The wall on the left, marked with orange, would need to be stubbed out into the room to make it even with the wall on the right. Then you could hang a door there.

As above. Studs and some drywall : ) Stub the left side forward.....Hope that's a bypass closet to the left or the new door will be a real pain.

Perhaps a different arrangement of furniture in their room......which we can't see ? Allowing something further down the stair

Agree. Would opt for rearranging of furniture. Some transparency is what would be in order. You need to have an easy way to know what is happening down there. Without giving it away.

This is approximately what you would end up with. If there is going to be no lock anyway, I would do a pair of narrow doors or a bifold door.

Sorry but maybe ask them what thye are doing that they need any privacy. I think this is something that needs a bit more info , like are they sleeping down there or just hanging out? I think the instally of a door will look unattractive and maybe just a firniture rearrangement will solve the issue

Hi. Some teens can get super secretive as it is… even if they aren’t really up to anything. I wanted to disable the lock on our youngest child’s bedroom at one point. Even threatened to take it off the hinges (yeah… I know…an hysterical parenting moment). The other two never locked their doors 🤷‍♀️. If it’s just a hang out spot, I’d leave it as is.

Thank you all for your comments. Def no lock! This is more of a project than I expected. I hate to spend the money on bumping out the wall, when I won’t like the look of the finished product. Maybe more if a foldable - retractable door. It might look cheap but it would do the trick. they jsut want a little privacy for warching a movie with their boyfriend/girlfriend. the couch faces the stairs and there is no changing that.

They can have all the privacy they want when they move out 😉. Putting up a door will make that space awkward. They will only be teens for a few more years, and you’ll be stuck with whatever remedy you come up with.

Tranks all, yiu have me reconsidering this door. As always, I appreciate the advice. a lot of their friends have basements to hangout in and we dont, but i agree - ill skip the door!

Lots of parenting advice in this thread! Interesting. We have a rec room downstairs and are considering putting a door on the basement side. It can get quite loud if they are watching a movie, have friends over etc. A door would help a ton. A door isn’t going to stop a couple from making out lol.

My gut reaction: if the SON/DAUGHTER is the one asking for a door for privacy, my response would be No way Jose.’

My house, my rules.

I don’t think it’s setting them up for anything other than a space to watch TV comfortably with friends that doesn’t disturb the rest of the family who are also in the house. Giving teens comfortable spaces to hang out isn’t a green light for sex.

Sorry but maybe ask them what thye are doing that they need any privacy.

Oh FFS, I realize it's been a really long time since you remember being a teenager. You have got to be kidding me.

@bligh101 -- I once had a basement bedroom with no door. I hung a heavy curtain for visual privacy (and it also helped trap heat in my room during the cold winter). Would that work, or do you need noise abatement? The curtain could be hung facing their room, at the bottom of the stairs.

Just curious, do the people who think their kids are having sex in the basement while the parents are more or less one room away take the doors Off their basements, if they have a basement door there, as most non-split plans do?

I agree with @SeattleMCM - hanging a heavy curtain at the bottom of the stairs is a great idea.

We have a very active teen basement and I love being the place that kids feel like they can come over to hang out, play loud movies, listen to inappropriate music, drop the f bomb during an intense poker game etc - I think a heavy curtain at the bottom is a great idea, especially for noise (and so they don't feel like someone is listening at the top of the stairs) - I was also wondering about one of these accordion doors, maybe something like that could work?

A door can just mean they don’t want interaction, which is pretty typical for any teenager. The word privacy I think triggered the negativity, but we loved having a door (for us as well), as my kids were the ones having lots of friends over. Actually when my son got married, some of his friends came over to thank my husband and I for our years of hospitalty and said we felt like family. We would have missed being as close to all three of our kids’ friends (who are now visiting us with their wife and first baby). Giving them their own space was important to us and it paid off.

How about a door that doesn’t look like a door?

Interesting Ideas · More Info

Instead of a door at the top of the stairs, can you do one at the bottom? While I agree with a lot of the parenting comments, I'll throw one out there. If they have an inkling or desire to do "it " ( meaning, drink, make out, have sex, smoke weed ), they are going to whether there is a door there or not. You know your kids - maybe they just want to be able to talk freely with their friends or use swear words or listen to trashy music that they wouldn't do in front of you.

You can always tell the to leave the door open if you feel iffy about a particular event.

Good luck!

Very cool

What does the bottom of the stairs look like, perhaps something could be done there. Perhaps a glass paneled door to keep the area light filled and could be left open when not in use. Having a door at the top of the stairs probably means it would always have to be in the closed position, whereas at the bottom it may not be much of an issue.

No privacy for teens in your home. Don't make it so easy and don't let it seem that you are going easy on rules. Should something happen in your home and there is an accident of any kind involving underage activity, you will be held responsible. Then you won't have to worry about a privacy door, because you won't own the house anymore. You know..."where did you have the last drink?"

When you say, "a lot of their friends have basements to hangout in and we don't" - what do you mean? It looks like you have a basement, and you said your teens hang out down there. Maybe the issue isn't a door, but the way the space is arranged/used.

