You know that unfinished basement in your home - that dark, damp space with so much potential? With the right remodeling team, your basement can be transformed into just about anything, adding both monetary and emotional value to your home. If you’re not sure exactly how to transform your space, we’ve got plenty of ideas we’ve picked up over the years as we made our clients’ visions reality.
If you love having people over and strive to be the perfect host, how about transforming your basement into a space for entertaining? Imagine a fully stocked, built-in bar for your guests to gather around, chat and have a good time. With the open space of most basements, you’ll have room for seating, flat screens, and maybe even a pool table. Dream big when creating an entertaining space in your basement!
If driving to the gym down the road isn’t your thing, bring the gym to your home instead! Whether you want a few pieces of equipment like an elliptical machine or treadmill and some hand weights, or the ultimate home gym, just about any size basement can be remodeled to accommodate your wishes. To really transform your space into the home gym of your dreams, consider adding a bathroom and laundry room to your basement remodel. That way, you can shower and toss your sweaty clothes in the laundry without heading upstairs - keeping that notorious “gym smell” away from the rest of your home.
Transforming your basement into an apartment has several advantages to you. You can rent the space to earn additional income, use it as a place for out of town guests or an aging parent to stay, or stay in the apartment yourself while completing other remodeling projects in your home. A basement apartment is possibly the most versatile use of your space. For small basements, you can create a studio apartment with a kitchenette, bathroom, and stacking washer and dryer. For larger basements, add a bedroom or two to the space with a nice, comfortable living space.
Working from home can be quite difficult (we know firsthand!). Without a designated office space, you can easily be distracted by unfinished chores around the house or family members wanting your attention. Fortunately, transforming your basement into an office is easy! Depending on your work needs, you may only need some new walls and flooring to create a usable office space for yourself. If your work demands more accommodations, those can certainly be added to your basement remodel. For instance, if your job requires a lot of video conferencing, consider adding built-ins behind your desk for functionality and a more professional look on camera.
A playroom can help your children explore their creativity, improve social development, and most importantly, have fun! It can also help keep the rest of your home tidy. Remodeling your basement for a playroom is relatively inexpensive to do. For a basic, kid-friendly space, your finished basement should include durable flooring and an open floor plan for plenty of room to play. From there, consider adding additional options to your playroom such as a half bathroom or built-in storage so the mess of toys can be put away after playtime is over for the day.
Hopefully one of these five ideas sparked some inspiration and you’re now ready to take your unfinished space and turn it into your dream finished basement. If you need a little more inspiration before you get started, check out our portfolio of homes within Montgomery County, PA and Bucks County, PA and contact us if you have any questions.
This blog was originally published in April, 2019 and updated in February, 2021 for accuracy