Installing vinyl planks should be around the same price as a laminate/engineered hardwood. Some vinyls are without edges to click but the first/last planks are glued in place. Other planks are click-together edges and the best vinyl ($4-$7/sf) are laid over a double stick underlay....which adds to the cost of installation.

In many areas, laying laminate is $1.50 - $3.50/sf (NY = $6/sf). Laying cork floating floor is roughly $0.25/sf more than laminate ($1.75 - $3.75/sf) depending on where you live. Most carpets will be purchased together with underlay and installation price all wrapped into one neat package. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples. If you want to make a direct comparison to TOTAL price, make sure you find out how much laminate floors are being installed for in your area. Now add that to the square foot cost of the product = direct comparison to vinyl planking or carpet.

Stained concrete rarely works on "unprepared" cement slabs. The concrete must meet a certain density...which can be 30% - 50% denser that "slab" concrete. To get a polished concrete finish, you would have to add an inch or two of high density concrete, then stain it, then polish it, then seal it. This would push your budget out the window...and the budget for the HVAC system as well.

Thank you cancork, I will have to add cork flooring to our list of options. It looks beautiful in the pics.

Cancork, are there certain brands that make cork flooring better than others?

ilodato..............I guess what I would do is take your basement measurements to Home Depot and get a price for both carpet and the Allure grip-strip installed. They should have installers for both. You can also do the same with an independent flooring store and see where you get the best price and which comes closer to your budget. As to wall color, I would decide on the flooring first and then pick a color that coordinates. It is easier to match a paint to the flooring, carpet or area rug, than it is to match those items to the paint. But, it definitely does not have to be white!

Please read reviews on adhesive or vinyl strip flooring before buying- especially for an area that doesn't have windows or good ventilation because the product off-gasses for a long time. I thought Allure was going to be the perfect flooring for my kitchen until I realized it was going to affect my sensitive sinuses:(

I would try to go with a very light color vinyl plank flooring and to cozy up the space, use a bright colored area rug. Paint the panelling a light color too. I've seen it done a number of times and it gives a drastic change with relatively little cost. I think you need to go with light walls and flooring because of the small amount of light coming through the small windows (an unwelcome fact in most basements). Introduce some great lamps which makes it seem more like a true living room/family room. When you think about it, how many of us would ever rely on just overhead fluorescent lighting in our upstairs living areas?

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

Paint the paneling. Do something with that ceiling... like carsiding up there. Strip off the floors and have the concrete stained, then use great area rugs.

I'd spend the money on 70's furnishings and swank the place out.

I would paint the paneling white to keep it bright since it is in a basement! Then I would put in a professional low pile carpet( like the ones you see in offices).They sell them @ home depot I think by the yard. Pick out a neutral color that will go with anything. Then check out ikea for an inexpensive couch or maybe slipcover a second hand one if you are looking for furniture. Also you could look for some inexpensive book cases or shelving for storage or whatever. Just some thoughts... Good Luck!

Prime the paneling first - that is CRUCIAL. Then apply two coats of a LOW VOC paint - Aura is my preference. Add as much reflective elements as possible to bounce light around the room. Reflective options are: Diamond plate sheets can be cut to size, reflective wallpaper, high gloss paint, mirrors, glass. All could be used in the bookshelves. We just painted over the dark wood paneling in the 1970's house we just purchased. People are amazed at the difference. The linear grooves of the paneling give both depth and height to the room - something you will want in a basement and something that drywall cannot give you.

I was going to recommend the concrete stain as well. If you ever have any flooding issues it shouldn't hurt it. Painting the walls is a good start. Also there are lots of great ceiling products out there. I did one in our basement and am doing our upstairs now in a beadboard plank. Haven't gotten to the install of the plank yet but I think by far it will be the easiest. I only have the rails up so far. You can google armstrong easy up system to see the video. The panel type one in our basement is a snap clip system. There are lots of options now with ceilings. These both come in wood grain also if you like that look.

