We’re doing a DIY basement update (on a very small budget). I worked with Dutch Boy® Paints to “Simplify the DIY” and painted our ceiling and walls over four days.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post – it’s been so fun working with Dutch Boy® Paints on this project and others. All opinions are 100% honest and my own. Thank you for your support!
Ready to see what we did for phase one? Let’s go!
First lemme show you all the before photos.
Our semi-finished basement was mainly used as sloppy storage and a home gym. The previous owner added walls to divide the space in half, and we always knew we’d tear them down.
As you can see, it was the one area of our home that was completely neglected. Oops!
Thankfully we do have a separate storage room in the basement that works perfectly for our needs, so this area can be used for living space once complete.
It was definitely time for an affordable DIY basement update!
To get the project started, Ted and I removed the divider walls on a Saturday afternoon. I was so happy to say goodbye to these non-load bearing walls!
It was so nice to slowly see the room start to open up! And once the walls were down we safely cleaned up the old, unused cables in the ceiling.
We were finally ready to start painting, so we headed to our local Menard’s home improvement retailer to pick up our paint!
The employee at the paint counter was super helpful in helping me decide what sheen/finish would work best for our space.
We decided on 3 gallons of Dutch Boy® Platinum® Plus Paint + Primer (in the color Cauldron 437-7DB – flat) for the ceiling.
It was time to head home and get to work on the ceiling part of our DIY basement update!
I stepped into my full body paint suit, watered down the ceiling paint to the sprayer specs, and mixed up the paint. Getting the product ready to use was super simple thanks to the Dutch Boy® Twist and Pour™ container.
Since we weren’t able to completely clear the basement due to all the large workout equipment, we decided to paint the ceiling in four sections. Using tarp and duct tape, we sectioned off each space.
I was so impressed with how smoothly the Dutch Boy® Platinum® Plus Paint + Primer sprayed onto the ceiling. The coverage was truly amazing!
The paint sprayer made this job so much easier and quicker than using a brush or roller.
It was Ted’s turn to tag in and paint the second section, which took him about 45 minutes.
The next day I got back in the suit and finished up the third and fourth sections.
Painting moved along much quicker the more I got used to the sprayer. I did the final half of the room in 45 minutes.
We have a sink and some giant wood doors in the basement that were too heavy and large to move, so I covered them with a tarp and continued painting.
I’ve been thinking about painting our basement walls black for awhile now. The inspiration photos below give you an idea of what I’m thinking for the final look.
I know it seems so dark (and maybe too daring) to do a black ceiling and walls, but with enough textures, ceiling lighting, lamps, and other lighting, I think the space could feel so cozy!
We will definitely be building our own DIY fireplace box too, which will hold an electric insert.
And we have an electrician friend coming in soon to remove the current fluorescent lighting and add in lots of new modern LED can lights. He’ll also clean up all the old electrical lines and move light switches.
I decided to go for it on painting the walls!
I headed back to Menard’s to pick up more Dutch Boy® Platinum® Plus Paint + Primer (in the color Cauldron 437-7DB – eggshell). I really love this color!
Using my paint sprayer, I painted all the walls, which only took me about an hour. I was, once again, very impressed with the smooth paint coverage!
And here’s how the walls look painted all black.
Reminder: The space will be sooo much brighter once we add lots more LED can lighting in phase two.
We’ll also be adding in some type of wall texture via bricks, wood slats, or similar, which hill help bounce the lights.
We’re still trying to decide on what type of flooring we’ll go with. Our current options are polished concrete or luxury vinyl wood flooring. Large area rugs will also help to warm up the space.
And lastly, we’ll be building a small DIY kitchen/bar and island area in the corner where our plumbing already exists.
The basement walls at the entrance/ storage room are this faux brick, which I decided to paint as well.
We won’t be doing anything to our storage room except for some organization after the basement project is over.
Our basement living area is pretty small (525 sq. ft.), so half of it will be living area and the other half will be home gym.
Once the paint dried I took some progress photos and started imagining what all we’ll do in phase two.
I’m very excited for the new ceiling LED can lights to get added! And I’ll start shopping for an affordable couch, chairs, rugs, and more soon.
What do you think of our phase one DIY basement update? I’m so excited to share phase two progress soon!
And as always, I’m so impressed with Dutch Boy® Paints, and I highly recommend for anyone looking to “Simplify the DIY”!
Did you catch my previous makeover with Dutch Boy® Paints? I elevated a former playroom and turned it into my walk-in closet room.
Oh, and we’ve also updated our dated wet bar and front door / foyer with Dutch Boy® Paints too. As you can see we’re big Dutch Boy® fans!
More about Dutch Boy® Paints
Founded in 1907, Dutch Boy® Paints is an industry leader in delivering innovative and high-quality products and packaging solutions and is one of the market’s most recognizable brands. The promise of Simple Solutions has shaped the brand, empowering and inspiring DIYers and paint enthusiasts with products, advice, how-tos, and inspiration that make painting and transforming spaces easier. Their paints are known for performance and unexpectedly affordable price.
Find Dutch Boy® at Menards®
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Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post – it’s been so fun working with Dutch Boy Paints on this project. All opinions are 100% honest and my own.
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