Budget Ideas for Decorating a Finished Basement with Wood Wall Art

During these tough economic times, should we only spend money on “food, clothes and shelter”? Oftentimes when we need to penny pinch, our instinct is to limit our spending to the bare necessities. While we should indeed be more frugal, clipping coupons, buying outfits at surplus stores, and moving to a smaller home are not the only methods for saving money. We can also find ways to save a pile of money when decorating a finished basement. Here are some tips to beautify your basement--without breaking the bank!

Do more with less

Decorating your finished basement can cost a little money or even nothing at all! You could simply paint large surfaces in your basement, with light hues. You could place some live or artificial plants, lamps, contemporary wall art clocks, or area rugs in the room. You could even simply reorganize the furniture in your basement! The bottom line is that not only can you avoid spending a fortune when decorating your finished basement, but you can also do it without spending a tremendous amount of time and effort!

Instead of buying new décor for your basement try some of these basic steps to give the appearance that you just bought new décor:

• reupholster prehistoric sofas to make them appear new
• construct new lamp shades or pillows from old blankets or clothing
• add a new finish to wood furniture
• paint old furniture to give it a face-lift or to complement a room’s color scheme

While paint and upholstery will cost some money, remember that they are much less pricey than buying a new chair or sofa!

Do your hobbies include creating crafts? The basement is a wonderful place to display your creations. If you are a painter, then you can decorate your basement by creating an “exhibit” of your various works. If you enjoy pottery, then you can turn your basement into a museum of sorts, using shelves and cabinets to display different types of pottery that you created different periods of your life. And if you enjoy quilting, then you can paint the basement walls a neutral color, and then proudly hang and display your works. Whatever your craft is, use your basement to share it with visitors to your house!

Create Comfortable Living Space

You can easily transform your basement into a comfortable room that everyone can enjoy. All you need to add is ambient lighting, a sofa, some soft carpeting, and some electronics for entertainment! In fact, you probably already have most or even all of these items! Transforming your basement into a family room is an excellent yet inexpensive way to create a place where you and your family can spend some quality time.

A basement is the perfect place for a sports room. Noise absorbs better there, and rowdiness does not disturb anyone beneath you (except maybe some moles and groundhogs). You can transform the room using a sports theme, just as you would other rooms of the house. Paint the ceiling and walls the team colors of your favorite sports squad. Use ice chests and coolers as décor (and for cold beverages). You can also hang up framed sports-themed pictures and pennants on the wall, in order to add some pizzazz to the room. Another option is to display sports trophies and medals that you have received. This provides a conversation starter for visitors to your home, and will not cost you a dime!

If you and your family enjoy games, then transform your basement into a game room. You can paint your favorite board game onto one of the walls. You could even paint enlarged board game pieces onto the wall. If the designs of the game pieces are simple, simply draw the pieces onto a piece of paper, project them onto the wall, and then paint them there.

One of the most effective and cost-effective ways to decorate a basement, is to lighten and brighten it. Use light shades of colors such as red, yellow and orange, on large surfaces in the basement. You can also create contrasts, by contrasting dark wall décor and small furniture pieces, with the (now brighter) large surfaces. Remove large structures such as columns, pillars, and even walls, to create an aura of spaciousness in your basement. Then add small items such as plants (living or artificial) so your basement looks like the other rooms of your home.

One of the most obvious yet cost-effective ways to lighten up the room is through the lighting. Use floor lamps and floor lamps to create more ambient light in the basement. Choose soft/white incandescent light bulbs or full-spectrum bulbs, instead of basic fluorescent bulbs.

Wall décor does not have to be expensive. You can use several types of inexpensive wall décor to decorate your basement. Do your homework to learn how to effectively hang various types of wall décor, such as wood wall art.

Make Work more Bearable

While washing and ironing clothing are not the most enjoyable house chores to do, you can make the tasks easier by making your laundry room cozier. Use paints, and decals and borders with laundry themes, to brighten up the walls of the room. You can also add some basic accents to the room, to make the basement’s laundry room even more tolerable for washing and ironing. Speaking of ironing boards, you could add an ironing board that you can install onto the wall, to make the laundry room more stylish.

Amazingly, it is possible to decorate your house’s basement, without making major financial sacrifices. For instance, consider these nine aforementioned tips to spruce up your basement, without drastically drawing down your savings account. Happy basement decorating!