When painting your basement, it is important to pick the right colour as the colour you choose will set the tone for the room as a whole. In this article, we will provide you with tips on choosing the best paint colours for your basement, as well as various basement colour ideas to help you create the look and atmosphere you want, whether modern, dynamic, relaxing, or bright.
Tips to Choose Basement Paint Colours
For additional tips on successfully painting your basement, check out our other blog post here.
Overview

Modern Basement Colour Ideas Decorating
If you need modern basement colour ideas for decorating your space, the combination of these two colours is an ideal choice to create a room that is both soft and edgy, giving it a contemporary look and feel:

Basement Paint Colours

Trying to decide on a paint colour for a basement with no natural light? The following colours are options that are perfect to help brighten your space or can be paired with other lighter colours to enhance your aesthetic, making your basement more comfortable and enjoyable to spend time in:
Best Basement Colours
White is an amazingly versatile option for any space. In a basement it does a great job of brightening the room and making it feel more welcoming. There are a wide variety of shades of white that you can choose from, but the following two are some of the overall best paint colours for a basement:

Warm Basement Colours

For a more inviting space, these warm basement colours are great options to paint the walls of your room, adding a lovely depth and coziness that, depending on what you use the space for, might otherwise be missing:
Popular Basement Paint Colours
These options are a couple of the most popular paint colours for a basement. Whether on their own or paired with other colours, they are excellent choices to help enhance your space, making it turn from a drab and dreary room to bright and cheerful:

How To Choose Basement Paint Colours

When choosing basement colours, it’s important to consider how much light, artificial or otherwise, is present in the space. Many basements have few windows or really small windows, making the space naturally dark. In this case, you’ll want to stick with lighter, neutral colours. Meanwhile, some basements are above grade or have walkouts and light isn’t an issue, so you’ll have more colours to choose from without making your space look too cramped.
To help you decide what colour to use, you should also think about how you’ll be using your newly renovated basement. Is it a place to hang out with friends and shoot some pool? Is it a relaxing hideaway for movie time at the end of a long day? This will help you determine an appropriate colour scheme.
Also, consider the surface type of your basement walls. If you’ve decided to leave some exposed brick or concrete as part of your basement’s aesthetic, you will need to buy special paint that you wouldn’t use on typical drywall. No matter what surface you’re painting on, consider buying paint with built-in waterproof properties to discourage the growth of mould and mildew.
Best Basement Wall Colours
If your basement lacks natural light, opt for bright greys, whites or light browns. Sticking with these hues will make your basement look bigger and brighter than it is.
But don’t take our word for it, if there are a few colours you love, it’s a good idea to purchase some sample sizes and test them out on different walls in your basement.
Observe them throughout the day to see how the colours look in different types of light.

Best Basement Colours For A Bright Space

If you happen to have a bright basement, it’s easy to have fun with your colour choices.
Using dark colours in shades of grey, blue or red can add a sense of fun and personality.
Again, these colours generally work best in basements with high ceilings and lots of natural light.
Hire The Pros!
Hopefully, these basement colour ideas will inspire your renovation, but the paint is just part of what could be a design overhaul for your new favourite space at home!
The renovation experts at Moose Basements can transform any basement into a comfy living room, rec room, movie theatre, workshop, man cave and more.
Contact the basement renovation pros at Moose Basements today for your free, no-obligation estimate.

FAQs
Most people tend to choose gray to paint their basement floor because it can go with a lot of other colours, and though it is a great colour, it is not always the best basement paint colour for your particular space. Ultimately, any colour you want will work, but if your basement is a media space, a dark neutral would work best; if it is a game room, choose a bright primary colour; and if it is a home gym, a pale neutral is the best option.
Overall, the best colour to paint basement walls is really whatever colour you want, but depending on how you use your basement, there are different colours that are better suited for it than others. Darker shades work well for media spaces, brighter primary colours work great for children’s spaces, and a pale neutral tends to work for anything which is why it is so often people’s top choice.
When painting concrete walls, white is oftentimes the most used colour and can be considered the best as it does a great job of brightening up the room a lot. Other brightening colour options include soft shades of gray or beige – you can even go with a greige if you feel so bold – as well as pale or pastel greens, blues, and yellows. You can also enhance the coziness of the room by going the opposite direction and choosing a darker colour like navy blue or chocolate brown.
The best neutral paint colour for basements is a light greige, a combination of gray and beige. While either gray or beige work well, greige is able to fit virtually any type of basement and is perfect for creating a relaxing atmosphere that fully envelops you when you enter the room.
This depends entirely on your basement and what you use it for. If your basement does not have a lot, or any, natural light, you should choose light paint colours, such as whites, neutrals, or pastels, to help make the space brighter. If your basement is a media space or a simple lounge area or bar, dark paint colours, like chocolate brown or deep red, make for a more intimate setting, creating a warmer ambience in the room.
White has traditionally been the best paint colour for the basement ceiling as it is extremely easy to match with other colours. It also brightens the room and can make it seem a lot more spacious. For some added drama and a more modern look, you could go the opposite way, though, and paint your ceiling black, which would also add more depth and comfort to the room.
For a basement with no natural light, lighter colours such as pale gray, muted green, or light blue are great options that will help the space look brighter. A cool white or off-white with yellow undertones are also wonderful choices for rooms with no natural light as they too possess a brightening effect and have the bonus of making spaces seem bigger than they actually are.
You certainly can paint your basement walls and ceiling the same colour, but you do not have to; it is really a personal preference. Painting the two the same colour is a faster and cheaper option. It can also make the ceiling look higher and creates a consistent look for the space. However, it can conversely make the room feel smaller depending on the colour used. If you are using a bold and/or bright colour, painting it on both the walls and ceiling can sometimes come across as too much or over-the-top.
Yes, an eggshell finish is good for basements. It has the ability to reflect light, providing a bit more brightness to the room, and can subsequently make your paint colours look brighter. As well, it is very easy to clean, has the ability to hide any surface flaws, concealing bumps in the wall, and is resistant to scuffs, scratches, and any other signs of wear and tear.
A glossy sheen is typically best for basement walls. With a glossy sheen, your paint colour will be enhanced and the room will seem brighter as the sheen reflects light. It is also highly durable and tends to be better at resisting moisture and stains than other options, making it easier to clean without worrying about damaging the paint or having the colour degrade over time.