Color Style Guide: Red Basement Design Ideas

There are 3 things you need to think about when creating a red basement design. They are, 1) what shade of red to go with, 2) how much red to use, and 3) how do you create a balance of red pieces in the basement space.

What Shade of Red?

Do you want a more relaxing, cozy, and almost romantic feeling basement? Then go with a dark shade of red. Or do you want a bight, spacious feeling basement? Then go with a light red color.

The shade of red you use to decorate your basement space will really play a big part in how the space feels. Just take a look at the difference in the basements in pictures (1) and (4).

A Palette Guide to Basement Paint Colors

How Much Red?

The second questions you’ll need to ask yourself when designing your basement is “how much red”. Do you want to have all of your walls painted in red. Or how about painting the walls white (or grey like the basements in pictures (2 and 3)) and decorating the space with red accent pieces.

Another option is to have red basement walls, but then find ways to break up the red surfaces. Adding wainscoting is one way of doing this (The Finishing Touch: Wainscoting Ideas and Designs). Hanging a different colored curtain, or hanging up a gallery wall are some other ways to liven up red walls.

Creating Balance: Red Decor Pieces

So not everything in the basement needs to be red. You could create a red and grey basement combination. Red and white, or red and black are some other good combinations. Here are some ideas on how to add a pop of red into a basement design:

Through area rugs
Maybe the couch doesn’t need to be red, but the pillows and a throw blanket can be
The coffee table can be decorated with a red tray to group together clutter items
Hang up a red piece of artwork in a black frame. Or hang up black and white artwork but in a red frame
If you go with white/grey/black walls, then red curtains would work
Any light fixtures you have could be red
Repaint any cabinet doors, or the media console red

Here are some other basement posts for more ideas:

image credits 1/2/3/4