Choosing Paint Colours for our Basement Renovation – Week 4 of the One Room Challenge

Welcome to week 4 of the One Room Challenge! My overall plan is to transform a portion of our unfinished basement into a yoga, meditation, and exercise room. This project is part of our larger basement finishing project, but this is the first space we will be finishing. The other rooms are being completed at the same time, but are not featured in the One Room Challenge since the challenge is limited to just one room. This week, I chose the paint colours and primed and painted the entire space. I hope you will enjoy reading this post, Choosing Paint Colours for our Basement Renovation and seeing how the paint looks in the space.

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Summary of the Project to Date

In week 1, I shared our plan for the project, including before photos, an inspiration/mood board, and a work plan.

For week 2, I shared our experience with framing an unfinished basement and all the other work required to really get the ball rolling for this project.

For week 3, I shared our best basement drywalling tips and tricks. The space really started to take shape at this point.

Choosing Paint Colours for our Basement Renovation

One of the things I’ve been looking forward to the most (other than finishing) is choosing paint colours for our basement renovation. I want the space to be bright and airy, with pops of colour for the decor accessories rather than for the paint colour. I knew I wanted a white paint colour, and preferably a warm white neither cold nor too yellow-, orange-, or pink-looking. So I narrowed my search down to three whites by Benjamin Moore: OC-17 White Dove, OC-130 Cloud White, and OC-117 Simply White. I purchased inexpensive sample pots of each and proceeded to paint large swatches on the walls. I painted swatches in three different places and observed the painted surfaces at different times of the day to determine which colour I liked most.

At most times of the day, Simply White appeared too stark. White Dove appeared too dark for the bright, open look I was hoping to create. Cloud White looked warm and inviting and bright. I actually did go back and forth between Simply White and Cloud White, but opted for the latter in the end.

Purchasing the Primer, Paint, and Painting Supplies

I purchased primer, ceiling paint, wall paint, and trim paint from Benjamin Moore. For the primer, I chose the Benjamin Moore Drywall Primer which is ideal for drywall surfaces that have never been painted. Sadly, this paint isn’t tintable.

The ceiling paint I chose is the Muresco ceiling paint by Benjamin Moore. This line of paint is also not tintable but comes in a pleasing clean white “Ceiling White” colour.

For the walls, I chose the Regal Select Line by Benjamin Moore in a matte finish for the Cloud White. Matte is good for disguising any minor imperfections! Finally, for the trim, I chose Benjamin Moore Regal Select in Chantilly Lace (OC-65) in a semi-gloss finish.

Preparing and Priming the Walls and Ceilings

I think the easiest coat of paint was the primer coat since I didn’t have to worry about the distinction between walls and ceilings. This went rather quickly. For the ease of painting the ceiling, I removed some of the ceiling pot lights and let the rest hang down so that I could roll the ceiling mostly unobstructed.

Even though the ceilings are fairly low in the basement, a roller with pole attachment was very useful.

Painting the Ceilings

After the primer was dry, I applied two coats of ceiling paint on two successive days. I took frequent breaks to spare my neck and shoulders too much discomfort.

When we drywalled the basement we left a couple of cutouts in the drywalled ceiling to allow for access to shutoff valves. Holes were also left for venting.

We purchased these handy springfit access panels from Home Depot.

They blend very nicely into the ceiling and give us the required access.

It was quite rewarding to finish installing the pot lights and put the vent cover on.

Painting the Walls

After priming the walls it’s often a good idea to go over the walls with a light sanding as fibres from the drywall can become raised after priming. After the light sanding, I wiped down all the walls with a damp cloth to remove any particles and dust.

I painted all the walls in the basement except for the large wall with the window. I will be applying a beautiful wallpaper feature wall here after the flooring is installed.

Two coats were enough for full coverage. Note again that the window wall was only primed and not painted since it will be wallpapered soon.

I adore the creamy whiteness of this paint colour and I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Work Plan for this Coming Week

While I want to start installing the LVP flooring as soon as possible, I know I have a few other jobs to complete. Before installing the flooring I need to remove everything from the floor in the yoga room and the adjoining family room. One of the things on the floor is two massive sheets of cement board that will be applied to the new gas fireplace in the family room. My husband and I need to cut and attach these boards to the fireplace to free up the floor for the flooring installation.

The window jamb extensions also need to be constructed and installed in the windows. I’m not sure if I’m going to try to do this before or after installing the floors. It’s a job I’m not looking forward to!

I’d like to at least get started on the flooring installation this week. But first I need to pick up a floor install kit and do a little more research into LVP installation. It will be our first time installing flooring of any kind! This image shows the flooring sample and the baseboard trim sample I might be using.

Summary

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post, Choosing Paint Colours for our Basement Renovation. This week was immensely satisfying and fun but I also started feeling the pressure as we are now at the halfway point of the challenge. The big reveal will be November 15, just four weeks from now. There’s so much to accomplish in a short period, but I’m feeling confident that it can be done. In the meantime, please check out the posts by the other participants here. And here is the link to week 5 of the challenge.