Home Remodel
For basements and attics

The cheapest square footage in the house, if the ceiling and the light work.

Basements and attics fail on headroom and daylight rather than on decorating. Rendering them honestly — at the height they actually have — is what makes the decision realistic.

Open the Studio

What usually goes wrong

  • Ceiling height lost to a dropped ceiling or a floor build-up
  • No daylight and a lighting plan that ignores it
  • Slope in an attic ignored until furniture arrives
  • A dark stair that makes the space feel like storage

The workflow

  1. 1Finish a BasementSee the space finished at its real height before committing.
  2. 2Convert an AtticFor roof space, work within the slope in the photo rather than a flat ceiling.
  3. 3Fix a Dark PhotoThese rooms photograph dark; correct the input first.

Questions

Will it pretend my ceiling is higher?
No. It works from your photo, so a low ceiling reads low — which is the useful part.
What helps most in a basement?
Painting the exposed joists one dark colour, and wall-washing rather than downlights.
Rooms that come up most
Styles that tend to suit