20 Basement Paint Color Ideas

Brighten, heighten and highlight your basement walls with these flattering paint colors.

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October 29, 2020

By: Maria Conti

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Polar White

Not all white paint is created equal. It’s important to select a shade that works with you rather than against you in pursuit of brightening your basement walls. Our advice for achieving an ultra-bright basement like the one pictured here by Caroline Kopp? Skip the creamy or yellow-toned whites because they tend to look dingy in sun-starved environments and stick to paints with neutral-to-cool undertones, instead. Recreate Kopp’s vivid white design with a few coats of Extra-White by Sherwin-Williams on your basement walls and add a kick of contrast with a moody hue like Pantone PMS 5395-CP on built-in shelving units or accent furnishings.

From: Caroline Kopp

Striking Cyan

Energize your basement bedroom or lounge with a lively pop of color. Interior designer Lucy Penfield uses a bold cyan-blue to create a distinction between the sleeping quarters and the rest of the space in this open floorplan basement. The vibrant hue draws attention to the custom, floor-to-ceiling bookcase and the inviting Murphy bed. Use Pantone’s 2161-C to create a similar statement in your basement.

See More Photos: 30 Stylish Murphy Beds That Are Smart, Space-Saving Additions

From: Lucy Penfield

Soft Gray

Airy gray paints are designer favorites because they brighten spaces without creating a stark or sterile feeling in the room. The soft-gray hue featured in this basement playroom brings dimension to the design and reflects natural sunlight into the room with ease. Achieve the same, fresh look in your basement with Magnolia Home’s Wedding Band JG-12.

Crisp Contrast

Bring a crisp definition to your basement using high-contrast hues. Here, Thurman Design Studio uses a classic black-and-white color palette to emphasize the expansive bar wall and create clean lines throughout the open-floorplan space. Get the same striking results with Snowbound and Tricorn Black paint by Sherwin-Williams.

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From: Thurman Design Studio

Earthy Olive

Designer Tiffany Brooks wraps the walls and ceiling with a lush olive hue in this contemporary basement lounge. The earthy tone provides a bold backdrop to neutral furnishings, a collection of leafy houseplants and several striking ivory accents scattered throughout. Make Brooks’ walls your muse and paint your basement with Garden Spot by Sherwin Williams for an equally sumptuous end design.

See More of This Room: Basement Game Room Pictures From HGTV Smart Home 2020

From: Tiffany Brooks

Flat White Foam

Wrap your basement in brightness and warmth with a few coats of creamy-latte paint. Take notes from this luxury basement lounge from C.J. Light Associates and pair soft-beige tones with cozy neutral finishes like cognac leather accents, espresso wood floors and ivory furnishings. Get the same sweet shade as the designer grasscloth wall coverings pictured here for a fraction of the price with the paint Dulce de Leche by Benjamin Moore.

From: C.J. Light Associates

Airy Lavender

The design masterminds at D2 Interieurs use a barely-there lavender hue to create an understated backdrop for the lively sofa and artwork in this basement media room. The whispery purple color washes the space with brightness without appearing sterile and adds a layer of interest to the design without detracting from the focal piece of the room. Pick up a can of Benjamin Moore's Heaven to dupe this dreamy color on your basement walls.

From: D2 Interieurs

Fresh Celery

Inspiration is easy to come by in this vibrant-green basement craft room. The designers at Duet Design Group coated the walls in a fresh celery hue in a light-reflective satin finish. The leafy color continues overhead with a white-and-green trellis wallpaper, while a kicky fuchsia chair provides a punch of pink to the workstation at the center of the room. Pick up Parakeet by Sherwin-Williams to go green in your basement craft room or office space.

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From: Duet Design Group

Blackened Blue

Exposed beams and ductwork sporting an inky, blackened-blue paint creates an unexpected edge against the pearly walls in this polished basement. Using a moody hue on your basement ceiling like Black Swan by Sherwin-Williams will yield a feeling of coziness and intimacy that’s difficult to come by in open-floorplan designs. Stick to white walls for a high-contrast look or extend the dark paint down the walls for a private, jewel-box effect.

See More of This Home: Basement Rec Room Pictures From HGTV Smart Home 2014

Inviting Ivory

The creamy walls in this contemporary basement receive ample sunlight from the windows in the staircase making for a bright entry to the lowest level of the home. Pick up the shade Greek Villa by Sherwin-Williams to create the same bright-yet-cozy look in your sun-drenched basement.

