Before You Finish Your Basement…
One great thing about basements is the living space expansion – to add home theaters, exercise and hobby rooms, home office space and additional bedrooms – how you need it, when you need it. The options are varied – both in purpose and style — and can be added in stages or all at once.
In the meantime, an unfinished basement is great for storage, and even though the concrete floors and exposed joists may seem gray and dreary there’s much you can do with that big blank canvas to make it livable and even cozy. Here are a few ideas for making the space useful — both now and down the road!
Temporary Flooring
Bob Vila suggests that you don’t always have to install carpeting or flooring onto the poured concrete floor, especially if a room is destined to hold exercise and workout equipment. Foam floor mats do the trick and come in different sizes and colors and fit together like a puzzle.
And, check out these two-foot square carpet tiles from Home Depot off Washington Street and 164th Avenue in Thornton, about eight miles from Erie. With a sticky backing for basements, playrooms and indoor patios — carpet tiles are another cost-effective option. Area rugs will also warm things up in a basement and add visual interest to concrete floors. Amazon has a rug picker to browse, and Carpet Innovations in north Denver on W. 62nd Avenue carries an assortment of area rugs and carpet remnants.
Paint Works Wonders
Paint is the most inexpensive way to brighten, lighten and transform any space, and when applied to the floors and walls, what looked dark and dank, can be transformed into usable, livable space. (Be sure and apply concrete primer to the walls first!) Look at these before and after photos from The Weathered Fox for a night-and-day makeover.
And while a furnace is hard to beautify, it can be hidden behind a wall of curtains, or an interesting room divider.
Covering a basement ceiling with drywall can cost upwards of $4,000, so the bloggers at Bright Nest became fans of painting basement ceilings (pipes, joists and even air ducts) a dark color like charcoal gray to disguise all the stuff going on overhead. The one caution – doing this yourself is pretty labor intensive since a lot of the painting may need to be done by hand. A New View Painting in Erie, CO received rave online reviews and five stars from lots of customers. Call them at 303-905-0455 for a free consultation.
Compensate for Limited Lighting
Wise Bread has eight more ways to spruce up your basement including adding lighting, always an issue with below grade (subterranean) living space. Stringing lights is one option, as is adding more lamps and light fixtures. Pinterest has more ideas to think about when planning a basement finishing project, from cozy under-the-stairs reading nooks and hidden storage, to murphy beds, barn door room-dividers and adding reclaimed wood and shiplap.
Designing Your Signature Style
When you’re ready to finish out the added space, Finished Basement in Denver which regularly serves the Erie area, has a treasure-trove of ideas as well as design-build services. The company won the Best of Houzz 2017 for design and is a regular recipient of the Best in Biz awards. You can scroll through hundreds of photos by style category and price.
Speaking of price, to finish a basement can run between $20 to $40 per square foot, depending on materials used, plus electrical and electronic installations. According to Home Advisor, the average 2018 cost for basement finishing in Denver is $21,171, with a typical range between $12,655 and $31,083.
The Blank Canvasses of Colliers Hill!
Basements in Colliers Hill can be finished before or after you move in – your choice! The options are as inspiring and wide-ranging as the homeowners who live in this master-planned community in Erie. Explore the 12 spectacular models (and their beautiful basements!) from Meritage Homes, Shea Homes and Richmond American Homes, three of Colorado’s top home builders. Available in ranch or two-story designs, these desirable new homes are priced from the upper $300s to the $600s.
