basement of your dreams

[Di3kids]

We've hired someone to finish our basement so we can use it as a family room/schoolroom/craft room, etc. Using our dining room table as a family meal table, school table, and craft location just isn't working anymore. I'm not very talented in home decor/organization - what would you do if you could/already did to your basement? My children are 9, 13, and 15. Thanks so much!

[samba]

Put in windows if possible. Our basement serves as school room, play room and home office. Lack of natural light (only one window) is the only thing I don't like about the space and it makes it hard to be down there for long periods.

[Melissa in Australia]

I would LOVE a basement. unfortunately they are very rare in Australia. I personally don't know anyone who has one, though I do know that there are a few in Australia.

[Lolly]

Agreeing with windows! If I couldn't put windows in, I would not finish the basement. Other than that, I'd go for a bathroom if possible. Sink and fridge would be really nice. Lots of cabinets or shelving. Tile floor. Computer station. Gaming area. Some sort of fireplace or wood/coal stove would be nice. Basements tend to be a bit chilly.

 

Adding, stay away from carpeting, it gets moldy very quickly in basements!

Edited June 13, 2010 by Lolly

[The Girls' Mom]

We had a partially finished basement in our old house.

 

I liked having windows.

 

I would paint the walls a bright cheerful color, because even with windows it can become cave like.

 

I would have LOVED a bathroom.

 

I would have installed a wall of cabinets and counter-top for crafts and messy school stuff.

 

Lots of bookshelves.

 

I would have a laminate or tile floor, with rugs. Much easier to clean up messes.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

Definitely a bathroom!

 

In my ideal basement, I would have separate areas for crafts, school, and games. I would paint it in bright colors and have thick carpeting on the floor.

 

In the school area, I would have extra lighting, lots of shelves and cupboards, and a big whiteboard on the wall.

 

In the craft area, I would have custom built shelves and cabinets for supplies and several long tables.

[laughing lioness]

We are finishing our basement right now as part of our house re-build. We put in a bedroom with an egress window, though no closet (it's a 5 sided room, so that would have really closed it in). A full bathroom. A large, open room. We put in new stairs (the old ones were 90 years old, what a difference wide, deep stairs make), 2 other new windows. We moved the laundry room to the back room, next to the full bath, and added a utility sink. We finished the ceilings.

If we stay in the house we are going to add a wood burning stove to the large main room. I'd like a ping-pong table. We painting the entire house (to start with) a wheat color. Our basement has 9' ceilings, so it's big and open. I'm going to stain the concrete floor and put in plush area rugs. My older kids want a dorm fridge down there, and I think I'm agreeing with them. Our dogs will sleep in the utility room, so we are planning on an area for thier beds/crates.

I am also going to put in a chalk board wall.

[Rosy]

We're planning to finish our basement in a year or two. We'll do one wall that is all shelves--mostly for books, but also for DVDs, games, etc. Cabinets would be great. I'll probably have to settle for a table that can be folded up and put away. Windows for sure. Lots of comfy couches and bean bags. We're planning on getting a projector for movies. We would love it if this was our kids' favorite place to hang out when they're teens. Maybe a mini-fridge and some food prep and storage options.

[jld]

This is the next part of our remodel. We're making it as basic but decent as we can, since the upper level cost a lot more than we expected.

 

We're making an inside entrance to the basement (so it will be warm) where we will hang coats and put shoes (right now the entrance to the basement is a part of the garage -- really inconvenient). We'll redo the basement steps and door, and repaint the whole thing, walls and floor.

 

We're adding a 3/4 bath, putting in an egress window, and replacing a few other windows. I'm not sure what we'll do for lighting yet, but that is super important, because without good lighting, the kids will be too scared to go down there.

 

One wall will be shelves, and one wall tables. There's sort of a great room in one half which will be a media room -- we're planning to put the TV down there so upstairs it will be quiet. Along the wall I'd like to build a computer bar.

 

We're not going to put in a bedroom right now, though that may come later. We're going to make a utility area along another wall, installing a countertop and some sort of rack to hang clothes on. We also need a spot for ironing.

 

We're going back to America for Sept. and Oct. and need to sort through the whole basement and box everything up so the work can begin in the winter. What a job. We also have to have the plans drawn up before we go so the contractor knows just what to do.

 

And, of course, we have to have the down payment ready, and a plan for the rest of the cost. If we had known how much work and money all of this was going to be, I think we may have just sold the house instead. Oh, well.

[Denisemomof4]

make it as bright as possible. Our last basement was dark with a bulkhead. I wasn't crazy about space downstairs but it was our first place and we really needed the extra space.

 

In this house our basement has large windows, a green house, and is a walkout. HUGE difference.

 

I think a basement could work, but proper lighting is VERY important.

 

Also consider whether or not you want to be away from the rest of the house. We were considering a school room downstairs but I realized that I get most of my cleaning/straightening up when we're schooling upstairs. I realized being downstairs I would have nothing to do but laundry. FOr us, I'm glad we never moved downstairs, but I'm sure for many others it works out perfectly. I can also see that being away from it all can make school be the ONLY focus, which would be good, too.