We had the same issue...dark red carpet in our basement (WHY?!?!). I immediately ripped it out and put down wood laminate(since it is a basement--no wood). It was worth the expense...you could rip that out...paint the cement floor a neutral color and add a large area rug (jute or seagrass to save $$). Whatever you do, paint those walls. the dark wood is suffocating the space.

Good Luck!

If the carpet is in good shape-just go with it! Embrace the retro awesome.

If it's not can you tear it up, paint the floor and put down some area rugs?

I'd rip the carpet up and inspect for cracks in the floor and/or water damage. You can scour Ebay/craigslist for Flor tiles, throw rugs, and/or floating floors to use in the meantime.

I'd slap a coat of white paint on all the walls, make some nice seating configurations, and arrange some objects on the walls that draw your eyes upwards. This will detract from the floor being the focus.

Next, I'd pull up the red rug (depending on what is beneath - but can it really be worse than the red rug itself?)and put some inexpensive area rugs on top of the flooring centered around the seating. I admire your desire to not sink bucks into a space you are eventually redoing anyway.

I remember being very inspired by the basement makeover on Young House Love. Here's a link - scroll down to the bottom. http://www.younghouselove.com/photo-gallery-2/

Since you're planning on a major renovation in a couple years, I wouldn't do anything at this point in time other than remove the carpet and paneling so that you can get a handle on needed repairs and plan that into your overall renovation budget.

Wow. I'd paint the paneling an ivory / off white / swiss coffee. I'd coordinate the seating with covers in a neutral color (maybe a beige), and then get some throw pillows and perhaps throws with reds and oranges. Add some more lighting to brighten up the room, especially floor lamps which can help define the space (light colored shades). Rearrange the furniture to make 1 or 2 defined areas. Good luck!

The carpet is in amazing shape... surprisingly so considering how old it is! Laminate (as Amarie suggested) will ultimately be the direction i'm heading, however not until i've got the bathroom, new bedroom, etc figured out. I don't want to put in flooring just to find that we're moving walls, or adding bathrooms. I'm also on a bit of a budget since i'm putting in bamboo upstairs, as well as getting a new fence, and a bunch of new landscaping done.. etc etc etc.

I'm tempted to just "go with it" (as Sarah627 suggests) however i dont know where to go! haha.. the walls need to go light not doubt about that, it feels so dark and small down there with that dark panaling, but i just cannot figure out a colour that would work with the carpet.

If i have to resort to cement and throw rugs then thats what i'll do.. but if someone out there has an idea how to make this carpet work.. thats what i want to do.

I'm completley torn between finding it horrible... and finding it hilarious.. and finding it awesome :)

I'm wondering: what do you hope to use the basement for and is that your furniture in there or a shot from before you moved in?

Keep in mind what you will want the space to look like in the future to avoid re-doing things. I would plan on installing cork which is eco-friendly and great for basements. You must paint the wood paneling, you could start with white for now, then you would be able to add some color once you get that red carpet out of there. De-clutter, too much stuff in that narrow space! Keep things that have the retro feel, that gold couch is a keeper!

I'm not bothered as much by the red carpeting (at least in the photo) as I am by the dark paneling. I agree with thorndale: paint the paneling white and use some bright colors including red in toss pillows or other decorative items (a few, don't go nuts). Rearrange the furnishings to downplay the "blwling alley" feeling long rooms get. Pull up the carpeting when you are ready to redo the room. At least it's probably comfortable on bare feet now.

to answer bethaneebee's question:

"I'm wondering: what do you hope to use the basement for and is that your furniture in there or a shot from before you moved in?"

The basement is going to be a sort of casual living room... and will eventually get a bathroom, and bedroom added to it.. What you can't tell from this picture is that there is a mirror to this space.. unfinished on the otherside of the shingle wall.. so at some point we'll probably add a doorway to access that space and that is where either a bathroom or bedroom will go.. not sure yet.. we have to look at structure yet. Also.. the furniture is not mine.. yet.. this is a shot from the previous owner.. i haven't taken posession yet however he will be leaving 3/4 of the furniture in the house... which will probably mean MOST of that furniture will probably still be there when i move in. We'll get rid of alot of it.. but keep some , i am considering trying my hand a reapolstery. since it's better than nothing

Like others suggested, painting the paneling white would do a lot for the space, and so would painting the bricks white (if that's something you're interested in). I'd swap the light fixtures for something more modern, and add some turquoise and yellow accents. I think a smaller jute/jute-like area rug could look cool layered on top of the red rug, too.

Be really careful about tearing up the carpet- it might be covering asbestos tiles.

Sit tight and wait until you can do it right. In the meantime, revel in it's kitschiness and have a Mad Men party or two before you rip it out.

I'm also wondering whose furniture that is.

As long as there's no chance your basement will get flooded, I'd change the lighting first, then get rid of that strange interior shingle-style look and give everything a fresh coat of semi-gloss white paint. Or you could do vertical stripes with two neutrals. You could try dyeing the carpet.

The question is how much time you want to spend putting work into this space. Are you going to entertain down here, or is this going to be mostly a storage or exercise room?

When you're ready to renovate, I'd do something about the ceiling.

