Bedroom Renovation: How to Update a Dingy Basement Room into a Stylish Suite

When we moved into our new “old” house we definitely sacrificed having a nice master bedroom. In our previous townhome, I loved our master bedroom. It was spacious, had an ensuite, large windows, and was painted a calming sage green. Unfortunately, the living space in the townhome was long and narrow and just a little too tight for our family of four. So, when we moved into our detached home, we improved our living space but ended up with a long narrow master bedroom. How ironic! 

So, when we went to renovate our basement, we decided to move our master bedroom downstairs next to the new bathroom we were planning to build. This allowed for a home office for my husband upstairs with more natural light, and a comfortable guest bedroom. 

Moving our master downstairs was a big undertaking. The room was being used as my husband's office, was painted a dark green, and lacked lighting, comfort, and character. This bedroom renovation was a big undertaking!

It had a single closet with minimal storage space. So, my brainstorming began. How would we make this space warm, welcoming, and ours? 

We decided on punching out the closet wall (which took a small space away from the play room on the opposite side) to build a double closet. The next idea that came to me was putting shiplap in as a feature wall with a wooden mantle to tie it all together. My MIL had a great idea to further the shiplap to the ceiling. We also added in 4 pot lights. The improvement is huge! 

open wall with new framing

newly framed double closet in basement bedroom

bedoom with shiplap on ceiling and wall under construction

shiplap feature wall with open drywall shelf

Paint : 

• Feature wall- Gray Wisp Benjamin Moore

• Shiplap- Benjamin Moore White Dove- satin finish

  
  

Tips: 

• Pot lights are key for a basement bedroom - we had four installed

  • The pot lights have dimmers, and the room now feels bright and airy

• Carpet for a basement bedroom keeps things cozy; our old house runs cold in the basement so putting in carpets keeps it warmer. 

The far wall of the room had a built in ledge from the foundation so we had to get creative with the wall. This created a natural wall for shiplap coming from the ceiling down half of the wall. My husband's uncle is our contractor, and he cut the large piece of wood for the mantle. 

How we accomplished the renovation: 

1. Wall was rebuilt to accommodate new double closet 

2. Drywall removed from ledge to accommodate future mantle 

3. 4 pot lights installed in ceiling 

4. Shiplap (unpainted) installed on ceiling and half wall 

5. I painted the shiplap (required two coats) 

6. After painting the shiplap, I painted the rest of the room- 2 walls white dove Benjamin Moore (eggshell finished) and Benjamin Moore Gray Wisp 

7. I stained the mantle (another post/ video to follow) 

8. My husband and I installed the mantle using wood glue 

   
   
   
   
   
   
   

   

   

   

   
   
   

I am so happy with how this renovation came together. We now have a bedroom that feels coastal and cozy. The shiplap reflects our own personal style and feels farmhouse chic but not too overdone. 

I am happy to answer any questions you have. 

Thanks for reading :)