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When we moved into our home we were happy to see the basement had been "finished." However, despite the fact it had been divided into separate rooms and a full bath added, it was still very seventies. It was paneled with dark brown faux wood paneling and as an extra 70s touch, the drop-in ceiling tile brackets were faux woodgrain. UGH.
The basement is divided into a laundry room, a full bath, two "bedrooms," a longer room and a room we call the fuel oil tank room (it sits under our front porch & houses the two fuel oil tanks.) We tore out the hideous carpet the day we moved in--we've now painted the concrete floor and painted over the faux woodgrain ceiling tile brackets. We bought all new ceiling tiles & replaced the dingy 1970s ones. The "bedrooms" now serve as my husband's art studio and my craft room. We painted all of the wood paneling pale blue with white trim and we added an old-fashioned screen door to the laundry room entrance--it's very cottage-y now!!
Our cds used to be shelved out in the open, so to avoid looking like a college dorm, my husband built a cd cabinet to "hide" our collection. He built a bookshelf unit in which to store his art book collection, his antique tools and our board games. And, he built a storage bench (where we store his cycling gear, outdoor games & puzzles). Lastly, he built a play table/desk for our son. I painted all of the furniture & I also painted his free, second-hand metal schoolteacher's desk (which used to be bright green!!!) We did this all for under $ 1,000.
Before looking at the pictures...close your eyes and think, dark, dingy, wood paneling...
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As you can tell...I'm pretty proud of our hard work!!!
Answer:
Wow! I think that it looks fantastic! I cannot believe it is a basement. It is so bright in there. Our family room in our new house has the wood paneling and I hate it! Then one of the bedrooms has this hideous green shag carpeting! We just don't have the money right now but when we do it will be GONE!
Great job!!
Answer:
It looks great! Don't you just hate paneling. The house we are about to live in has paneling in the living room. Luckily its not the darkest brown but still yuck. I can't wait to paint!
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That is great!! It is so nice and bright!!!
ETA: I love that term: Rompus room!!! It makes me giggle
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Thanks everyone...one of the main reasons I posted the pics was to show you how bright your basements (or any paneled room) could look if you paint the walls! You'd never even know it was paneling & the light colored floor/ceiling allow the light to just bounce off everything!
Answer:
Very nice! Looks fresh & clean! Thanks for sharing. We're thinking of re-doing our "family room" in our basement this summer & it also has wood paneling. You just gave me some ideas. Thanks!