Need help with family room...colors and lighting

[Anonymous]

The rest of our house is medium to light gray, which we could continue in the basement, but I want to avoid the "sea of gray" that's so often disparaged on here. There's a chance we could sell the house within 5 years so I don't want to do anything too polarizing. I'm also afraid gray will be depressing in a low-light room, and afraid white will look like an institution.

I don't really want the cost and mess of putting in recessed lights right now, but we need to do something. The lights we have are those awful flush dome lights, but the ones that came with our house have the added bonus of a lovely leaf filigree pattern around the edges. Yuck. We might do recessed lights if I can't find anything in the interim that will work and not be super-expensive. They are also very dark and yellow the room.

-House is a modest 1950's split similar to this: https://www.redfin.com/VA/Alexandria/506-N-Naylor-St-22304/home/11853870
-Our style skews modern/mid-century modern, a mix of Crate and Barrel, West Elm and IKEA
-Room is long and narrowish (probably ~15x20), with one end being the kids' play area and the other end the sofa/TV.
-There are only 2 ceiling fixtures and they are on the same switch
-Ceiling is somewhat low and has that swirl texture (another ick, but I'm probably not changing it right now); there's the added challenge of low-hanging ductwork although it is drywalled over so it creates shadowy ceilings but isn't exposed
-we have 3 windows, but they are high and short, and don't let in a ton of light
-right now the room is carpeted but probably going to be pulling that due to allergies and disgust factor and putting in wood-look ceramic tiles, but haven't decided on the "finish"/color
-only color in the basement is an orange futon and a pair of lamps with turquoise shades (grad school fixtures...don't ask) plus all the kids' stuff; we can change the sofa out in the long-term but not short-term; we actually use it a lot as an extra bed
-room is currently off-white/cream, and I hate it. The lack of natural light makes the room seem yellow and depressing.
-trim is wood color but since it isn't nice wood trim we will likely paint it white like the rest of the upstairs
-no window treatments except honeycomb blinds, which I'll probably replace, but not sure with what yet.
-there's a brick facade gas fireplace that doesn't work (the fireplace conveyed "as is"); trying to decide between ripping out the fake brick fireplace altogether to make the room bigger, or getting it repaired and then painting or doing a new facade. The "brick" is an ugly 1980's looking brick and doesn't even match the house. I don't know what's behind it though. It's literally smack dab in the middle of the room along the one would-be-uninterrupted wall. We could really use more storage, so I'd love to put in some built-in's instead of the fireplace.

What kind of lights should we put in? Recessed lights would probably be around $600-$800 depending on how many lights we put in, so something much less than that! Or maybe we can't achieve modern and clean looking room without recessed lights?
What color should we paint the walls?
What color/finish flooring?
What to do with the fireplace?

I have redone our living room and dining room with ideas I found online, but I have zero inspiration for this room. Please help!

[Anonymous]

You might consider tract lighting. Its usually not good for formal rooms. But, I think they usually blend into more casual rooms and offer a lot of flexibility.

Maybe you could do an accent wall to introduce more dramatic color into the room. If in doubt, I'd just stick to a pale gray - perhaps a shade lighter than you think you want, if it is for a basement.

[Anonymous]

Have you thought about using daylight lightbulbs vs. soft white? Made a surprising difference in our basement.

We did edgecomb grey and love it. (it's a hugely popular color on this forum too) It's a warm grey that isn't too dark for a basement and looks great with white trim and pops of bright color.

[Anonymous]

I think blue in this palette will blend the gray in other parts of the house and looks good in a basement or low light room

[Anonymous]

^ that's one of my favorite color palettes and is super popular on Pinterest. I used Behr Perfect Taupe and Harmonious for similar look

[Anonymous]

Our house is mostly gray but the basement is a navy blue -- Our basement is a walk out, though, so it gets a lot of light.

[Anonymous]

What is that third square--Revere Pewter?

[Anonymous]

We have this flush mount fixture in our basement and I think it looks nice and somewhat modern: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Design-House-2-Light-Satin-Nickel-Ceiling-Light-with-Alabaster-Glass-503284/202500719

And I think a warmer gray, like BM Edgecomb Gray or Balboa Mist could work well.

[Anonymous]

That was way too long so I only skimmed it. Go for light blue - it'll blend with the gray in other rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think blue in this palette will blend the gray in other parts of the house and looks good in a basement or low light room

OP here, and thanks for the idea. It's a really pretty palette! I'll see if I can pick up some samples.

Also like the idea of the flushmount light or track lighting other PP's suggested. I want to do recessed lighting, but it would look dumb to have recessed lighting with that ugly textured ceiling. I just don't think we can afford to spend SO much on the basement, since our kitchen needs a renovation, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have this flush mount fixture in our basement and I think it looks nice and somewhat modern: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Design-House-2-Light-Satin-Nickel-Ceiling-Light-with-Alabaster-Glass-503284/202500719

And I think a warmer gray, like BM Edgecomb Gray or Balboa Mist could work well.

That light fixture is cute and looks very low profile. I like those drum shade lights but in a low ceiling, that just won't work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is that third square--Revere Pewter?

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/185562447121899691/

Flagstone, Simply White, Revere Pewter and Sea Star

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That was way too long so I only skimmed it. Go for light blue - it'll blend with the gray in other rooms.

Sorry for the length! Trying my best to describe the room and its "features"/limitations. We're poor DIY folk so getting a designer to come and help us isn't an option!