Color Schemes for a Basement Family Room

Should a basement family room be light or dark?

Both can work, but they are different choices. With little or no window light, a light color helps most when it has a high LRV. The cream #EFE3C9 at LRV 78 reflects most of the light that reaches it.

A dark color will not make the room look bigger, but it can make the room look planned. The colors #392B22, #282C1A and #1D222D have LRVs of 2 or 3, so they absorb light. In a basement family room used mostly at night, with a TV and lamps, that can feel cozy rather than gloomy.

Choose based on how you use the room. If it is a play space used by day, go light. If it is a movie room, go deep.

If you are unsure, test both. Paint one large sample in the cream and another in a deep color, and look at them at night, since that is when the difference is most obvious.

How do I make a light basement room feel warm?

Basement light is often cool, from bulbs and from the concrete and the lack of sun. Warm whites help. The cream #EFE3C9 and the blush beige #E4D0BF have warm undertones that balance a cool space.

Avoid stark or gray whites, which feel cold with no daylight to soften them.

Use the pale khaki #D5CFB4 on a second wall, a sofa or a rug to add depth. A ceiling in the same cream, or a shade lighter, makes the room feel taller. Add lamps at different heights so the light reaches the corners.

Think about the floor as well. A dark carpet or floor absorbs what light there is, so a lighter rug in the khaki tone #D5CFB4 can help the walls work harder.

Keep furniture in medium tones, and avoid very dark sofas against very light walls, which can make the room feel patchy.

How do I do a deep color in a room without windows?

Commit. A dark color works best when it covers the walls, trim and even the ceiling in one shade. That removes the edges and makes the room feel like one box.

Choose the undertone you like. The chocolate #392B22 is warm and suits wood and leather. The black olive #282C1A is quiet and earthy. The midnight #1D222D is cool and suits modern furniture.

Use a matte finish, since it hides flaws in drywall and cuts glare from lamps. Add several light sources, such as wall sconces and table lamps, so the dark walls look rich rather than flat.

Choose a paint made for deep colors, and expect two or three coats. Use a primer tinted toward the paint color to cut the number of coats.

On bright accents, keep to cream or warm white in lampshades and art mats, so there is something light in the room to stop the dark walls from feeling like a cave.

How do I test colors for a basement?

Test with the lights you will use. Basement rooms depend on bulbs, so a sample that looks right in daylight at the store may look different at night.

Paint a large sample and view it with the lights on and off, and at the time you use the room most. Look at it near the TV, the stairs and the corners.

If you are choosing between the cream and the blush beige, look at them next to the flooring. Carpet, tile and vinyl each change how a wall reads. For a deep color, check whether it feels cozy in the evening or too heavy.

Remember that a basement family room often has no windows to compare with. That makes the color you pick the main source of mood, so give yourself a few days to look at the sample before ordering a full gallon.