I agree with Sarita's suggestion to add turquoise accents. I was thinking aqua or even robin's egg blue. I've seen that light, bright blue colour look absolutely adorable with red, so you might want to think about that as an accent colour if you want to embrace the red carpet for awhile. I also agree with white on the walls to lighten things up, and would suggest light/neutral furniture if you're able. That will help a ton to get rid of the dark retro basement feel.

Check to see what kind of floor to put in the basement. Wood floors might not be possible.

I agree with k2yhe. Spending money on this might impinge on something you want to buy for upstairs.

What is underneath? if concrete I would take out the carpeting and have concrete with area rugs. There is this product that I cannot recall but its an inexpensive way to bring existing concrete back to life, you can stain and seal the results are amazing. I need ti ask my architect friend who showed me a project where they had zero budget and did this.
Or if its subfloors I would paint white there are a zillion how tos online.

if you go with the concrete or paint the floors white the wood paneling as is might be nice look more modern and nice. I do think the paneling would look better all white and get better light bulbs looks yellowish now.

Did you see this transformation
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/architecture/not-your-average-basment-apartment-119191

looks fantastic!

Is all that stuff down there yours? Looks like there is an old organ, several mismatched couches, a coke machine...

It all goes together so retrobasementwell. If you can eliminate the stuff, all of it, including the ship, the booze bottles and other clutter on the walls, paint the walls as suggested above, and put in some modern furniture, the floor may not be so big a problem. But with all that stuff, your floor is not your problem. In my otherwise jealous humble opinion.

What don't you like about it? Is it aesthetic or is there a mold/damp issue? If it's just the looks of it, I would say wait and live with it as is. It's just the basement, after all, and sometimes we make different (better) renovation choices after we've lived in a space for a while and figured out how we'll use it.

Red carpet on a basement floor- like something out of a horror movie...shudder....

Anyway, if you can't tear up the carpet & put down different flooring is it possible to paint the carpet? Not sure what type of carpet it is but I have had good temporary (as in not permanent solution) success with painting carpets using roller brushes & fabric paint. If nothing else you could break up the vastness of red with some round or oval area rugs, especially to anchor seating arrangements & break up that rectangular space.

Are those shingles on the wall in the right of the fotos?! I could totally work with them! I'd transform the room into an outdoor garden patio feel with the right furnishings & wall art.

But that brown paneling?! Gotta go! Paint it before you do anything else!!! But not white. Something warm, a cheery color. If you went with a garden patio feel, the paneled walls could be painted with a green background with white lattice work (affix actual lattice, or paint white lattice slats over the green.) On the paneled walls, is that a shelf with all the nautical things? If so that is a perfect place for potted vine & dangling plants even if they have to be artificial because of lack of light.

If you can't replace the furniture you can do two things that will drastically change the room: Slipcovers (or loose throws that cover the whole couch) and change the arrangements!

Go with slip cover colors that would reflect the patio theme- small flowers, light greens & blues, a bold bright yellow...

Because the room is long & narrow the current furniture arrangement accentuates the boxy railroad car feel. I would move one couch (maybe the higher backed one) to the narrow wall on the far end & throw a nice slip cover & throw pillows on it. I'd use that round table (the one in the back on the right) and use it as a "tea table" in front of the couch. Cover it with a lacy table cloth, place a small stack of books, & it would be so cute & inviting. Add a comfy chair or two to make a nice conversation or reading nook. Use a round area rug to anchor the arrangement.

The other couch I would put half way, sort of where you already have them now, but cover it with a nice slip cover, anchor it with a small oval area rug, round end table, and a comfy chair. Make it the TV area or whatever suits your needs. Either way, having the 2 bulky unmatched couches face each other is not a good arrangement.

I would also hang an airy lacy curtain divider, tucked back and swagged on a cute hook or a stand up screen to sort of separate the two seating areas and to help break up the long rectangle.

The little table on the left, is that a magazine rack style table? If so totally make it work. Cover the brown with a nice table cloth, add a cute little lamp, put it next to one of the couches with a few books on it.

Is that an old soda machine in the background?! Cool! But bring it out of the background, more it more front & center. Incorporate it into your theme. I suggested patio, because of the shingles, but what is your interest?

I love challenges like this!!!!

Point of interest:
This looks so much like a church basement. Like where the kids can go play during a funeral or something.

I'm with the first few people - tear up the carpet. If you're going to renovate later, you might as well do that part before you put too much stuff down there and have to dig for it. Cement/concrete "garage floor" paint is relatively inexpensive and can stand up to any kind of abuse. You could save a piece of the existing carpet and have it bound for an accent rug or two if you really want to keep the red, but I don't think that's something you're interested in.

And at second glance at the comments here, I'm 50% with @k2yhe - Mad Men party would be awesome with that basement!

If you already have a living room upstairs, why not make this a "rec room", with a ping pong table, or a foosball table. It looks too narrow for a pool table (too bad). The paneling is dark and the lighting is funky, so I'd paint the paneling and replace the light fixtures. And leave the carpeting. With red carpet and white walls, it's starting to look nautical. If you like that, go with it.

