Guest Bedroom Ideas for Your Basement - A to Z

First off, this is not my basement guest bedroom.  Sure, I'd be more than happy to claim this room, it looks awesome.  I can't decide just yet which guest bedroom ideas I want to go with so my basement guest bedroom is actually a workshop.

A workshop where men hangout, fix things and watch baseball on a Saturday afternoon on an old tv and drink beer from cans that they can crush with their hands.  However, I could build this room and so could you, here's how:

A. The Wall Frame

Let's start with the obvious one.  What looks like a frame for the head of the bead is really just a trim box made from standard 1.5" trim with a simple 45 degree miter cut.  Nothing fancy here if you've been finishing your basement on your own. Doing trim work yourself isn't hard to learn and can save you some bank!  (You would need a trim nail gun, air compressor and miter saw to get started).

It's hard to tell for sure from the picture but I would say the trim paint is semi-gloss to contrast against the flatter egg-shell finish of the darker brown on the wall.

B. Two Tone Paint Job

One of the key factors that makes this room pop is the two-tone paint job.  It doesn't appear to me that there's any special application technique.  Just a rich brown background and rich tan middle.  Mmmmm… sounds like a candy bar.

One important thing to notice is that the color palette for the room goes dark to light from back to front.  Dark back wall, lighter middle box, even lighter shade of cream/tan for the bed head board and lighter again for the bedding.  If you're going to try for this exact look, be sure to follow this rule. If you bought a dark wooden bed for example, it would throw off the effect.  Not by much, it would still look awesome, but this color layering was no accident.

C. Big Stencil Letters

I always thought these were a bit pretentious but I'm starting to warm up to them.  Note that the color is the light tan from the bedding and the base molding, it really brings the eye up and ties those components together.  You can order custom letters with just about any color you want at this website.

http://www.wallwritten.com    please note: I haven't actually tried a product from this website, but I did some research and the reviews were very good.  I hope to try them out soon and post a full article on the installation and design of the lettering.  They also have a video on how to create your own family monogram wall decal.

D. Big fat base molding.  Dang!

Great molding is one of the best basement ideas on my list.  That base molding must be about a foot high, plus a piece of top molding above it and what looks like a small piece of  1/4" shoe molding at the base.  This will not be cheap!

But this is one design element that really makes the room look elegant.  You may have to look around a bit to find this, I will check Home Depot and Lowe's to see if they stock it.  It looks like it's yet another paint color.  One shade lighter than the tan for the inside of the wall frame.  (Update: I went to Home Depot today and the largest base trim I could find was 5 1/4 " high. You could however just buy a 1x8 pre-primed board, in the lumber section not the "trim" section, and use that.  Not 12 inches but pretty close.

E. Super Lighting!

Here's where those electrical skills will pay off big time.  This photo actually looks like it's lit by light coming in from a window.  But if this is in your basement or even if it isn't, it would be ideal to have a switched outlet for the two little table lamps.

Install about 6 recessed lights all on a dimmer.   Or, better yet, I would consider putting in a sweet little chandelier.  I couldn't find the exact lamps they're using for the end tables but these Pottery Barn versions (right) are pretty close and a decent price.

F. Flooring

This photo shows some glossy hardwood.  Nice if you can afford it.  Engineered hardwoods are a better option for a basement, real hardwood really isn't an option at all.  A high quality laminate wood simulated strip product is also a good option. My parents used laminate strips in their basement and it looks great!  I would also add a nice big area rug. A solid light color with a high pile.  This would really warm up the room.

Those are the main items, there's also the side-tables and the bed itself, if some finds those online could you leave a link in the comments?

If you have picture of room that you'd like to see deconstructed please leave a comment.  Don't forget to sign up for the newsletter for more articles like this one.

Cheers,

Jason