Several weeks ago I stumbled upon the most intriguing basement makeover I have ever seen! I literally stopped my Instagram scroll to get a longer look at this incredible “unfinished, yet completely finished” basement office styled by Emily Henderson, Velinda Hellen, and Erik Staalberg. Homeowners Amanda and William Hunter have a beautiful home and as you can see their basement is no exception!
Of course it’s a beautifully styled space but what inspired me the most was the fact that this basement is unfinished with pipes in the ceiling, a cement floor, and cinder block walls. So wait…we don’t have to do a full renovation with fresh carpet and new drywall in order to turn our basements into functional and stylish living spaces!? I’m down with that! Half of the homes in America have unfinished basements exactly like this one just waiting to get a makeover!
So ya, this is the basement makeover that makes me want to transform mine…exposed duct-work, grungy floors and all!
The walls are mostly cinder block with what appears to be either drywall or plywood. Either way, I’m loving the texture that the cinder block brings to the space. It instantly creates a clean industrial look and the white paint on all the walls unifies the variety of surfaces.
Can we talk about the slate gray ceiling?? Brilliant move! With all the pipes lining the joists, it can start to look busy. But once again, painting everything one color minimizes the clutter of exposed pipes and the variety of textures.
Of course my favorite thing about this basement is the neutral color scheme. But with all that white and metal, Emily and her team chose to warm up the space with wood, caramel leather chairs, and an upholstered bench.
Every house I’ve ever lived in has had water in the basement so I’ve always had the mindset that putting carpet in the basement is risky.
I LOVE cement floors and this basement makeover confirmed that cement floors in the basement can work too as long as you use rugs to soften the look and feel of the hard surface. Plus rugs are 10 times easier (and cheaper) to replace in case of an unfortunate water situation.
So all this to say, this basement makeover has my brain spinning with ideas for our own unfinished basement! We have cinder block walls, cement floors, and exposed floor joists above that could use a little TLC…I’m officially adding this project to our lengthy home renovation list!
CREDIT:
Designers – Emily Henderson, Velinda Hellen, and Erik Staalberg
Photographer – Sara Ligorria-Tramp
Homeowners – Amanda & William Hunter
Leave a Reply
DO YOU WANT
The Inside Scoop
Where behind the scenes, exclusive advice, and candid conversations are sent straight to your inbox every week.
Adding carpet in the basement is no doubt very risky. Basement fill up during the rainy season and which is why going with cement floor is the best idea. Cement floors also looks very nice.