Posting about my trip to South Carolina will have to wait until tomorrow when I have more time.  In the meantime, a reader has been waiting over a week for a reply to a write in dilemma. 

Dear Denise,

I have a family room in the basement that I have a definite dilemma when deciding how to decorate. There is a ledge around the entire room – about 4 feet high and 12 inches deep in addition to baseboard heating around the room. I’m not sure how to address the ledge. I also have another dilemma – pertaining to the colors. it’s a large space, and we have a wood stove. The windows are hidden behind bushes in the yard and not much light penetrates. it’s a drop ceiling and putting a sheetrock ceiling is somewhat out of the question because we need access to a variety of pipes, cleanouts, electrical boxes in the ceiling. Basically – I need light, but painting a light color seems out of the question. The wood stove would cause a light color to look dirty in no time.

Any suggestions?

Basements can be dark, gloomy places with their low ceilings and lack of natural light. Creating a happy, friendly space can be a challenge.

Since adding a drop ceiling is not an option, I would suggest painting the current ceiling and everything on it pure white. Everything. This is a very time consuming job, but I have a client who spent a few weekends doing so to great success. (If you are ever going to hire a painter-this would be the time!) I have also seen this done with matte black paint. The effect was really dramatic at first, but soon all the tops of the pipes and trusses were covered with a thick, ugly layer of dust.

Consider painting out the area around the wood stove an accent color. Measure out a proportional area, tape it off and paint it a rich, strong color. Try a deep ash gray to camouflage the ashes and soot. Consider Natural Gray VM 78 from Ralph Lauren Paints. The rest of the room can now be painted a bright, light tone. Try something with a bit of pink such as Cameo Pink VM 41 also by Ralph Lauren. Whisper soft pinks can glow in low light conditions and when paired with deep ash gray the pink will look more sophisticated than childish.

Concerning the rather odd ledge, do you need to address it all? Have you attempted to ignore it altogether? The ledge is at the height and is deep enough to be used as a shelf, so I imagine it becomes a catchall for clutter. If so, consider designating a just few areas to be used as shelves. Place baskets, magazine files or whatever will corral your particular clutter in these areas and discipline yourself and your family to use them.

Suppress the urge to slam your furniture up against the walls, shotgun style. Create separate, floating areas instead. Situate the conversation area near the wood stove and recall the days when life revolved around the hearth.