We started a major house renovation last fall. Part of that project allowed us to gain interior access to our old, original basement (our house was originally built in 1896!). Prior to the renovation, we only had access to it from the outside. That wasn’t very convenient.
Now that we’ve created access from the inside of our house, we decided the old basement was in need of a serious update. It was dark, damp, dirty, and dusty from years of neglect. It was time to spruce it up!
The basement is sectioned off into three different rooms (as you’ll see below) and provides us with 480 additional square feet of dedicated storage space! We’ve never had that luxury before. It would have been silly to let this area continue to go to waste, especially since we’re in the midst of updating nearly everything else on this end of the house anyway!
Why not just add one more task to the never ending to-do list, right?!
Step one – Clear Out the Space
Our first task was to clear out the entire space.
There were items left from multiple owners before us, and we had our fair share of stuff to go through, too.
I’m in the middle of a 1,000 Item Declutter Challenge, so this was a great opportunity to get rid of a few hundred items that were literally taking up space. 💪🏼
Step Two – Clean, Clean, Clean
Once we got all of the stuff (also read: crap) cleared out, we then gave the entire space a good cleaning. We swept, vacuumed, dusted, and pressure-washed nearly every surface.
It is crazy what a difference a good cleaning makes. We even unearthed another floor drain that had been buried in dirt and dust over the years!
One tip I have for doing a project like this is to not skimp on this prep work. Making sure surfaces are clean and free of debris will allow your paint to adhere better and more efficiently, and the finished product will be much better looking.
I know it’s hard to focus on the not-so-fun stuff, but it’s worth it to spend some extra time in this phase. Get in all the nooks and crannies. Pay attention to detail. You’ll thank yourself later, I promise. 😊
Step three – Prime and paint
Next, it was time for a fresh coat of paint to really brighten things up and give all of the walls and ceilings a crisp, cohesive look. I bet you’ll never guess what color we went with to achieve this… Oh, man… you guessed it! White on white on white!
We did two coats of primer and one coat of white paint. Because the entire space was cleared out and we were going to be painting nearly every surface, we decided to use a paint sprayer for this project. It was a game-changer!
We were fortunate enough to borrow one from my in-laws, but I’d definitely recommend getting ahold of one for a project like this. It is much quicker and more efficient! I’m pretty sure hardware stores or Home Depot/Menards/Lowe’s have them available to rent.
My original plan was to cover the ceilings completely with paint. But as I got going, I really liked the look of the distressed/worn ceiling that wasn’t completely covered. I love the texture and the touch of warmth this gives the space. It’s kind of got a coastal/vintage vibe, and I dig it (even if it is just an old storage basement)!
Fresh Paint – What a difference!
We were thrilled with how much of a difference fresh paint makes in a space! While this is just going to be dedicated storage space for us (not real exciting), I am super excited to have a clean, bright, and updated space to organize all of our things!
Before and Afters
And just for kicks and giggles, let’s take a look at the before and afters of each space so far. Who doesn’t love a good before and after?!
COAL ROOM:
OPEN AREA:
THIRD ROOM:
That does it for the first phase of our Old Basement Refresh. Go read this post to see what we did in Phase Two! I’ll give you a hint…what a treat, beneath our feet…
If you’re interested in Phase 2 of our Old Basement Refresh, click here!
To the Chaos!
Thanks so much for sharing your tips! We are having some water damage restoration done in our home & I want to make a few design changes with our basement when we do! Totally using this as inspo!
Jackie, thanks for reading and commenting! Glad this gave you some inspo for your projects!
What kind of paint and primer did you use?
Hello! I believe it was Kilz primer. Not sure on paint…we likely didn’t buy the best because it’s a basement.
My basement looks nearly identical to yours (in regards to the condition as an unfinished old basement) but we also have some foundation issues to address. I’m so curious to follow along. I could use some help as we prepare to tackle ours.
Hi Stephanie! Thanks for reading. There are a couple of posts on our basement that you can check out. It was a great project, but definitely a lot of work.
How do I access Phase Two??
Hi Donna, thanks for reading! You can search for Phase 2 on the blog. This is a great reminder that I should link that post in this post for readers. Thank you!
Just read your great post on Pinterest. I am looking at the same project. Mine was a little more complicated as I had an artesian spring open up under the floor over the last ten years that caused the floor temp to stay at 49 degrees . The water temp was 44 degrees underneath . I had to dig an 85 foot drain 6 ft deep by hand from the foundation and down a hill with all the piping and landscape fabric, crushed stone, and sand fill involved. Now I have a rushing stream that will never go away, and the temp of the floor almost instantly raised to 68. Now I don’t have the instant condensation on every surface in the basement. So now I am at your stage and want to spray paint the ceiling and walls. I wanted to know what primer you used to prevent moisture getting into the wood and on the basement walls. And even what type of paint? Any info can make a big difference now that I am finally at this stage. Thanks for your info again.
Lon
Im wanting to paint my unfinished basement like this, but did you have issues with the smell of the paint throughout the whole house? Im kinda nervous to do it, because when my husband did a small paint job in our kitchen it lasted hours!! Plus I have 4 little toddlers and dont want them breathing it all in 🙁 Sigh.
I would recommend making sure you have good ventilation in the area. Thanks for reading!
I want to pressure wash my basement but how do you get the water out? Do you shop vac while spraying?
Hi Raelynn, this is great question. We actually had a couple floor drains (that worked thankfully) that we sent the water into. Otherwise, yes, you’d need to pump it out somehow. Good luck!
I have an old coal storage room but mine has a dirt floor any ideas
Hi Wanda, thanks for reading. I’m not sure what you’d need to do there. You may need to pour concrete first? Then you could epoxy? Good luck!
Your basement is exactly what mine looks like and I was wondering how it would look if I painted my ceiling white. Thank you for the sample. I also want to look into having my basement floor epoxy. I’m 62 years old I can no longer get it done by myself. I will be hiring someone to paint it for me 😊
It is well worth the money to have this big project done! Ours still looks fantastic and the white really brightens up the whole space! You’ll love an epoxy floor!
I so wanta redo my basement but i dont know how many coats of promere ill need and if i should brush or roll it
Its raw brick too
Hi Rudolph, Thanks for stopping by. I would definitely read the instructions for whichever primer you use. That should give you the best results.