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Use these basement bedroom ideas to add warmth and function to your guest room. Includes guest room bed ideas, a wall treatment, and more.
Easy Basement Bedroom Inspiration
Welcome to our continuing Evolution series…today we are featuring guest bedrooms. Get ready for plenty of amazing befores + afters! When we moved into the Sugar Maple house, the basement space was finished with a bedroom, full bathroom, living space, and wet bar area. The living space was the entire length of the basement, so after a few months, the remodeling began when we added a wall to make a second bedroom. The room I’m featuring today is the bedroom that was already there.
The images above and below are of the view from the doorway before any updates, other than painting, were added. The first thing you saw when entering the room was a huge blank wall. The day we moved in, the bed was placed to the right of the doorway, and there it stayed for months! I knew the bed had to be reoriented, but I also knew something had to be done about that massive wall.
Basement bedroom paint colors
- Walls are Sherwin Williams Modern Gray in a satin finish. (Not really gray…more of a greige.)
- Trim and beadboard are Sherwin Williams Snowbound in semi-gloss.
No new furniture was purchased. Everything in the new basement bedroom was from the house on Sutton Place. This made it considerably easier to decide where to put most of my budget. I was able to concentrate on an accent wall and new bedding.
Things to consider when designing a basement bedroom:
Place the bed so it’s the focal point.
The general rule of thumb for bed placement in a bedroom is that it should be the first thing you see when entering the room. Granted, many times this is impossible. If you have that option, it’s always the safest choice. When we moved the bed to the large focal wall, the whole feeling of the room changed. That big, blank wall sort of shrunk, and the room immediately made sense. I knew immediately how to hang the artwork, and how to place the bedside tables.
Paint and/or install an accent wall.
Now that the bed was the focal point, I wanted a wall treatment that functioned as a backdrop for the bed, but I also wanted to break up the big expanse of the wall. I considered shiplap, but in the end, I chose basic beadboard with a generous header. It is a budget-friendly choice, and if you have access to free DIY skills, it can be done for hardly any money. As always, I paid for labor, but it was totally worth it.
Other wall treatment ideas are a faux brick wall, horizontal or vertical shiplap, board and batten, wallpaper and/or a chair rail, and picture frame molding. It’s also a good and economic idea to simply paint the focal wall an accent color.
Choose a decor color scheme of neutral colors that includes cream, white, and beige.
Basements are dark. Unless you have a walk-out basement with regular windows and doors, there is very little natural light. In order to make the room feel soft and bright, I chose a neutral color scheme. It’s restful and cozy at the same time, and I varied the tones and textures for added interest.
the sugar maple house
The Evolution Series
Another plus of a neutral color palette is that darker, richer colors stand out. For example, if there were darker colors throughout this room, the furniture would blend right in. Because of the neutral, lighter background, the furniture stands out.
Bedroom Style Tip
Even if you love color, a neutral color scheme
is still a good choice. Simply add pops of vibrant tones
with bedding, accessories or flowers.
Add coziness with bedside tables, lamps, durable and washable bedding, artwork, and storage space.
Above all else, guest rooms should be comfortable. That means making sure your guests have everything they need.
- Large bedside tables.
- Lamps for reading.
- Crisp sheets and pillowcases.
- A washable cotton or linen quilt. I had my heart set on a 100% linen quilt, but my budget didn’t quite stretch. I looked and looked, and finally found the perfect compromise. The quilt I chose is linen on one side, and cotton on the other. It’s also considerably less money that an all linen option. It washes up beautifully and is generously sized.
- Basements have a tendency to be cooler than the rest of the house, so make sure to provide one or two warm comforters.
- Accent pillows on a bed are so pretty…but it’s essential that you provide someplace to put them when it’s time for your guests to go to sleep. The closet in our basement bedroom is big, and the pillows stack nicely on a shelf.
- Artwork on the walls adds warmth to any space, and it makes a guest room feel cohesive and personal.
- A charging station or charging cords are a nice touch.
- And of course, fresh flowers are always perfect!
Other considerations.
- Before you begin, ask yourself this: “is there enough usable space?” If you are able to respond with a “yes,” without going over budget, then get started!
- Is privacy an issue? If you need to put up walls in order to designate a separate room, with a door, just make sure your budget will stretch.
- Is there an accessible bathroom?
- Make sure there is good ventilation and no dampness.
- High ceilings vs. low ceilings: both will work, but high ceilings make a basement seem less like a basement. (I hope that makes sense.) Our basement ceilings are 8 feet tall, and upon entering the space, it feels open and airy.
Downsizing + Moving Tips
Basement Bedroom Shop + Source
Click the links below to be taken directly to the product listing. Every effort has been made to provide sources for the items found in this post. Where actual items were no longer available, I’ve provided similar options. If an item is out of stock but may be restocked, I left it on the list.
linen and cotton quilt | pillow shams | knot pillow covers | ivory sheet set | dust ruffle | bedside table 1 | bedside table 2 | lumbar pillow 1 | lumbar pillow 2 | lumbar pillow 3 | distressed lamp | small wicker tray | wicker tissue box cover | artwork belonged to my grandmother
At the end of the day, the most important aspect of a guest bedroom is that it’s a comfortable place to share with your guests. Size doesn’t really matter, nor does presenting all new furniture + accessories. Use what you have, add a few new things, and design it to reflect your own personal style. I guarantee your guests will love it!
