Why Paint The Basement Ceiling?
Designing our basement remodel presented a unique challenge when it came to the ceiling. Standing at a modest ceiling height of 6 feet 7 inches, the ceiling had a network of plumbing pipes and HVAC ducts to deal with. Lowering the ceiling with a new drop ceiling wasn’t aesthetically pleasing to me, and we were advised against drywalling without leaving access to the water lines. Painting the unfinished basement ceiling black emerged as the most appealing solution. See how it turned out!
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Pros and Cons of Painting the Ceiling:
Cons:
This is a 650-square-foot ceiling, and it took several coats of primer and paint. We had been warned that the bare wood and plywood would soak up quite a bit of paint, but OMG! We went through four cans of primer and two gallons of paint.
Time- This project took us much longer than we expected (once again, because of so many coats)! With the drying time between coats, it took us four very long days to complete.
Pros:
Painting the ceiling allowed us to maintain the height and helped the room feel intentional!
What we used to paint our Basement Ceiling Dark:
- Paint Sprayer
- Primer
- Paint
- Tyvek Suit or Clothing you will trash after.
- Paint brush
- Small Paint Roller
- Plastic Sheeting or something to cover your flooring
Getting Started:
For best results, you are going to need a paint sprayer.
Trust me on this…you seriously need to spray a ceiling. We would never be done if we had tried to hand-brush or paint-roll this job. We used this gifted sprayer from Wagner.
Tips for Spray Painting Your Ceiling Black
1. Get the Room Ready- Move all your furniture out of the way and cover it with drop cloths or plastic sheeting.
2. Tape Off What You Don’t Want to Paint-Remove switch plate covers, baseboard, or trim you are not painting.
3. Get Yourself Ready- Change into paint clothes and wear a hat to cover your hair. 🙂 Use a respirator and goggles. My husband, at one point, wore a Tyvek suit!
4. For the Sprayer. Thin the paint if necessary. Don’t be afraid to thin your paint if needed. If the paint is spitting, try thinning the paint a bit.
5. Spray Primer- It took us four cans of primer.
6. Time for color- paint the first coat in one direction and your second coat opposite, ensuring even coverage.
How and What to Paint on an Exposed Basement Ceiling:
Our exposed ceiling had lots of nooks, crannies, and wires to spray. We also had exposed insulation in the rafters that we covered with Thermo Pan, which we cut to fit and then painted (it’s the shiny silver stuff next to the ductwork below). The sprayer gave us a smooth finish, especially on the metal ducts. Once we had finished spraying, we then went back through and used a brush and a small paint roller on any areas that were missed or needed more paint.
We even painted the foam that wraps the plumbing pipes.
Sherwin-Williams Urbane Bronze
Dark and Moody Vibe
Did I mention WE LOVE IT!
My local Sherwin Williams friends (whom I love!) steered me toward the type of primer and paint that I needed, and we used their Emerald line in a satin finish in the Sherwin-Williams color of The Year for 2021 Urbane Bronze. I feel that the Emerald Line is one of the best paints on the market, and I have used it in several projects. The Urbane Bronze color suggestion was perfection as I love the dark and moody color, and it feels like it’s picking up some green tones in the basement.
We added light fixtures to draw the eyes up.
I love how the dark ceiling makes the windowless space feel warm and cozy, perfect for a place to hang out and play games.
Maintaining the height was such a game changer in this space. It feels cozy and not confining at all. I love the contrast between the black ceilings and the lighter color walls (SW Alabaster). It was certainly worth the time it took to get it painted.
What we really love is the industrial look.
What a good idea painting the ceiling was!!
Update on the Dark Basement Ceiling:
We loved the black painted ceiling in our home so much that we decided to replicate the look in our newest short-term rental property.
For this 100-plus-year-old home, we opted for SW Iron Ore, a soft black, creating an ideal theater space. This time, we intentionally left the heat duct unpainted, a design choice that lends an industrial feel and complements the corrugated metal behind the bar.
It’s a much smaller space than the first basement, and the ceiling is just as low. But keeping the walls white helps it feel cozy and not cramped.
The ceiling here is also less than 8 ft.
When we chose SW Iron Ore for the second basement, we looked at several other black paint colors (SW Caviar was flirting with me). I must have sampled six colors. Our first basement above is SW Urbane Bronze (which has more bronze in it). Black can be tricky, so I highly recommend sampling!
Some Additional Black Paint Colors I Love:
- SW 6990 Caviar
- BM 2127-20 Black Ink
- BM 2124-10 Wrought Iron
- Valspar 4011-2 Dark Kettle Black
- Farrow & Ball 256 Pitch Black
- SW 7675 Sealskin
Until next time,
xx
-Libbie
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So Cool Libbie. I wouldn’t have thought to do this, but I see how paint vs drywall would make the ceilings feel taller.
Where did you get the table !?
Hi! What color is the accent wall color?
The color is SW Retreat
Beautiful work! Do you know the specific primer you used? I am having a hard time finding one that works both for the wood and the metal ductwork.
Hello Dawn,
We used Kilz Adhesion. We found it at Lowes.