If you're just looking for a short-term fix, just get some inexpensive area rugs to layer over the carpet and create some defined areas within the room. The eye will be drawn to the accent (area rug) and away from the underlying carpeting ("negative space"). You could use jute rugs to lighten things up a bit and bring some of the natural materials to the basement.

I actually like the dark paneling and the display area, but you'd need to fix the color/lighting of the display area - a very bright/light neutral there with some accent pieces would go a long ways. I'd be more inclined to paint the brick wall and replace the light fixures - a nice natural-fabric drum shade over a kitchen table towards the back of the room, some matching wall scones on the brick wall to either side of a "focal element" in the living room-style seating area - and keep the retro theme going a bit. Once you've "hidden" the red carpet, you can go with any color scheme you want. Bringing in some colorful pillows and accessories will completely change the feel of this room.

I agree with lightening up the dark paneling and incorporating blue somehow.

Maybe paint the paneling a robin's egg blue?

bepsf, is right. You want to get rid of the carpet and the paneling to understand what types of repairs or remodeling you have in store for your future.

As much as I love Apartment Therapy, this site tends to give new homeowners, myself included, tunnel vision. There is this perception that you need to do everything right away and this awesome place waiting for you and your furniture on moving day. Just live in the place for a little while.

I think you should go "moroccan" with it! Paint the paneling certainly- and maybe the shingles, but not white. I'd go a warm parchmenty color- somewhere between a butter/cream white and a taupe. Then in an accent- maybe gold or just a slightly more coffee color I'd go with stenciled paint motifs on the paneled side.(http://www.paintquality.co.uk/Trends/aw2005/images/room_tr1_1.jpg_)

I'd do drapes on that odd interior shingling, or a large rug. The lamps are already a little souq chic...ish (slightly more Ruby tuesday-ish, but whatever.) drapes of course framing the doors, and then just pillows, scattered rugs, draped sumptous fabrics- go nuts at sari stores, pier one, and flea markets.

I really like the effect of this crisp white couch in this room: http://www.casbahdecor.com/prod_images_large/moroccan_decor1.jpg

I'm imagining it like one of those 50s nightclubs that try to capture "the exotic east" and fails to be very true to the real style of the middle east. Very cocktail party, themey. And then you can enjoy the campy fun of it until you are ready to make it a real room.

sorry, link failure. Stencils: http://www.paintquality.co.uk/Trends/aw2005/images/room_tr1_1.jpg

I can't tell if the internet just ate this comment. I suggest going campy nightclub morrocan. Paint the wails a parchmenty color, go for colorful pillows, ornate antiques, tapestries, draping, etc. use the display case for vases, and interesting bling. Then you don't have to do much until you are ready to really tackle it, and you can enjoy the camp factor and have cocktail parties in the space.

youre not getting rid of the jacaranda paneling are you? would you consider sending it over if so? ;)

@b77

That's a garage conversion, and not a basement at all. And it's not like she has any windows down there to mimic the effect.

I'm kind of impressed by the red carpet, actually; I grew up in a house with an unfinished basement, and most finished basements I saw had boring beige carpet or something. Didn't realize red carpet was a cliche....

This house is in the Boston area. Winters and concrete floors are COLD. Something to consider...

@e6- ooohhh!! Love the idea of the Moroccan theme! Never considered that at all. And the red rug would fit right in!

I live with a lot of "Spanish style" decor (terra cotta, lots of strong oranges, reds, & blues, lots of heavy dark wood...) so I tend to try to go far flung the opposite way when making suggestions to friends when they ask for re-decorating or updating ideas (my chance to break out of her heritage "norm" & expand my creative horizons without chancing on annoying my husband who likes his home "traditional South American comfort" style- if I allowed chickens to wander in front the back court yard he'd be in heaven!).

But I love your Moroccan idea (and the white couch in your link is awesome!), totally makes sense and could be a very romantic and intimate place to get away from the kids- why should they get every room in the house as a play room! LOL!

Paint or whitewash the shingles. Get rid of that curtain/wallpaper strip? with the ships. Put in some neutral or industrial lighting (I just like those caged lights). Move the furniture away from the walls; place it to reduce the long, narrow effect created by having it shoved against the walls. All that gold light coming from the lampshades, curtains and couch is making the red even hotter. I'm not a big fan of red and black as a theme, but red and cocoa brownish-gray is subtle and nice. I'd put lost of black-and-white art, in plain black frames, on the paneled walls; it would help minimize the cliche of the red carpet. The house I grew up in had a red concrete wall in the basement re-do, and a red rug.

For the record, I think the red carpeting is rad. I'll tell you a secret, I'm thinking of installing red carpeting in our soon-to-be nursery.

I like pale blue with red, tan with red. Really, I think of red as a neutral - in my wardrobe, red shoes go with anything, you know? So you may have many more options than you think!
(Except I'd avoid bright yellow [McDonald's] and bright or deep green [Christmas], but I'm sure you weren't doing that anyway.)

Congratulations! What an enormous space!

Oh my gawd, I love the Mad Men party suggestion! That is fabulous!!!!!

Andrea (copywriter)

live with it until you redecorate. who's going to see your basement anyway?