Now it’s time to take a look at what my friends are sharing!
Designthusiasm | How Our Guest Room Decor Has Evolved
StoneGable | The Evolution Of A Guest Room
Until next time…
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I had not noticed before that having a natural color on the walls would help the furniture stand out. What a great way to highlight some of my favorite pieces for the guest room. I also love the accent wall suggestion. I would go creme walls with a nice dark green accent wall I believe!
Lovely room. Can you tell me how much ‘drop’ there is on both sides of the quilt on the queen bed? I’m assuming you have both sides equal. I often find that the drop is not long enough for my bed even though the description is for queen size beds. And have you washed it? Sometimes sizing up to the king works and other times it’s too wide. Thank you.
Love the beautiful bedding.
What color did you paint the walls in the basement bedroom, featured this week ?
Thanks for the tips on a basement bedroom, I have 3 basement bedrooms to do!
Beautiful basement bedroom. Love the light color which looks inviting.
This guest room looks so cozy and inviting. Very pretty.
I love the bead board and all the beautiful natural colors. The dark wood of the bed frame is lovely too. Love the carpet………definitely does not look like a basement bedroom. Looks very elegant.
Thank you!
I am loving the neutral basement guest bedroom. It is so soothing and relaxing.
Taking a winters nap in that room sounds lovely!
Have a wonderful day!
I love the overall look of the bedroom – it is very welcoming and cozy and not dark where you never forget you are in a basement no matter how cute you decorate it.
Love the use of neutrals and texture in this guest room. Very welcoming!
Love all the basement bedroom ideas. The soft colors and tones are exactly what I have in mind for our space. Thanks for sharing your talent!
Lovely, I’ve just finished my basement with a bedroom and kitchenette, and will be adding the trim to a wall down there.
The focal wall treatment totally gave an upgraded look to your basement bedroom. Great job!
Hi Ann,
I love the rattan accessories and have decided to order them for our extra bedrooms! I prefer the finer weave of the rattan coordinated with the burlap color lamp shade!
I especially like the double trim pieces used for the chair rail. The room is so lovely!
We are in the process of collecting ideas to convert our basement to a bedroom for my daughter who is begging me for her own space!
Thank you for the inspiration!
My grandmother was an artist she always said every room should have a touch of yellow…be it a pillow, flower or art piece
I love the accent wall and the new position of the bed. I would like to know if this room had one of those short basement windows? If so, I’d love to see how you did the window..it’s so hard to add curtains or drapes to these windows!
That guest bedroom turned out just lovely. We don’t have a finished basement but we do have a guest bedroom on the second floor with a shared bathroom with the master bedroom. It’s sort of awkward but there’s isn’t much we can do. I simply adore you new house. Maybe it’s time for hubby and me to move. hmmmmmmm
On the bed skirt did you use the split corners or the pleated? I am not sure which would look the best on my twin beds. Thank you.
Hi Lee! Since our bed has a footboard, I got the split corner option. It works well and lays very nicely. Thank you!
Very pretty room, Ann. It is light yet cozy and doesn’t look like a basement room. Thanks for sharing.
This is beautiful–especially for a basement! Do you have a sump pump or a natural drain for your basement?
Hi Penny…yes, we actually have two sump pumps. It’s very dry and we run a dehumidifier in the summer. Thank you!
Your guest room looks so soft and pretty.Love all the bedding and the wall treatment which adds a lot of interest to the space making it cozy.
A basement room of any kind is hard to pull off as they are typically dark cold spaces. Your use of cool creamy shades of white with some added texture works very well. This room doesn’t look anything like a basement. Love that added tan checked bed skirt.
Great job Ann!
I always enjoy your blog
I love the way your bedroom turned out and would like to know the paint colors you used. Love the accent wall!
Hi Debbie! I’m sorry I forgot to include the paint colors! The paint is Sherwin Williams. The walls are Modern Gray (more of a greige) and the trim is Snowbound. I’ll add it to the post. Thanks!
What a beautiful guest room! I covet the artwork. I was so hoping you bought them and listed them in your sources. 😉.
Hi Molly…I found the prints in my grandmother’s attic after she passed away. That was 40 years ago and I love them today as much as the day I found them!
Where did you get the blue and white lamp -‘it is just what I have been looking for and cannot find.
Hi Emily…not sure what lamp you are referring to? There isn’t a blue and white lamp in this bedroom. Can you tell me where you saw it?
In our new home we will have a basement bedroom ( and 8 foot ceilings). Thank you for this post. It’s given me inspiration for that room and some very good ideas for our main floor guest room as well.
Both of these guest rooms are lovely, and so inviting. Wish I could talk my husband out of his huge dresser (that used to be his dad’s) so we could get one that fits the scale of the guest room better. Thank you for sharing these serene spaces.
Great idea with the headboard. The room looks nice and cozy and the bedding looks so comfortable. Great job!
Lovely room. We did the same thing with bead board in our downstairs and I loved you used your beautiful furniture from Sutton Place. Well done.