Are you considering remodeling your home? Are you thinking about doing something different with your basement? There are a lot of things that you can do with that space to make it more “user friendly.” When people remodel their attics and add real, livable spaces there, they increase the value of their home by nearly 75% of the cost of the remodel. Adding the same kind of spaces to the basement has a similar effect. At the end of the day, whether you are adding living spaces or bathrooms to the basement or the attic, you are expanding the square footage of your home. That is always something that adds value.
4 Things You Can Do with Your Basement:
- Create a recreation or family room. If there is one part of your home that was tailor made to be turned into a recreational room or a family room, it is the basement. These are ideal spaces to be used for games and activities that your entire family can have fun doing. It can be remodeled to accommodate activities adults and children enjoy or you can make just for the kids. If you have a pool table, this is the place for it. It is also great for that giant screen television and to store all your board games and the like. You should decorate it in a similar fashion to the rest of your home but when you get furniture for it, make that more casual and laid back. This should be set up to be a comfortable and casual space. This is where the family lets their hair down.
- Put in a bedroom and a bathroom. Do you have teenagers living in the house? Do you have guests come through a lot? A basement can also be a great spot to put in either a bedroom for a teenager or a guest room for family and friends who visit often. What you need to do is really think about who would be using the bedroom and bathroom. That will give you a better idea about what amenities you will need to include. Check with local officials about the building codes for your area. Some areas require any bedroom that is placed in the basement have an emergency exit that you can get outside. This does not have to be a door. It can be a window.
- Put in a kitchen. If your basement is large enough for a recreation room plus a small kitchen, that is something you should look into putting in. A mini kitchen also works if you are using the basement as a guest room. Your guests may appreciate having access to a small kitchen. When you entertain in your recreation room, having a mini kitchen that can double as a wet bar can make your parties and get togethers easier and more relaxed. Remember to do this, you will need access to hot and cold running water in the basement. You will need a power source and outlets for a microwave, mini-refrigerator and any other appliances you are going to want.
- Think about your flooring options. You are going to want the floors in the basement to be as comfortable as you can make them. Most likely, the floor that is in there before you start your renovations is just concrete. You basically have a blank slate to do whatever you want. Carpet is always a nice choice to keep people’s feet warm. Even with shoes on, the concrete can be cold. You can put in a plywood subfloor to mitigate the concrete. Regardless of what you do about that, the only kind of flooring that is not recommended for the basement area is hardwood flooring. Tile, paint, carpet, vinyl and laminate all work well in basements.
Have fun when you remodel your basement. This is one area that you can make info just about anything. They make great recreation rooms that you can use to host fantastic Super Bowl watching parties or pool tournaments. They can be great guest suites or fabulous bedrooms for picky teenagers. You are limited only by your imagination and budget.