Every Friday during the month of November, I’m going to take you on a tour of budget-minded ideas for what I call “fun spaces” in our houses. Those fun spaces are the extra rooms like attics, bonus rooms, and basements that—if you have them—you can use purely for fun, recreation, and games! I know we aren’t all lucky enough to have them, but if you are, you may as well enjoy using them and using them well.
So today, let’s talk about basements. Basements are possibly the most versatile rooms in your home, with almost limitless potential uses. But they can be scary—and not just because of the funny banging sound you hear down there when the furnace comes on, or the creepy spider webs hanging from the rafters, or even because of the red shag carpet the original owners installed 40 years ago. I think there are two main things that intimidate homeowners about basements. First, it’s the size—unfinished basements can look like one giant room, and sometimes it’s hard to envision the possibilities of a space without walls. Second, unless you have egress windows, basements can be pretty dark, making it challenging to figure out how to decorate to compensate for all the shadows.
I’ve found some basements to share with you that were finished or renovated by bloggers, and because the transformations are so impressive, we’re going to take a look at how those makeovers started. I hope seeing how much the following basements changed will inspire you to think about similar spaces in your home more creatively.
Basement Stairs from Bees Knees Bungalow before:
and after:
Basement Redo with checkered floor from 21 Port before:
and after:
A modern take on a hunting theme basement from Josie Jones & Co. before:
and after:
Basement laundry room redo by Harbor Breeze (featured at Remodelaholic) before:
and after:
Basement Makeover by Dixie Delights (featured at Remodelaholic) before:
and after:
Basement Transformation by Maple Leaves and Sycamore Trees (featured at Remodelaholic) before:
and after:
A Basement Bath Renovation by Hardwood Roses (featured at Remodelaholic) before:
and after:
A Basement Bedroom Makeover by Tatertots & Jello before:
and after:
Basement Laundry redo from Chez Larsson before:
and after:
Featured and Pinterest-friendly pictures in this post from Better Homes & Gardens
Wow. Love all the basement renos! Kinda gives me hope. LOL
What great before and afters! I’m so jealous! Would love to have all that extra square footage to play with! We don’t have any basements around here. Too close to the coast, they’d flood!
Great post! We’ve been finishing our basement as well. We built a nook under the stairs.
http://interiorsbykenz.com/building-a-nook-under-the-stairs/
It’s been SO MUCH WORK! UGH! But we are right at the end. Make sure to check out the reveal on the 28th
Those are some great basements, love all the transformations
Those are some great makeovers.
Basements can be a pain. And, I know. I’m now in the process once again of trying to put the finishing touches on mine. Baby steps. *sigh*
Just wondering where I can get a better look at the basement in the first picture – I’m new around here, so forgive me if this is one of your basements and I just don’t know it yet….:)
AnnieO That is from BHG. Here is the link! http://www.bhg.com/rooms/rooms/basement/before-and-after-basement-makeover/#page=4
We’re in the middle of trying to fix up the basement of our 60 yr old house (nothing like an impending graduation party to provide motivation) and seeing these pictures gives me inspiration and hope. We’re leaving the ceiling as is to give us as much heighth as possible, which means pipes, wires and slats will be exposed. We want to paint it all, but I can’t decide between painting it black or the same color as our walls (light taupe). After seeing both choices in pictures of older basements such as ours, I don’t know which way to go – both look great! Anyway, I was so glad to see basements similar to ours in these pics, and how wonderful they look now. Thanks – I really enjoy your site.