Basements are often the largest unused room in any home, and they are treated as a place to put things into storage and forget about. They’re also seen as a place that simply serves as an oversized washer and dryer room. The reality is that the basement can be one of the most comfortable spaces in your home when done right! By their nature of being underground in the home, they already have excellent sound proofing, have plenty of empty wall space, and can even become an extra living space or room!
In thise post, we will highlight two cozy unfinished basement ideas that will make small changes and improvements which will go a long way to making a cold basement into a warm livable space to sleep in, have family time in or have as a dedicated space for hobbies, reading and exercise.
Required Tools And Materials For These projects
A few basic tools are required for these simple projects that are commonly owned or inexpesnsive to purchase at BrightNest, online at www.brightneststore.com/shop/tools-and-hardware/ (outbound link) or in store where one of our associates can help you with finding the right tools and materials for you.
- Hammer
- Pack of nails
- Wood Glue
- Wood Saw (optional)
- Measuring Tape
- Pencil
Wooden Pallet TV stand
The first idea is one way to recycle old wooden palletes that are being throw away or can no longer be used. At BrightNest, our upcycling centre has many old used pallets in relatively good condition that customers can pick up for free. You learn more about our upcycling program at www.brightneststore.com/services/community-upcycling-centre/ (outbound link).
- Firstly you will need to cut the pallete into three equal sections.
– If you do not have a wood saw and you are visiting our upcycylcing centre then we will cut the pallet for you. Ask us to cut it 3 equal sections for you and tell us you are following the instructions from this blog for more tips and tricks! - Secondly, stack two sections on top of each other and drive a nail into overlapping sections and the corners. Repeat with the third and final section stacked on top. Optionally, you may also use wood glue in addtion to the nails to secure the pieces together.
- Lastly, choose a spot by a wall where you’d like to place a TV. You can place a rug, coffee table and a small sofa to create a space to watch TV shows or movies, or set up a gaming console.
This simple TV stand gives you many options for placement and the ability to build around to build a dedicated space in your basement! With some extra DIY effort, you can even add some storage into the TV stand for more practicality.
Reading Corner
Secondly you have the reading corner. This idea is a little more involved if you want to take a more custom route with the custom bookshelf project we published previously. However we have you covered with a bookshelf you can buy directly from BrightNest online for pick up or in store. You can view the bookshelf at www.brightneststore.com/shop/furniture/flatpack-simple-bookshelf/ (outbound link).
- First off, if you want to follow the custom bookshelf build, you can find it at www.brightnestblog.com/diy-projects/post/build-your-own-custom-bookshelf/ (inbound link). Otherwise you can go to the link provided above and purchase the bookshelf we recommend for this project.
- Second is to place the bookshelf agaisnt a wall in a corner that has an electrical outlet nearby.
- Third is tp find an armchair of your choosing and place it by the bookshelf in the corner
- Fourth, find an old lamp to place behind or beside the armchair. You can also string some LED lights or old white christmas lights for additonal ambient lighting.
- Finally, stock yourbookshelf and enjoy a nice quite cozy space to read!
Final Thoughts
These two cozy unifinished basements ideas are the perfect appetizer to getting into larger projects. It can even be the catalyst to expand on these two small changes. Unfinished basements benefit from having untapped potential that many seem too daunting or difficult to build upon, but by first creating a small corner where you want to spend more time in, you can be inspired to turn even larger sections into something that you, your family and friends will want to bring up to spend time in.
For those of you that have implemented these ideas, email us a picture of your cozy space at homemakeover@brightnest.com, and we will display it on our social media pages!
These ideas are part of our home makover series. You can find future posts about ideas to upgrade different parts of your home here at https://five.psbdigital.ca/category/group/group-04/.