Our daylight basement was similar to yours with wood paneling and almost the same brown carpeting! We were not planning on tackling this project but one thing led to another and we were in the thick of it on a serious budget...here are a couple of before and after pics! I was scared but we painted the plywood walls in great room and they seriously look like linen wall paper:) Upgrade!!! We kept the carpeting as it is not that old, came with the house 3 years ago. Not my first choice but keeping it meant I have more $$$ for our kitchen:) We did splurge a little on replacing acoustical tile ceilings..thank goodness, they were UGLY! Also, found LED dimmable lighting at Costco for a really good deal! They are simple design so if need be can be replaced easily. In the bedroom, we painted the wood paneling, added new ceiling, LED lighting and window treatments. Used all the same furniture and decor for most part. Faux wood blinds and white sheers from Ikea as accent for windows. Total budget was less than $3500 and we are thrilled with results. Next project is bathroom in basement...we will be doing floor tile, possibly shower tile and paint...that's all that is needed:) Then onto the big expenditure...the kitchen! I'll do it on a budget too though~

Here is the bedroom before and afters....I still have the closet doors to paint yet....they are primed as of 2 days ago but need to spend the time to paint out nicely. I think I should buy a spray gun to make my life easier:)

For a pragmatic and cost effective basement room, you might like to look into Owens Corning's "Basement Finishing System". I just walked a job where the homeowner had gone this route and they were very pleased (pretty decent fit and finish and really fast installation). Its not the fanciest way to go, but looks quite nice none the less.

For the paneling in ours we took electric sander and got rid of finish (wear mask /glasses). We then did a thin coat of drywall over paneling filled in vertical lines - didn't make it perfect painted taupe then applied car wax on paint it came out really cool Mediterranean like. We purchased cheap pine planks more sanding whitewashed them and put on ceiling. We went with carpet for sound absorption purposes

Mbpiche, would love to see some photos. Sounds like a great option.

Our basement looked eerily similar. We tore down the paneling and painted the concrete walls but in retrospect, I would have left up the paneling and just painted it because it provided a small amount of insulation, which is better than nothing. We did put down the allure flooring too and removed the old ceiling tiles in favor of painting the exposed structure.

Our basement is similar to yours, built in 1974. I actually think yours is nicer paneling, but ours has a fireplace and no pole. :) We also are doing ours on a shoestring. For various reasons, we started ours a year ago and have never gotten finished, but this is what we're doing:

We're going to prime and paint the paneling. We were going to first hang paintable wallpaper, but decided it was too much $ and effort. I think it will look just fine painted. We did have someone suggest we take drywall joint compound, fill in all the grooves, then rent a sprayer for texture and spray the walls so they have the rougher texture you see on some drywall. Supposedly if we do this, then prime and paint, you can't tell it isn't drywall. We're not planning to bother.

We're going to DIY install the rubber-backed, low-pile, cheap, carpet carried at Menards (I think we got it for like 50 cents a yard on sale) that you basically stick down with double-stick carpet tape. (Our floor isn't in good enough shape for staining the concrete.) It's not going to be cushy and soft, but neither is vinyl or hardwood or cement and anything is better than the old, stained, butt-ugly powder blue (in spots) carpet we pulled out of there!

We have a separate "office" that will get the same paint and carpet and we're going to install floor to ceiling shelves on the short wall. I would keep the built-in in yours. I don't know why you'd think they'd be hard to paint...take the doors off and paint them just like you would kitchen cabinets. I'd paint them to match the rest of the walls and I can't tell the scale, but if it's bar height, I'd install open shelves (maybe glass, maybe painted) above for more storage (or a bar lol) or if it's lower, like chair height, I'd put a big, soft cushion on it and pillows for seating.

