your tot's fancy.

6. Bathroom in the unfinished basement.

Functional and bringing a lot of value to the home, bathroom is another great option to fill up that basement with a partial finish. Oftentimes basement bathroom additions prove costly, particularly if you don’t already have the plumbing & drainage in place. If you’re lucky enough to have this option, finishing the bathroom on a budget is worthwhile.

The key is to just stick to the basics. Creatively utilizing wood planks, old concrete slabs, glass panes and paint, you can easily have a beautiful & practical bathroom which is warm & functional without high-end finishings. Old lighting fixtures, mirrors & metallic handles can be handy here too!?If you are game, adding stock cabinetry for requisite storage, framing the mirror with some antique accessories, and budget lighting can provide modish glitz.?

7. Inexpensive recreation room in the basement: an exclusive relaxing zone.

Another unconventional alternative for basement wall material is engineered lumber like oriented strand board (OSB). It is typically employed for subfloors or sheathing in construction. If you want living areas in the unfinished basement and are looking for pocket-friendly ideas, OSB is an?unexpectedly low-cost &?creative way to cover those simplistic concrete walls and divide your living areas. The key to using a material like OSB is to apply it to a large area, making it clearly obvious as an intentional design choice.?

The above ideas show that a partially finished funtional space in the basement, using old, reclaimed, recycled and inexpensive finishing & decoating materials, is a pocket-friendly AND voguish idea provided the right materials & apt creativity are employed to make the space feel adequately homey. This well-equipped gym-cum-recreation room is spacious, bright and inexpensively furnished with salvaged & recycled materials.