Decorating A Basement Family Room

I wanted to share a few decorating ideas for a basement family room with you. I know you've seen it before, but we recently moved the furniture around. The kids needed more room to play the Wii, they were banging into each other. Many of you know we live in a typical split level house. You walk in the door to a main level with the kitchen,living room and dining area, and then go six steps up to the bedrooms, or 6 steps down to the sub-level, which has a bathroom, laundry room and a living area. That sub-level has our main family room.You can see it before we just changed it up here.

decorating ideas for a basement family room

One of the complements I have always received is when people are downstairs and say it doesn't feel like a sub-level or a basement.For us, it's it's 12 x 13 as nice space for the kids, and a main part of our daily living, so I strive to make it as cozy as possible.

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make with sub-level spaces, is they think because it's a downstairs, it's not as important as the upstairs. But, if you spend most of your time there, it's even more important!

Make your basement family room cozy and welcoming

I added a flokati throw to our vintage chair and Target foot stool to add some texture. Our extra blankets and throws are in the big basket to the right. It's perfect for grabbing one and snuggling up on the couch.

I also like to use full length curtains instead of those little chopped off cafe style curtains. I think it makes the space feel more luxurious and more like a real living area.

Add plants to a basment family room for greenery

We have a foundation ledge that goes around the room. To make the best use, I have family photos and plants in the windows; it's nice to add a bit of greenery to add some life.

curtains and vintage sign, ways to make a basement family room more cozy and personable

I love this vintage sign I found in Michigan. The curtains are from World Market. I love how the bright pattern really warms up the space.

Curtain hack for basements with a ledge

I wanted to share our curtain hack with you. Because of the ledge,I needed a curtain wall bracket that stuck out at least 6-8 inches. I could not find one reasonably priced, so I found cast iron plant hangers and used those. Since they have an open hook end, I just found a curtain rod that had a finial that had a groove that would sit on the bracket without sliding.

Curtain rod hack for basements

We have no problems opening and closing the drapery. Even if you have those up high traditional basement windows, add full length curtains. Even closed they make the space feel more complete.

Basement family room

The other trick, which you can use anywhere is for your furniture and curtains

(The polar bear pillow is in my Society 6 shop btw!).

I have a small block of 7-inch lumber behind each of my couch legs to keep them from sliding backward. This makes some space behind the couches and against the wall to allow my drapes to hang freely.

Cozy basement family room

In the other corner of the room are our two couches. A right-hand sectional will be one of the next items on our shopping list, but for now we just make do with the two couches for seating. It makes for cozy family time. 🙂

The other trick is to add lots of light by adding glass! My husband calls our house the "house of mirrors".

Cozy basement family room use mirrors to reflect light