Our drop ceiling was like yours, with the office florescent bulbs, but we replaced them with recessed pot lights - LOTS of pot lights. It looks much better, but doesn't have as much working light so you would want work lamps for the office area. It's still office acoustic panels and I wish it wasn't, but by the same token, all the electric and plumbing and such running through there is sooooo much easier to access if you don't have to tear out ceiling or try to fish things through. We've moved our TV's several times and can just move the cable ourselves because of that ceiling. I've looked into changing to the smaller, square, tiles...just too expensive for me. I'll live with what I have, although I may paint.

And that's all I can think of right now.

I didn't read through all of the comments, but make sure to do research before floating a floor. I don't know if vinyl or cork are as fussy, but the engineered hardwood floor I just laid required the floor to be level to 1/8" over 6' and 3/16" over 10'. Even in a new house, I had to do a lot of work in prep and floor leveling. I used Platon (similar to delta-FL) as a moisture barrier, then laid OSB secured to the concrete using tapcons on top of that. 500 tapcons and much filling/sanding/planing later, I had an adequate subfloor. It was a TON of work.

Painting the wood a creamy white color will get you the biggest bang for your buck and will dramatically lighten it up. I would then add pops of color in your accessories to liven things up. You can use what you have and go with an eclectic style or if you want a certain theme, say nautical, or modern, then paint and tweak those things you already own to create the look you desire. First and foremost I would paint all that wood a soft creamy white color though to set the background for all of your furniture and accessories.

Make sure you waterproof and insulate the block/concrete walls. Provide air movement/ventilation constantly to avoid mildew. Basements are tricky to be sure - this is not usually the place to use top of the line materials because of the risk of damage from moisture, unexpected water breaks, overflows, and flooding from weather. Painting dark paneling is a fantastic idea but make sure the prep is done correctly to prevent peeling.
The trend in newer homes is to skip the basement and add a 3-4 season porch - much more appealing - natural light and views are much more pleasing.
If anyone lives in a tornado susceptible area - a safe room in the basement is well worth the investment.

My basement was just like yours, paneling and a drop ceiling with carpet. Rather than dry walling the walls, I opted to paint the paneling. Dry walling in the basement could be a bad idea if you ever should have a water issue in your basement and of course it is much less expensive to paint the paneling. I selected a light creamy yellow color, wish I had gone with a gray color, but I decided to keep the carpet, it wasn't that bad and the light yellow went better with the carpet. I did decide to drywall the ceiling and have canned recessed lights installed. I looked at the "new" panels and just did not like them. I'm happy with the decision to dry wall the ceiling, it completely changed the look of my basement and I am so glad I did it, no regrets.

@lilion, i like your ideas about what to do with that storage space. I will copy that idea! I would guess that recessed lighting would be pricey to put in- can you tell me what kind of prices that was? (or any one else mentioning recessed lighting)

After doing some research, I was planning on just changing out the tiles for new ones after seeing how pricey that alone was. Minimum is around $7ish per tile that I saw at home depot. 7.50 with a score in the middle. the room is pretty large. So I decided real decorative ones were out the question.

I am also leaning towards carpet the more research I do regarding price. we went to home depot and they said that would be the cheapest option even with a good quality carpet. the sales assoc had a good point too that is we lay a different type of flooring down, we will add another expense of area rugs. (which I guess is obvious)

I am leaning towards just painting the paneling like most of you mentioned, although i do love the idea of filling in the gaps on the paneling. we are hiring someone to paint though so i'd like to keep that as simple as possible to save ourselves some time....and money. but i do love that idea and in the future maybe we could do that to the walls.

Those of you mentioning dry walling the ceiling- what kind of cost is that? much more expensive than changing out the tiles?

I REALLY appreciate everyone's responses. This has been an enormous help!

@Dels Design - when you say to prep the wood paneling to prevent peeling... i did some research on that and it says that if its faux wood paneling (which ours is) it does not need to be sanded...just cleaned, correct?

re: the 3 season room. we have one now (that actually also needs updating but we want to do the basement 1st.) I am in NE so it's so cold and a 3 season room is really unfortunately only used for a few months.