See More of This Home: HGTV Smart Home 2023

From: Tiffany Brooks

Moody Indigo

Even pint-sized basements can pull off a dramatic color in small doses. This open-floorplan basement demonstrates how thoughtful color placement can pack panache into the design without visually shrinking the space. A saturated-indigo color coats the built-in bar cabinets, the walls and doors as well as highlighting the vertical surfaces in the tray ceiling. The rest of the ceiling and the bar are a snowy-white hue that balance out the deep indigo tones and the room's rich wood finishes. Paint your basement bar or doors with a few coats of Majestic Purple by Sherwin Williams to create a similar design at home.

Red Hot

Take cues from the designers at Skout and wake up your white basement walls with a splash of red. A fiery red hue is a failproof tool for highlighting architectural details in space or creating lively statements similar to “amigos” pictured above. Copy the classic tone showcased in this design with Lyons Red by Benjamin Moore.

From: sKout

Orange Slice

Playful pumpkin-orange stripes infuse energy and personality into this basement gym. The fiery color pops against a clean, white backdrop and the graphic diagonal motif visually expands and heightens the room. Wield vertical or diagonal stripes like these to enhance the height of your basement walls and create the illusion of a larger space. Head to your local Sherwin-Williams store to pick up a pail of Robust Orange and Extra-White to get started.

See More Photos: 30+ Ways to Make a Home Gym in Any Space

Black Magic

Modern, satin black paint coats the ceiling and surrounds the window in this basement rec room and bar. The inky accent enhances the icy walls for a streamlined appeal and pairs well with the surrounding, rustic-industrial accents. Copy the clean look in your basement at home by painting your window trim, door frames and ceiling in Black Magic by Sherwin-Williams. Pro tip: The more matte your black paint finish is, the darker it will appear once fully dry.

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Restful Greige

Set the tone for unmatched relaxation with soft greige paint on the walls and ceiling. The subdued shade creates a cocoon-like effect within the space without feeling claustrophobic or cave-like. Pair the smoky neutral with buttery-soft fabrics in gray, beige and charcoal tones to maintain the moody softness throughout the space. Copy the wall color featured here with Library Pewter by Sherwin-Williams.

See More Photos: 82 Beautiful Finished Basement Ideas and Designs

From: Hilton & Hyland and Luxury Portfolio International®

Earthy Green + Marigold

Working from home has never looked as inviting as it does here. This modern basement office space boasts a splashy marigold accent wall and a floor-to-ceiling sage green bookcase that wraps around a reclaimed desk at the center of the room. Translate this rich color palette onto your basement walls with Nurture Green and Honey Bees paint by Sherwin-Williams.

Midnight Blue

This basement bar serves up double the drama with midnight-blue walls surrounding a mirror-like black tile backsplash. Glass shelves and matte-black hardware add to the moody appeal while snowy quartz countertops freshen the vignette with striking contrast. Dial-up the drama downstairs in your home by wrapping the walls in a blanket of the nighttime navy hue, Pantone PMS 533-C.

From: Zoe Feldman Design

Teal + Seal

A mid-tone teal and deep-bronze paint join forces to elevate this contemporary walk-out basement. The warm, blue-green tone provides a bold backdrop for the crisp-white staircase stringers and a textured, dark-chocolate wall disguises the wall-mounted television across the room. Incorporate the same dreamy color palette in your basement with Inked by Behr and Sealskin by Sherwin-Williams.

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Kicky Cobalt

Kick your basement walls into high gear with this electric cobalt-blue hue. Designer Brian Patrick Flynn pairs vivacious cobalt with an equally demanding red hue to pack youthful energy into this basement vignette. The captivating color combo makes for a striking statement wall because the enriched primary tones balance subdued industrial elements like concrete floors, exposed ductwork and metal beams. Pick up a pail of Pantone 2726-C paint to saturate your walls with style this weekend.

See More Photos: 10 Ways to Decorate With Cobalt Blue

From: Brian Patrick Flynn

Purple Haze

Basement gym or luxury hotel exercise room? Hard to say. The smoky purple walls add a layer of mystery and elegance to this workout space by interior designer Tiffany Brooks. Chalky concrete floors balance the moody plum tone underfoot while aqua accent stools and a kicky, graphic-stripe rug infuses playful energy into the design. Embolden your basement exercise room wall with the same shade using Sherwin Williams' Stunning Shade.

From: Tiffany Brooks

20 Basement Paint Color Ideas

Related To:

Shop This Look

Polar White

Striking Cyan

Soft Gray

Crisp Contrast

Earthy Olive

Flat White Foam

Airy Lavender

Fresh Celery

Blackened Blue

Inviting Ivory

Moody Indigo

Red Hot

Orange Slice

Black Magic

Restful Greige

Earthy Green + Marigold

Midnight Blue

Teal + Seal

Kicky Cobalt

Purple Haze

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