Decorators face plenty of uphill battles, but one of the trickiest spaces to work with is actually downhill: the basement. How do you make a subterranean space that’s often associated with root cellars and lava-lamp-lit shindigs feel like something other than a dank dumping ground for Goodwill-bound castoffs?

“Listen, most basements tend to have lower ceilings and an ooky, musty vibe,” says Tracy Morris, a designer in McLean, Virginia. But Morris and other designers have found that the right paint color — whether it’s an airy shade or an inky tone — can help make the space feel much more livable.

Excerpt from 6 paint colors that make basements feel like real rooms published in The Washington Post.