Dark and Moody Basement Plans

Our basement is so close to being completed, so close! Really, all we have left is the baseboards, window/door casing and the bathroom finishes. However, I want to make this space cozy and functional (functional is key). I think we’re still a few more months out from having the basement fully completed as I want to paint the family room and add a shiplap accent wall. We still need to build the cabinet built-ins, paint the cabinet doors and add updated seating. Basically, I want this room to feel like you’re wrapped in a nice warm hug. I want it to feel cozy, yet sophisticated. Here’s what I’m thinking.

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Lamp // Vintage Art // Sectional // End Table // Bottom rug (similar) // Top Rug

Dark and Moody

I originally wanted to paint the built-ins a dark, moody color, but then I kept noticing these warm, moody spaces on Instagram and Pinterest and knew we just HAVE to paint the entire family room a dark, bold color. I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous about making this space feel like a dungeon and making it feel smaller than it is. There is not a lot of natural light, with just one window; however, we did add a lot of recessed lights, I think that will help with the brightness. We’ll also keep the ceiling white, which will help draw your eye up. I want to add a large gallery wall of some fun, vintage art to the large wall with the window. I also think that will help add some dimension to this room.

New Seating

As much as we love our IKEA sectional, we need something that will allow all 6 of us to cozy up on the couch for movie time. I’d love to get a large L shaped sectional that is cozy, but with a lighter, stain resistant fabric. Similar to the sofa on my inspo design, just with an L style and not chaise. Behind the sofa, I’m thinking a kids play area with bean bag chairs and toy storage. I want to focus on the built-in sofa area before we officially decide on the kids’ play area so more to come on this.

Built-Ins

I ordered Sektion kitchen cabinets from IKEA last month, along with custom Semihandmade doors and can’t wait to get these put together. Did you know that IKEA has an online cabinet planner? Just enter the room dimensions, then drag and drop the cabinets wherever you want. It’s so easy. After you finished designing your layout, IKEA provides a list with all the materials you need to purchase. If you’re buying in store, they won’t let you buy cabinets without that list. It’s so helpful for knowing what you need, how much everything will cost, etc. Here’s a basic layout of the cabinets for our basement.

IKEA has two cabinet options – 15″ depth or the traditional cabinet depth of 24″. My plan was to do 24″ depth cabinets; however, most of the sizes I needed were out of stock so I opted for the 15″ depth. In hindsight, we will have way less toy storage, but who knows when the other cabinets would come back in stock.

We’re going to mount the TV to the right of the room, in between the two floor to ceiling cabinets, in front of the sectional. The left-side of the built-ins will feature the other two oak floating shelves we received from Ultra Shelf. The plan is to add a countertop that runs along the left wall and create a desk area for the kids. Think lego station, craft area, etc.

We purchased the DIY doors from Semihandmade so we can paint these in any color. I’ve already tested out a few greens and haven’t found the perfect color yet. I have a couple more in mind and need to go get samples, but first we need to build in the cabinets. We’re also going to add shiplap behind the TV and behind the floating shelves. So much to do!

So tell me, what do you think of my dark basement idea? Would you paint your basement a darker color?