There is a negative image associated with home basements as they are often used as storage rooms with inadequate lighting and damp walls. However, today marks the time that we reinvent our ideas of how basements should look like.
If you have the time and funds, perhaps you should take on a basement remodeling project. This will make good use of your home’s total space, and you can even use this room for various purposes. In upgrading your basement, this article will teach you how to do that in an eco-friendly way.
Eco-Friendly Ideas in Renovating Your Basement
No matter what you plan to do with your basement, you must incorporate eco-friendly methods to upgrade it. Doing so will help lessen your electricity bill, and you can guarantee that you’re living a greener life. Below are some ideas on how you can do that.
Insulation
One of the most common reasons your basement is not used for purposes other than storage is that it’s often freezing. Your home’s indoor heating system doesn’t always reach this area, and the moisture in the air contributes to the extremely low temperatures. You can prevent this from happening using wool, recycled plastic, or any other eco-friendly material as insulation. This means that you wouldn’t need a heating system for your basement because the insulation is more than enough to keep the place warm.
Flooring Update
Some floor types work well on the higher levels of your home, while other flooring types are great below the ground. Consulting experts in basement remodeling will help you understand which flooring type you can use for your basement. When you update your flooring, make sure that you also use eco-friendly materials such as natural stone, cement, or recycled rubber. If these materials cause the room temperature to drop, use a few rugs to retain the heat.
Paint
The most effective and probably the cheapest way to give your basement a new look is by repainting it. This gives the room an entirely different visual appearance and atmosphere. You may not even be able to tell that it used to be a basement. Remember to refrain from using paints that use VOC or volatile organic compounds as these can exude a toxic smell that can be harmful when inhaled.
Rearrange Your Items
Don’t worry. You don’t have to shell out your big bucks when redesigning your basement. Buying new furniture pieces is impractical, especially if the basement is already filled with many unused items. All you have to do is to rearrange them to make plenty of space for movement. Take a look around your basement and determine the pieces of equipment that might still be used for decoration purposes. Some of these may even be functional. Using these items is more than enough to update your otherwise cold and damp basement.
Use Plants
One of the best ways to turn your dead basement into a lively room is to add some life into it, literally. Identifying the types of plants that thrive in the basement is essential in turning this room into an eco-friendly one. Plants help reduce the moisture in the air, and they can also make the room generally livelier and healthier because they tend to purify the air around them.
Energy-Efficient Appliance
If you want to take it a step further and use the basement as a function room for plenty of purposes, you’re going to need appliances down there. However, you need to make sure that these appliances are energy-efficient. Otherwise, you’ll only be adding devices that consume too much electricity. Using LED lights instead of bulbs and choosing the appliances equipped with the latest technology are just examples of how you can make your basement eco-friendly.
Vapor Barriers
Another installation that can help in turning your basement into an eco-friendly room are vapor barriers. Keep in mind that air doesn’t reach your basement as effectively as the other rooms upstairs, which leads to poor air circulation. Using and knowing how to install vapor barriers is essential in improving the air quality in the room. This installation will also aid in providing the basement with insulation.
You purchased your house for its entirety, and not making good use of every possible space is equal to wasted money. If you need space for various occasions, you may want to reconsider your options to include the basement. Remodeling this part of your house is not as hard as it may seem, and doing so is also cost-efficient. Just make sure that you use eco-friendly materials to get your money’s worth.
