Brighten a Basement With Color & Family-Friendly Style

In Episode 4 of The Design Network’s Holistic Home, host Briana Bosch, helps her neighbors Adam and Coral turn their uninspired basement into a warm gathering place for family and friends.

Basements are typically somewhat dark and cave-like, which can then make them easy places to clutter up with seldom used or not-sure-where-to-put-this kind of items. The resulting look can be a mish-mash of styles and functions, that can feel less than a welcoming place to relax and invite others to gather.

Lightening things up was key to this basement’s transformation and giving it a true focal point – in this case, the amazing fireplace – was one of the steps needed to give this room its own style and welcoming vibe. Bosch’s signature fresh, organic style comes from the inspiration she finds on her flower farm, and in this case, an old barnwood table became the color jump-off point for this basement’s renovation.

Bosch used the ColorReader EZ on the table to find just the right shade of warm grey that would look light, soft and inviting in this space with limited natural light. She then tapped onto her color match on her phone to find complementary and contrasting colors, which is how she found the perfect shade (aptly named, “Soot”) to paint the fireplace, perfectly matching its insert. Painting the bricks and the mantle the same color as the insert helped to make the fireplace the focal point of the room. Having the entire fireplace all one color also helped create a sense of space since there is less “visual noise” than there would have been if it had been broken up into different colors.

You can watch the full episode here: