Basement Bedroom Color Ideas: A Sage Green Makeover
Want to refresh your basement bedroom? Get basement bedroom color ideas and affordable decor solutions from our latest room makeover.
See how the right paint color, some new bedding, and a DIY update can completely transform a tired bedroom in the basement.
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Sometimes a room just has to be flexible.
I’m looking at you, little corner bedroom in our basement.
You’ve seen lots of changes, and had quite the history, in your 15 years of life, and we’ve so appreciated your willingness to be flexible throughout the years!
Your original purpose was a homeschool room for our two boys.
You’ve been a home office, a craft room, a home-staging storage room, and an all-too-often dumping ground for all the things we needed to store out of site in a hurry.
You’ve been a bedroom, a music studio, and then a bedroom once again.
Your accommodating, adaptable, and non-demanding self has been so helpful throughout the years, and now it’s your time to shine!
The basement bedroom was most recently used as our sons music studio, but when Kyle moved to Nashville a couple of years ago, this room was turned back into a guest room. It was filled with a hodgepodge of leftover furniture from around the house, mis-matched bedding, and was long due for a fresh coat of paint.
When our older son, Zach, and his wife Sarah come into town bringing our sweet granddaughter, Eden, our finished basement provides a nice space for them to spread out and care for her.
All of our kids were in for a bridal shower a couple weekends ago, so we made it our goal to whip this bedroom into shape before they arrived!
So today, I’m sharing all the paint color and decorating choices we made to give this basement bedroom a fresh new look!
The Unique Challenges and Opportunities of a Basement Bedroom:
Basement rooms present their own sets of challenges as well as opportunities
A common problem in a dark basement bedroom is a lack of natural light. Pair this with low ceilings, and sometimes a bedroom could feel a little cavelike.
It’s not uncommon for a basement room to have very small windows, or sometimes no window at all.
To combat this problem of limited light, it’s important to add plenty of ambient light sources— table lamps and sconces can add a lot of warmth to a dimly lit space. You can read more about how to add warmth to a room with ambient light sources in this post.
Fortunately, our basement is a walkout basement, and our basement bedroom has large windows that provide a good amount of natural light
While a bedroom in the basement can present some challenges, it also provides a lot of opportunities. It’s a great choice for a guest bedroom particularly if you have guests who need a little extra living space separate from your main floor living room. A basement space provides guests an extra measure of privacy.
The typically cooler temperature of a basement provides an optimal environment for sleep. Our upstairs bedroom can get a little warm during the summer months, so our adult children enjoy the cooler basement for sleeping.
How to Choose the Perfect Color Scheme for a Basement Bedroom:
There are several important factors to consider when making color choices for your basement bedroom.
As with any room in your home, you need to consider the amount of light, the size of the space, as well as personal preferences when selecting colors for the room.
It’s not uncommon for basement bedrooms to lack natural light and feel a little dark, so using lighter colors on your walls can help the space feel brighter and a little more spacious.
However, sometimes a basement bedroom can be a great place to add a fun color, or to be a little more bold if that reflects your personal style.
If a room full of dark walls or bold color feels a little overwhelming to you, you can always add a darker color on an accent wall, such as the headboard wall of the room.
When selecting the color scheme for the space, it’s often helpful to start with a jumping off point. I like to choose a pretty fabric or a piece of artwork or an area rug with colors that inspire me when I’m designing a room, use this inspiration piece as the starting point to build your rooms color scheme around it.
You can also consider your basement bedroom an extension of the living space or basement family room area, and stick to a calming neutral color palette.
As you can see there are lots of options when it comes to choosing a color scheme for a basement bedroom. The main priority is to create a room that’s warm and inviting with a cozy atmosphere.
Our Basement Bedroom Color Scheme and Design Plan
I had in my mind that I wanted to incorporate shades of sage green into our bedroom. Our daughter-in-law, Sarah, is a fan of green, and she and our son are typically the ones who use this extra bedroom when they are in town.
One of my goals for this space was to use as many decor items we already owned. I made this pair of lumbar pillows several years ago in the this Chinoiserie print featuring shades of coral and green. It became the inspiration piece to build the color scheme for the room. I found a green and off-white comforter set at Target that worked well with the pillow.
For the green wall color, I pulled shades of green from the print in the pillow.
I debated whether I wanted to wrap the room in color, or create a accent wall on the wall of windows. I decided to feature a darker shade of sage green as an accent wall behind the headboard of the bed. Instead of painting white walls in the rest of the room, I chose a much lighter shade of sage green on the paint color strip for the other three walls.
The accent wall color is painted Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx (SW 9128) while the remaining walls are Sherwin-Williams Livable Green (SW 6176).
I kept the trim white. Benjamin Moore White Dove (OC-17) or Sherwin-Williams Pure White (SW 7005) are beautiful whites to pair with these shades of green.
Other Favorite Fresh Color Ideas for Basement Bedrooms
When choosing wall color for a guest bedrooms, whether in your basement or any other area of your home, you want to create an atmosphere that’s calming, inviting, and leaves your guests feeling refreshed.
I love to use shades of blue, green, or warm neutral tones to create an inviting bedroom space.
Calming Blues for Bedroom Walls
The color of sky and water can create a relaxing space for rest. A calming shade of blue is perfect for bedroom walls. Check out some of my favorite blue colors for your walls below.
Sherwin-Williams Lullaby (SW 9136) — This soft, serene shade of light blue with a subtle gray undertone is a lovely blue for bedroom wall. Our primary bedroom barrel ceiling is painted this pretty shade of blue.
Benjamin Moore Little Falls (1621) — Little Falls is a beautiful midtone gray blue that adds beautiful depth to your walls if you want a little more color. We used BM Little Falls on our dining room ceiling, and I absolutely love it.
Refreshing Green Paint Colors
A shade of sage green can provide a refreshing feeling in a bedroom.
Of course, in our basement bedroom, we’re using Sherwin-Williams Livable Green (SW 6176) and Sherwin-Williams Green Onyx (SW 9128), and they are both on the same SW color strip. They are beautiful shades of sage green, with a hint of yellow in them.
If you like a bit more grayed-down sage green, then SW Evergreen Fog (SW 9130) is a lovely midtone sage.
You can find even more sage green favorites in this post.
Warm Neutral Wall Colors for Bedrooms
Create a calm retreat for your guests with a warm neutral. A nice neutral paint color can be a great solution to create an inviting bedroom space in your basement, Some of my favorite neutral colors are below.
Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray (HC-173) — My favorite neutral, not too gray, not too beige. It’s such a pretty color.
Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige (SW 7036) — A lovely fresh neutral.
Find more favorite warm neutral paint colors in this post!
Keep the Basement Makeover Budget-Friendly with a DIY Headboard Makeover
Since my goal was to use as many existing furnishings and decor in our home that I could, I decided to makeover the queen headboard and footboard that was in the room.
I had previously painted this bed Annie Sloan Provence and used it in Caroline’s room when she was younger. The pretty blue was perfect for her room, but no longer worked for the guest bedroom. I painted over the Provence color with Annie Sloan Old White, a pretty soft off-white that would provide a beautiful neutral color for the bed.
Since I had previously painted and sealed the bed with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and wax, I was able to apply the new Annie Sloan Chalk Paint color directly over the previous wax finish without sanding.
The Before and After Bedroom Transformation
As I mentioned above, this basement bedroom has seen many transformations throughout the years we’ve been in this house. Most recently, the walls were painted Sherwin-Williams Passive, which is actually a very pretty warm classic gray paint color.
I love the pop of new green color on the walls now for a soft refreshing new look! Using the Chinoiserie patterned throw pillows as color inspiration, I added a soft coral quilt to the foot of the bed for an extra splash of color in the room.
We rearranged the room and positioned the bed directly under the windows to create a new focal point with the dark green paint color as a backsplash.
We’re fortunate to have nice large windows in this basement bedroom; however, I didn’t want them to feel like basement windows. Using ceiling-to-floor length drapery panels and positioning the bed directly under the windows is a great way to minimize the look of the short, high basement windows and created an illusion of full length windows on an upper floor.
I pulled in a couple of metal and glass nightstands to flank each side of the bed and added matching mercury glass table lamps. Both the lamps and the tables were pulled from other spaces in our home.
A basket tray and plant on one nightstand adds warmth and texture, while pretty new picture frames add more color to the opposite nightstand.
Our basement guest room is now a warm and inviting space for our kids when they come to visit!
I’m still on the lookout for a small dresser and mirror to add to the space along with some artwork, but for now it’s such a huge improvement over its previous hodgepodge state!
Shop the Look
Shop the links below to create this look in your own home.
Green and White Traditional Vine Comforter Set with 2 Shams
Woven Slub Green Throw Pillows
My Texas House Green and White Pillow with Tassels
Chinoiserie Pagoda Pillow (same fabric as mine, and several sizes available)
Garment-Washed Paisley Stitch Quilt in Vibrant Pink
As you can see transforming a basement bedroom into a cozy retreat for your guests doesn’t have to break the bank. The perfect paint colors, some simple DIY updates, and thoughtful budget-friendly decor choices are easy ways to breath new life into a tired space!
Our little basement bedroom now has a new fresh look and is ready to serve our family once again in style.
Thanks so much for stopping by and happy decorating!!
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