Paint. I assume when you look up at the ceiling you see the floor joists and the subfloor from the first floor. Maybe black if you want this for a TV room only, or in a couple of primary colors as you have little kidlets.
Paint the walls (not sure what you have to do first if they are raw cinder block, get some inexpensive indoor/outdoor carpet, or carpet squares.
Then if you have a local Craigs List, look there for some furniture. I have been looking for a few things with no luck so far, but several people here find extraordinary items. My son found a leather sofa and loveseat. Although it has been my experience that kids don't like to play in the basement, maybe once it is fixed up a bit, some of their bigger toys could go down there for a change of pace during the day. Then you could get a smaller TV if need be, for the upstairs. A bare basement has a lot of potential on the cheap - good luck!

For as little time as the huge TV is used, it sounds like it needs to move to the basement. The upstairs room should reflect the activities/uses that happens there the majority of the time.

Depending on how you plan to finish off the basement, there are lots of things that can be done nicely on the cheap to make it seem more like the room it will be someday.

Start by calling it something other than "The Basement". LOL! How about den, man-cave, media room, theater... you get the idea. :) (Example: our "basement" is "the laundry room".)

If the walls are cinder block they are easy to paint any color you want. Pick a fun color for now and treat that as the primer for your future color choice.

Furnish w/ futons or daybeds that can be easily used as extra sleeping when the kids have sleepovers in the future.

Put down an inexpensive area carpet only in the seating area and paint the rest of the floor w/ enamel porch paint.

Add more long term pieces as you can afford them or find them.

The idea is to live w/ this space for a while as it is intended to be used so you can see if it will work as you envision.

It doesn't hurt to try and if everyone hates it, you can haul the TV back upstairs.

Definitely a "Man-Cave!" To entice Hubby to move his TV down there, you'll need to make that space enticing for him. There's a thread on here about masculine decor. I'd look that thread up, and take it to the extreme. Again, using mainly paint, but adding leather, wood, and whatever he's really into that you wouldn't allow into the main part of the house (neon Budweiser sign? taxidermy? recliners?) But make it into a space HE will want to spend time in.

And I agree about renaming the space as well. If you can convince him it's a "home theatre" the battle is half won.

you guys are awesome - what great ideas! Definitely a Man Cave :)

I need more experience in "guiding" my husband to how things need to be... just 7 years under my belt and still a newbie...

I understand your desire to move his TV haven to the basement... and maybe you can accomplish that by getting him turned on to the idea -- pool table, dart board, "theater," etc... but maybe not. It seems like a good idea to look at how much you get your way in decor versus how much he gets his way. There has to be some fairness there. JMO.

heya - there is definitely fairness - we both love the TV, but it simply does not fit in the room - it needs an entire wall (the only wall in the room) and 1 of the 2 loveseats has to be in front of it... and for only 1-2 hours per week, it just doesn't make sense..

this room is perfect for reading, games, hanging out, entertaining etc... and a smaller tv (ie/ 32" or so) would work perfectly in here.. just not the whole "experience"...

it's definitely about compromise...!

I think I'm talking myself into it - lol.

I love the idea of a 'man cave' - we moved ours downstairs because we really don't watch TV very often and didn't like the look of it in the living room (even though it isn't a huge one). Glad we did. Although my husband isn't into TV very much either, he does love the idea of a MAN CAVE!

Well, my DH would love a "man-cave" where there are no windows to cause glare on the tv or his large screen video game computer, and room to play the wii. I think a smaller TV upstairs and a man-cave below sounds like a pretty good idea. BUT -- one thing to consider: if you create a man-cave, will the man retreat to the cave at times when you would prefer everyone to be interacting as a family? As it stands now, it may not be pretty, but your man is right in the middle of everything, but by giving him a totally separate space, you could create separateness where you didn't intend.

If you can get the your husband to agree to a man cave in your basement, you're a better person than me. While we have a basement, there is no way we'll have a room that actually gets used down there. The basement served as our temporary kitchen during the restoration and that has turned both of us off from using it as a regular room.

