If you are running out of space in your house, it may be time to have a glimpse to the cellar. Odds are, this room is not living up to its potential. It could be transformed into an extra bedroom.
Interior designer Letitia Holloway of both Myers Designs and Debbie Wiener, owner of Designing Solutions, are well versed in this transformation and the complications that come with it. If you are thinking of turning your cellar into an extra bedroom, their hints and tricks can help.
PPDS
Insulate. The very last thing you need is a noisy — and cold — bedroom. “Spend a little extra and put in good insulation into the walls,” says Wiener. “One great night’s sleep and you’ll know you spent your money wisely.”
Knudson Interiors
Produce emergency escape routes. Before starting construction, check your regional building codes to find out what your basement’s escape requirements are. The room can be also enhanced by the routes that are necessary. “Installing big upper windows not just enhances the opinion but provides a great escape route,” says Holloway.
Look for your own charm. Save cash by leaving beams exposed or the ceiling bare — it will give your new comfy bedroom a feeling of distinction.
Excel Builders
Add visual height. Unfinished ceilings may also help add height into a room, particularly when painted a dark color. “Paint the ceiling dim and finish the rest of the room off because you would normally,” says Holloway. “This kind of ceiling functions with a variety of aesthetics, and the unfinished effect makes it feel higher than a drop or drywall design” Benjamin Moore’s Baby Seal Black is just one of the go-to paint colours of Holloway.
GMT Home Designs Inc..
Configure your layout wisely. Place the mattress against an interior wall in the room. “Exterior walls alter temperature, meaning that your mattress will be cold in the winter and through summertime if your basement is below grade,” says Wiener. “Do whatever you can to leave enough space on one insulated interior wall for your own bed.”
Pepe Calderin Design- Modern Interior Design
Choose a hot wall color. Lower levels are usually short on natural light, so substitute the sun’s effect using a hot, golden wall color. “Gold, melon, strawberry and pumpkin are excellent wall colours for cellar bedrooms,” says Weiner. “They exude heat under any light conditions and literally glow when the lights turn on.”
Wiener suggests Benjamin Moore’s Butterscotch, Semolina, Golden Mist, Amber Waves or Concord Ivory as amazing shades to Take into Account.
White Crane Construction
Make sure your flooring products are acceptable for lower-level usage. “Speak to your regional flooring specialist to see what materials are great to use in your town,” says Holloway. “Wool, for instance, would not be a good carpet material to use within an lower-level basement, as a result of humidity.” She suggests either seal and discoloration coating a cement floor, or using area rugs where moisture or flooding could be a problem.
Pavel Burmakin
Choose the right light. A dark and gloomy bedroom onto any floor of your house is not perfect. “In addition to bedside lighting, add sconces, ceiling fixtures or recessed light equally spaced across the space, so at any time of day the bedroom is correctly lit for relaxing or reading,” says Wiener.
Michael Abrams Limited
Go for luxury. “Invest in luxury bedding to make a welcome bedroom retreat,” says Wiener. “Thick down-filled comforters and pillows coupled with a fitted bed skirt and pillow shams can lift the space from lower level to upper end”
More:
Making Space for Family: Converting the Attic or Basement