Here's a great flooring idea - In my current and previous house, I put laminate floor that looks like wood in the basement. I got it at Menards for about $1/sf. It comes in 8' lengths (off a roll), and they just the lengths you need. Very easy install - just lay it down. AND if you get water, which we did, we rolled it up, took it outside, hosed it down, let it dry, and put it back.
It looks great. When we refinanced, our appraiser spent a long time in the basement. We watched him, and he was checking out the floor for the longest time. He could not tell if it was real or not? Best cheap basement floor ever.

6" recessed lights are not expensive, maybe $11 or $12 each when bought in 6-packs. I put 12 in my basement for a total of $140, plus maybe $30 in wiring. You still have installation costs if you have to hire that out, but they are really easy to put in if you have some electrical knowledge.

I like the idea about using cork flooring. I would definitely paint the paneling as it will be the most cost effective solution to brightening up the space. That said, I would also add some moldings....base and possibly crown molding against the new ceiling panels and paint them an offsetting but complimentary color. Enlarging the small basement windows might be a good idea in the future, although it isn't required for the spaces you are planning to use them for.

I wish I could tell you cost of the recessed lighting, but it was years ago and we did it DIY, with help of a handy friend who knows electrical work. I doubt we paid more than $250 for the lights and wiring. Because we installed it in the suspended ceiling it was an easy job: Take down the panel, cut the hole, install the light, hook up the wires and then put the panel back, tucking the wires back up. We only needed 4 new panels, to replace the florescent fixtures with. I don't know what it would cost to hire an electrician to do it, but you could get some free estimates. That's the best part about contractors, getting free estimates and then figuring out which jobs you want done within your budget. I'm sure you could get estimates from drywallers, etc. as well regarding that ceiling.

Bigger/more windows to get more natural light will be the biggest bang for your buck.

If you are ok with a loft look, staining the concrete is a very affordable option. The concrete needs to be clean, but otherwise there's nothing else special you need to do. We stained an ugly old basement floor. The cracks, chips and paint splatters just added to the patina.

depending on what you're planning for your finished decorating you could paint your concrete basement floor, there is special paint for concrete that we used. When we finished ours 2 years ago we were going to do it with a lodge theme so I had a cousin that's handy with a paint brush and roller paint the floor in a darkest beige (on a 5 color paint color strip) in the familyroom area and a lighter beige (2 colors down on the same paint color strip) in the home office area and did a simple mosaic design with the 2 colors and another 1 that was in the middle of the 2 main colors since all the colors on any given color strip will work together. This separated the 2 areas but the 12" mosaic strip between the colors made the 2 areas flow into one another instead of having a sharp painted line separating them. Then I used the lightest color on the color strip to paint the walls. And I have braided area rugs one centering the tv/familyroom area and then a smaller one in the office area. With just one wall color everything blends together and the different shades of beige are a good backround for all the woodsy colored things that I have on the walls and the furniture. The only thing I regret is we put a drywall ceiling in and because of that we have 6 12"x12" pieces were we access the water shutoffs and such, which I hate, I wish we had just done a tile ceiling. If we had had the wood paneling walls that you have I would have bleached them, instead of painting. Good luck in whatever you do.

magrockgem - I agree 100% - there is also a stain and wax process that is lovely - an experienced tradesperson can make it look like old European buildings with a patina that is breathtaking. Area rugs of any style will complete the look. Eliminating the redundancy of floor surfaces is environmentally 'green' as well.

I personally think it's all about lighting. The basement I had redone in a rental property used vinyl plank flooring, and we installed can lights.

Replace at least one of the small windows with an egress window. It will allow an amazing amount of light into the room, be safer in case of an emergency and bring your basement into compliance with most building codes.