I think there are some people who are just not basement people...we're 2 of them.

Is he a sports fan? One of the ways you may be able to make the move to the basement enticing is allowing him to paint the basement walls the color of his sports teams, no matter how hideous they are. Let him hang all the posters, autographed balls, hockey sticks, whatever he wants on the walls. Get him a dart board or an air hockey table. Heck, tell him he can buy one of those recliners emblazoned with the team logo.

I guarantee you that no self-respecting sports fan could resist this kind of offer. That TV will be out of your family room faster than you can say "Stanley Cup Playoffs."

Paint the walls; add a big area rug; comfy sofa and easy chairs; sturdy coffee table to prop feet up on; big end tables with lamps on them. It's those lamps that'll help you give the basement the coziness you want down there. Look for an inexpensive dorm fridge (Father's Day is coming up) for easy access to his drink of choice. Hang framed prints on the walls to add more coziness. Put up a room divider screen if the w/d are in view. If you have those small windows way up on the walls like we did when I was growing up, cover them with long shutters to keep it dark down there and make the windows look bigger at the same time. You would have to keep them easy to open for safety's sake, though, if you don't have an access door to the outside.

If your walls aren't finished (studs and no sheetrock) you can use fabric (curtains) to cover the walls.
We don't have basements in Texas but my husband was just telling me over the weekend that he wants to turn our shed into a man-shed!

Wonderful ideas - thank you! Love the Man Shed... maybe I can move James and his tv out to a Man Treehouse or a Man Shed? lol. Once he took his coke and pretzels and went and sat in his car when I had the girls over. No one knew where he went. He's a good boy :) It was terribly pathetic to see him sitting there all alone, but very loving :)

He's not a sports fan, thankfully and there is already a fridge down there - we're more than halfway there :)

I agree about lamps and fuzzy rugs.

The fabric is a great idea - I wonder if I can drape it at the ceiling to create a softer ceiling than just floor joists and tons of pipes, wires, ducts etc.

Luckily all the walls are either drywalled (not well, but it's something) or concrete bricks.

you guys are the best - thanks for all your help!

Do you have a living room? Could you make that room a media room?

No, we don't have a living room - it's currently being turned into a kitchen :)

thanks!
cheryl

I think it would be best for your family to fix that basement up specially since you have two little "future men" that will love the man-cave. I have two boys 10 and 11 and they just love their boys only time with Dad.
My family would kill me if I removed the tv from our family room but I have a formal living room that is my "girl-cove" (it's not a cave) so I don't mind sharing the family room. (besides no basement). I think when your boys start growing up, you'll be thankful for your basement.

Our (former) garage is our media room/work out room. Big screen, speakers all the rest. The family watches movies in this media room. For other tv watching, we have a small, well behaved tv in a den.

loved the "well behaved tv" comment :)

Maybe I'll get a pink tv... lol

I think the tv needs to move downstairs - we can then watch quick shows upstairs and "retire" downstairs for the whole "experience"...

I was so happy with my 19" tv before we got married... sure I love the big one, but it's the same size as the room...

a "cute" flatscreen hanging neatly on the wall would be so nice. I'm also hoping it takes some of the emphasis off so much tv time for the kids - I want more reading and game time. I'm all over watching tv (my favourite relaxing-thing) but I love the idea of it not being the "default" thing to do in that room...

thanks guys :)

We do not have television per se, but we do have a screen and DVD player. We finished our basement media/rec room with built-in cabinetry, a gas fireplace and a pool table. My husband loves it. We actually have a small flatscreen/dvd player in an upstairs bedroom, but to my knowledge it's never been used. When you make the downstairs room comfortable enough, it will draw the crowd. Good luck!

You'll also be happy to have the TV in the basement once your boys get old enough to play video games! Our basement TV is a mass of cords, joysticks, guitars (for 'Guitar Hero') etc... I just close my eyes on my way to the laundry room! We do have a TV upstairs (in the living room, gasp) but it's small, flat-screen, and NO video games or big speakers or any of that.