Lighting is an important part of basement planning. Basements often have a few small windows and poor lighting. Unfinished basements are grey, dank, and dull with nothing to reflect and/or magnify light. Even finished basements benefit from better, stronger, and more lighting.
Light–natural or artificial–helps make living spaces cozy, cheerful, and bright. Basements require more and/or better lighting to achieve the same feel as main floors.
Basement lights and wiring in newly constructed houses meet minimum code requirements–sometimes two or three porcelain fixtures and a switch. Concrete walls and floors seem to suck up all of the light they produce.
Finishing a basement usually requires more electrical circuits, fixtures, and switches to provide adequate lighting and convenience. Adding lights to a finished basement is often time-consuming, messy, and expensive.
8 Types Of Basement Lighting
Basement lighting choices are activity-dependent. For instance, one ceiling light and a lamp are enough for a bedroom. An office or studio benefits from lots of bright lighting. Mixing and matching different types of basement lighting allows for creative basement designs.
Improvements in LED light technology and the use of dimmer switches make basement lighting easier, safer, brighter, and less expensive.
Ceiling Lights
Ceiling lights are a single light or light fixture located in the center of a room’s ceiling. They are operated by a switch and meet minimum code requirements. The fixtures are occasionally intricate and work best in rooms with higher ceilings.
Recessed Lights
Recessed lighting is the most popular fixture option. The light does not hang down into the living space and LED bulbs are very bright. (LED bulbs are cool–reducing or eliminating the possibility of fires.) Recessed lighting is fairly easy to install in drop ceilings. All the wiring and fixtures can be installed without damage. Drywall on ceilings usually has to be removed and replaced to run wires to the proper locations.
Track Lights
Track lights are an inexpensive alternative to recessed lighting. One ceiling electrical box is enough to handle a fairly large track light. Tracks are available in many configurations–straight, circular, oval, snake-shaped, etc. Tracks and light receptacles are available in a multitude of colors and designs. The lights swivel to cover the areas that need more illumination.
Pendant Lights
Pendant lights are used most often to light specific areas of a room such as bars and countertops. They act like spotlights and throw very little light into the rest of the room. Some pendant lights hang as much as three feet below the ceiling level–creating obstructions in traffic areas.
Wall Sconce Lights
Wall sconces are hung on walls and operated by a standard wall switch or a switch on the fixture. Popular in bathrooms, over beds, reading areas, and hallways, they can be mounted at any convenient height. Many sconce light fixtures only throw light up or down, but more are being designed to light larger areas of basement rooms.
Hard-wired and plug-in models are available. It is best to plan on wired units during construction. Adding them later requires drywall removal and replacement. Plug-in models can be placed anywhere an outlet is available.
False Window Lights
False window lights are designed to resemble real windows. They have frames, polycarbonate covers that resemble glass and are available with grids and designs. Some manufacturers have included the ability to change colors from bright white to soft blue. Not only are false window lights decorative, but they also add plenty of light to a basement room.
DIYers can build a false basement window light easily by constructing a box with a fluorescent lighting system, covering it with plexiglass, screwing it to the wall, and plugging it in.
Lamp Light
Lamps are the easiest way to add light to a basement room. They are flexible, mobile, and inexpensive. Floor lamps and table lamps can provide soft area lighting or larger units light large parts of the room.
Light Switches
Using multiple dimmer switches–even in one room–provides the ability to change light intensity and create different moods in a room. Dimmer switches allow for adjusting to the amount of natural light entering the room. They save money. Make sure that light fixtures are compatible with the switches.
Non-Electrical Basement Lighting Aids
The effectiveness of basement lighting can be maximized by including other ideas in room planning.
- Paint. Light-colored paint reflects light. White or slightly tinted works best.
- Mirrors. Reflect light. Make space feel larger.
- Furniture. Light-colored. White, beige, or light grey are best.
- Flooring. Light-colored flooring reflects light. A single type of flooring makes the room feel larger. Light-colored area rugs on dark flooring brighten a room.
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