I'm entering the final frontier for the overhaul of my 1928 Craftsman bungalow. The basement is dry and will be made into different areas: crafts/art studio, laundry, storage/utility, bathroom, and workshop. I will not be framing out the walls or adding a dropped ceiling...I still want it to have a basement feel, just a cleaner, brighter, and more enjoyable version of its current self.

My struggle: whether or not I should paint the ceiling (the floor joists and subfloor of the house's main level). I tend to be a purist in my restoration efforts, but I can't help but think a white (-ish)-painted ceiling would make the entire space so much brighter. Any thoughts on this idea? As someone who has stripped a LOT of woodwork in this place and realizes that once I paint the ceiling, I can't undo it, I need advice! I know I wouldn't want an authentic 1928 basement (what with the coal dust and all), but will I regret painting the underside of my beautiful main-level floors? Can anyone speak from experience (whether you love the result or regret the decision to paint)?

I have seen some basement ceiling boards in older homes that were painted flat black, and they looked pretty sharp. It is especially useful for hiding ductwork. If you are fortunate enough to have a lot of windows that allow light, then you needn't worry about having to paint white. White also shows off the cobwebs. I have yet to see anyone who has truly strove for "authenticity" in the basement of a pre-1930s home. If it's "authentic," then it has never been updated and still has a room with a small pile of coal.

It sounds like you are very lucky to have such a large, finished basement space to put to so many uses!

Thanks for your reply, Gamma.

Well, yes. You've reiterated one of my points--that an authentic 1920s basement isn't all that cool. I'm primarily concerned with the ceiling: has anyone regretted painting it (frequent repainting, even more obvious presence of cobwebs, etc.) or found the outcome to be as I anticipate (bright, spic-and-span clean, etc.)? My concern is that even if I repaint the walls and floor and tidy it up into the functional areas, it's still going to be dark and dingy with the natural wood ceiling.

I wouldn't paint it black; it seems like that wouldn't help my issues of light reflection at all and would just create work to end up with nearly the same result that I have now. I have a total of five windows, but because the neighbors' houses are so close, not a lot of light is allowed in.

I painted my ceiling white a couple of years ago and think it looks great. Lots of work to paint- had to use a paint sprayer- but it's brightened up a smallish room with only one outside light source and I haven't noticed spider webs or anything else that sticks out (maybe I should look up more). I also put in sheetrock so it is not historically correct but we sure do use it a lot. Haven't had to repaint four years later and it still looks good. Good luck to you.

Just an update for anyone who may be considering this project:

Like kbinkowski, I used a paint sprayer (airless) to paint the wood an off-white about a month ago--and I'm so happy with the results. The space is bright, clean, and fresh, just as I was hoping. It looks so good that even this hard-core preservationist doesn't have any heartburn about painting the natural wood.