We are faced with the same situation. We are painting the wood paneling white; plank floors in a medium to dark color and removing the tiles painting the ceiling black and hanging industrial lights. Have fun and best of luck! JB

We had a basement like yours. We removed the wood paneling carefully and reinstalled the best pieces as our flooring. Then we were able to drywall the walls and paint. Did it all ourselves. Made it so much brighter and contemporary. Good luck!

I would try painting paneling
We had some painted on our basement 15 years ago -really brightened space
You can paint ceiling tiles too

UPDATE: We have decided to go with painting the wood paneling & doing vinyl planks for the flooring. We will be installing ourselves and hopefully it is not too difficult. I understand though that you need a smooth floor and I'm not sure if we need to smooth out the concrete from under the carpet more (and fill out the nail holes.)

Also, there is a section of linoleum down in the entry way room and we will need to scrape that up. I am worried the glue underneath will not leave it smooth.

I've heard vinyl planks are super easy to install. Your floor doesn't need to be perfectly smooth, just relatively flat. You can get a 6' level for a reasonable price to check flatness. I also bought a 10' length of pre-primed MDF for $8 ( http://www.homedepot.com/p/Unbranded-11-16-x-3-1-2-x-10-Primed-Medium-Density-Fiberboard-S4S-242741/100020408). This ended up being much straighter than any 2x4 I could find and worked really well to check how flat my floor was. Allure vinyl plank tolerance requires no more than 3/16” variation over 8’. Don't be surprised if your floor doesn't meet this. If you have to do significant leveling, I would skip it and install carpet. Keep i mind that it doesn't need to be level, just flat (there's a difference). Good luck!

@nkeunen, thank you for those tips! how do you check the flatness of the floor using that MDF?

I just stood it up on the 11/16" side and observed the floor from every angle. You can easily identify the dips and humps this way and measure how much space there is in the dips under the board. Hope that makes sense.

You would need to level any low spots with self-leveling compound, or grind the high spots. I'm sure a lot of installers don't do this step and are happy with the results, so you just kind of need to decide for yourself. My intuition tells me leveling is less important for vinyl than engineered hardwood or wood laminate since vinyl is more flexible and less prone to sqeaking joints and clicking on the hard floor (I would think). But you probably shouldn't go by my intuition alone :)

Ahhh, gotcha! great diagram and method!

Replace the ceiling tiles with newer more attractive ones. The newer versions are hard plastic and come in multiple designs.

Paint the wood paneling white or a taupe, get rid of the drop ceiling, especially if your on a budget you can drywall ceiling yourself and vinyl floor with expesso color planks. It is really easy to do yourself and will save so much doing it yourself. Then you will have a beautiful basement space to enjoy!

OLD POST

We are deep in doing the updates. We ended up going with painting the paneling a light color and tiling the floor. I will post pics as soon as we are done with the floor! We plan on replacing the windows and keeping the drop ceiling but replacing the tiles.

I was gonna have to replace tiles in my basement, it was cheaper to sheet rock it so I went that route. I like the smooth fresh look better than tiles and it saved money too.

My basement is 98% done. We had a professional do everything since it was a ground up job. We used vinyl plank flooring and I LOVE IT!!! We went with one with a higher price tag (Mannington Adura). My contractor said that once he got the hang of it, it went very quickly. They finished 1000 sq. ft space in under 6 hours. (2 guys). It is incredibly easy to clean with a swiffer for a light dusting. It is definitely water resistant as my pesky cat loves to spill her water bowl all over the floor (nightly).

In regards to leveling the floor... where this is where I wished I had spent a little more. I spoke with a Mannington rep and they said no underlayment was required. But you can tell when you walk on the floor barefoot, which is nearly all the time for me. You can just feel the flooring move. The worst part was when we had our new couches delivered and realized that we needed to shim the one leg to compensate for the uneveness of the floor. And this is a brand new house with a "well laid foundation".

I updated in the before and after location but here it is so far. Still will do moulding, new windows & new drop ceiling hopefully in the next few months.

tacky tic tac toe tile