Paint the full wall the same color or you’ll end up with the same squatty feeling you have now.

How tall are the ceilings? We had rough paneling on the bottom that was super dark stain and painted it white and put a sage green on the top wall board. We are very happy with it. I would think painting the ceiling a white will help with 'the squatty' feeling, assuming it's there an not just the camera angle. It doesn't appear all the shelving is needed. Can it just be removed?

@arcy_gw Yes, it does have a bit of a squatty feel to it - ceilings are only 7 feet tall. We were thinking we'd like the plank ceiling a bit better once we paint the cedar, just too much wood tones going on at the moment. A sage green color is what we were considering as well. And yes, we are planning to remove the shelving.

Although it probably adds to the squatty feel, the wood ceiling planks actually look quite modern to me. It's just hard to see them as contemporary now amid the cottage-ish walls. I'd paint all of the walls the same crisp white and leave the ceiling as it. If you end up not loving it, then paint the ceiling.

If you are not planning on using the shelves, take them down. It will help open it up. I'd consider a more modern rug, one with an abstract, non-liner pattern. A lighter color sofa with cleaner lines would also help to make it look more modern and more spacious.

@Kendrah thanks for the help! yes that's exactly what we're thinking. However we were a bit concerned that the two textures (rough cut cedar wood on top and then a textured plastic panelling on bottom) would look odd being one color. Not sure if there'd be a way around that or if it'd be a big enough deal.

I looked again and the ceiling has boards that have spaces in bewtween which IMO is just a huge dust catcher so I would remove the boards on the ceiling and paint the walls all white . Not sure what the plastic stuff is you mention maybe a close up of that would help. I would probably drywall the ceiling but you can always spray it all white to start then see if that is all you need. I agree remove the shelving and lighter colored furniture would be a huge help.

So are you saying that the part of the wall that is now painted white is a textured plastic panel? If so, do you want to consider leaving the horizontal "chair rail" wood to separate the two textures? If this were a living room, I'd give pause, but this is a basement. It doesn't have to be stunning, just a bit more updated and to your liking than it is now.

Use some white sheets tacked on the wood section of the walls to see if you would prefer to paint them white. The ceiling is rather interesting but definitely adds to the “squat” feeling, as does the two-tone. You may decide that the wood walls are better and you want to paint the ceiling.

Can anyone visualize options for them? I would be concerned if you paint any of the wood and then regret it. But the room is definitely bisected by the wood-and-white combination.

What about painting the walls white, the ceiling white, and replacing the flooring. This is a design we did for a client, which might help you figure out what other updates you'd like to do in your basement.

Mt. Washington Ski House · More Info

Mt. Washington Ski House · More Info