Need help with basement layout/remodel

last year

We are thinking of remodeling our basement. When we moved in 10 years ago, we just painted the paneling white with the idea that we will move to a new house. We like where we live now and bigger/nicer homes are 4 times as much as our home so we are staying put and want to expand our living space.

We are thinking of adding drywall, putting new floors, and updating the ceiling (and maybe updating the doors and window). Before we do all that, I wanted to come up with a furniture layout that would be both functional and would look good but with all the crevices and odd measurements of the space, I am struggling.

We want to use the room as a lounge space (TV or projector?), office and possibly workout area OR space to put a foldable bed for when we have family visiting (we have the foldable beds in the storage). Here is the floor plan with measurements and how we have our furniture setup now (PLEASE ignore the mess). Both sofas are reclining and very comfortable, but we are okay replacing the existing furniture for anything that is more functional. I also thought that adding a dry bar with a mini fridge for drinks may be cool but I am struggling with placement. I have been looking at amazing basement photos on houzz, but I am having a very hard time envisioning how we can improve our space.

Any suggestions or ideas would be highly appreciated! Thank you!

Mira

Featured Answer

Emily

last year

last modified: last year

Here's a layout that might work for you. A sectional with sleeper pullout would be nice for guests. You have a lot of exercise equipment, so if some of it can be placed in the laundry/mech room - or at least stored in there when not in use- it would give you more room and not look so cluttered. I placed the freezer in the back corner space out of eyesight, but without measurements not sure that works for you. Wasn't sure if you planned on replacing flooring, but there are a lot of nice options out there for below grade. Hope some of this helps with ideas.

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Comments (6)

miraspasov
Original Author
last year
Thank you Emily! This layout looks interesting. I love the desk area at that location. I want to add a bookcase or something similar next to the desk. I will measure and move things around to see how I feel about putting the sofa in the middle and tv on the wall across from the stairs.

Yes, we are going to replace the floor but we haven’t looked at what options there are.

As for the chest freezer, I could actually either remove it or put it in the laundry room. The corner on the lower right corner is where the stairs from the top land - sorry for not making it clear on my initial drawing. The door across from the bathroom is for the storage space under the stairs.

We have family usually visit us once a year and the my stay for a few weeks. We used to have sleeper sofas but they weren’t that comfortable so that is why we got these super comfy portable beds with memory foam mattresses that we put out when needed.
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Emily
last year
That's usually the case with sleeper sofas. How many foldable beds do you have and how many people do you need to sleep? Are you wanting the portable beds to be out all the time or just a convenient place to store them in the room? If just storage you could build a closet to house them.
miraspasov thanked Emily
miraspasov
Original Author
last year
We have the portable beds (2) and we store them away. We put them out and they go where the gym is. (The gym equipment is all foldable and we put it all away when we need to put the beds out.) That is what I was thinking of continuing to do...

One thing that your comments made me think of more is how busy the gym area is and if there is a way to somehow hide it.
Emily
last year
Here's another idea if you have the room to spare in the laundry room. If you can move the doors in that area and under the stairs storage door then you could move the bulk of the exercise equipment in that corner out of the main view as you enter the room. If you wanted more room for the beds you could have a smaller sectional or sofa/chair.
miraspasov thanked Emily
miraspasov
Original Author
last year
last modified: last year
Thanks for this layout idea. Unfortunately, the weight lifting stuff wont fit because I need about 8-9 feet, but there are only about 5-6. However, I wonder if the desk/office area could be moved there.

Someone suggested that I use one of those room dividers to visually hide the gym equipment. Something similar to this but not as high, just a little above the sofa: https://www.wayfair.com/outdoor/pdp/miruo-6-ft-h-x-4-ft-w-metal-privacy-screen-mruo1113.html . In this case, I would need to keep the sofa on the same wall as it is now. (I apologize that my drawings are not as pretty as yours, but I am totally improvising how to use these tools lol.)