I am painting our newly finished basement this weekend and I would love some paint recommendations...I have read some excellent ideas on this forum and would love help/suggestions regarding color, etc. I plan to paint most of it SW Blonde, because most people here love that color. The front part 1st basement picture will be blonde and when you look to the left of the first picture the cabinets will be hung there. Then we were thinking the hallways (stairs and hallway to back room) to paint the SW Navajo White. The back room will be the kids (boys) playroom/workout room with carpet and black padded flooring for the exercise equipment. We were thinking a light blue, maybe SW Windy Blue. We have no idea what to paint the bathroom. It is TINY 32" x 70" we have a small pedestal sink and toilet in there. What color do you recommend there? We are either going to use the tile pictured or a light tan/neutral one. The tile pictured will go around the double french door and in the kitchen area. The flooring in the main room with be the oak pictured. Please give me feedback. This is SO stressful. Thanks. Melissa

Lighting is everything in a basement. And white walls in any shade almost never work. Definite color...and it doesn't have to be dark...is almost always better. Yellow rarely adds sunlight...it actually looks best in sunlight...but if it is reflective and clear, and the light is very bright, it can work. Luminous pale blues can give the sense of sky, particularly if you also paint the ceiling...which you should do in any case to keep it from sitting down on top of you. Very clear light is key...some of the new florescent corkscrew bulbs give a wonderfully bright light, and without the heat that halogen generates. I would add big mirrors to crack the wall open visually wherever you would have a window, if you had them. You can even hang drapery to the sides to increase that illusion if you like. Lamps that are reflected in them them will throw the light around.

Your windows can be repaired. Just because the glaze is gone and some wood is rotted doesn't mean they need to be replaced. There are video's on my windows page to show how the work is done. I know the enclosed porch really comes in handy but it's a very important choice you need to make. It is visually impossible to achieve curb appeal with it enclosed. Boarding up windows saves heat too but that doesn't do any good for appearance. Your house was not designed for the porch to be enclosed. Past architectural perversions create a disfigured appearance that affect your inner senses when viewing a building that abruptly sticks out. Instead of softening the facade of a house as a porch is supposed to do, it instead appears as an architectural wart - attached but not belonging. Your house can be stunning - even with the current siding. New paint colors will look nice but the problem will still be there but in a different color. Think about it. Everything takes getting used to but you can adapt not having that extra space. Good looks and everything good comes with a price. Good luck!

My experience is that dark gloomy areas need a strong saturated color. You have to have the lights on when you use this room and artificial light murders lights and whites, so why not do a deeper color? I would paint everything, trim, walls one color so the room is not broken up by distracting trim. Relying on my monitor to make this S.W. suggestion, because this shade of green looks like a good backdrop for you darker sofas and rug. Don’t you rely on my monitor, though…the green/blue in the rug.