Lighting Solutions for the Basement
I have found many basements which have been subject to DIY home improvement projects which end up getting disparaging remarks because they are dark and dismal. If the space is totally underground then finding suitable lighting solutions for the basement can be an arduous task, especially if you are trying to do it all yourself. I have found the florescent lights to be the most advantageous, even though many people are taking out the ballasts and replacing the long tubes with spiral lights. If using the spiral lights, I believe it would be better to use a lighting bar rather than have selected areas with just one bulb. This is more likely to give the overall benefits of good lighting and can be provided using a low wattage.
If it is at all possible, I think that having skylight effects would work miracles for you. By creating an effect of a skylight from the upper rooms you get the lighting in the basement. This can be done by making long, slender light housings on the floor of the first level and inserting plexi-glass, making sure you do not take out the trusses in the floor joints, inserting the tube florescent lights and possibly plexi-glass on top.
It is possible to use this light for both the basement and the room it is in, thus saving even more money. If the lighting is put in such a way as to reflect off the walls upwards into the room and downwards into the basement.
You want to be careful where you put the light housings as you don’t want to be setting furniture on top of it. Do that and you could wind up in the basement on the couch after falling through the floor. If the lighting is not going to be used in the upper rooms, you might consider taking out a portion of the wall and putting the tube lighting in the wall with a downward slant, this can be done from basement.