Judianna20 what a ridiculous comment! I assume your kids, which you surely have otherwise your comment is even worse and completely ignorant, have no doors on their rooms then? No friends allowed over? Bubble wrapped and don’t go out of the house in case of accident? How did someone asking about a door turn into your nonsensical comment.

I grew up in a house like this. My dad put a door near the bottom of the stairs. It was two narrow doors that met in the middle and swung into the basement area. My family added it to keep heat in the room in the winter. I enjoyed the privacy when my friends were visiting. Some "teen indiscretions" may have happened down there, but there were way worse ones committed away from home. :)

IMO if you want to give them a door do it at the bottom of the stairs but honestly maybe try to move the sofa if you post a floor plan maybe we can help with that. I can't imagine where the TV is if the couch faces the stairs . BTW i raised kids and grandkids and have international students and all of them had rules and no locks on doors and I respected their privacy when they were alone in their room the rest of the time its my house and my rules . why make it too easy ..

With regards to locked doors, yes I know a lot of houses do not have locks on kid's bedroom doors or even bathroom doors and a closed door is a request for privacy in bedroom or bath.

On the other hand, this is not the prewar era with mortise locks requiring a key on the outside (and sometimes inside) to deal with a locked door. All privacy sets come with a pin to unlock these doors from the outside. If you don't have the little tool the point of a knife or a pair of scissors will unlock the slot style and the long metal pins to truss a turkey or a nail will unlock the ones with a circular hole. You can get these doors open in a matter of seconds. Hang the tool on the nail used to hang a picture, under the picture. It may be useful in an emergency

The little tool/key is generally kept on the top of the wood trim on top of door (if you have trimmed doors.

Wow, I guess I got lucky, taught ‘em well and had some pretty good kids with good friends. I trusted them a lot. Anyway… I agree with the door, and no lock. I offer only support for the OP parenting - you do you. 👍🏻

No one said to have a door handle with a lock. Just do a simple swinging door.

I would plan for something that is simple - magnetic catch maybe as opposed to an official door. Then have a chat with your kids. If they break your trust in them, then the door comes down and they will have to hang with their friends on the main level.

Who's idea is the door anyway? and what is the reason for it?? It doesn't look like you can see directly into the basement.

Oh for heavens sake........ At seventeen we were sneaking beer into the basement. We necked down there to the 45's on the record player. Got a darn HICKEY that my dad pointed out to my mom one Saturday morning.

It won't matter if a door is locked or not. Would my parents approve the necking, the hickey, the beer? No. Did we do anything dangerous? No. Were all my friends welcome ? Yes. Despite lots of stupid stuff, we survived and grew up. If I had a teen in the house? I'd be afraid today, of the many more things out of my control - like a horrific pill dropped into an innocent beer. The door lock is the least of the worry.

Buy or make a nice three part folding screen they can park at the foot of the stair. Plywood, hinges , paint. Let them tart it up. : ) They just want the view BLOCKED.

The view from the top of the stairs can be accomplished by moving the furniture.

Is it actually clear that they want Visual privacy or is more that they want Conversational privacy or to be able to turn up a movie or music. I never fornicated in my parents' house, least of all when they were home, but I did not necessarily want them to be privy to everything we talked about.

Put up beads. Sort of private, but sort of not.

Or a door with frosted glass. That’s what we did to close up our basement, but it was really more for the noise and to help the room stay warmer. Who knows; maybe it got too warm at times;-) but they made it through their teens ok.
Realistically stuff happens doors or no doors and I don’t think think you can put too much stock in the difference a door will make helping teens navigate teen years safely

Not that you asked, but this parenting book is both wise and very funny. The author was a demi-god in our household.

Anthony E. Wolf Ph.D.
Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me & Cheryl to the Mall?: A Parent's Guide to the New Teenager

Tension rod and a curtain would be my choice. Well, a beaded curtain would because I've always wanted one. But good ones are hard to find.

A barn door might work at bottom of stairs (a single or two panels). Stays out of the way, attractive, versatile and if a DIY‘er, not hard to do. It will also block the noise better than a curtain. There are all kinds of ideas, as well as construction info on Pinterest.

I hear what you are saying regarding teenagers! Door at bottom of steps, keeps noise from rising and heat in colder months in the basement. Go for it!

"Sorry but maybe ask them what thye are doing that they need any privacy."

Let me help ya'll out with your memories. 50 years ago, my girlfriend and I were the ones passionately making out on the sofa in her parent's basement. Good times.

I can still remember the "Door open, feet on the floor" rule. lol.

Better get 'em used to no privacy; it's quiteout of fashion these days.

Yes there are a few good reasons for doors in staircases--privacy for teens would not be one of mine. Ours is totally open, split L so, we deal with heat/cold distribution using ceiling fans and it's been great as we have a pellet stove in the basement that really heats the whole house cheaply. We thought it fine that teens were 'aware' we were just at the top of the stairs. It kept them respectful in our home, and us feeling like we were responsible adults. We have a walk out so needed to HEAR if the basement door opened or closed. What a fabulous 'excuse' you have that they don't have the PRIVACY they seek!! We didn't plan it that way either but it sure worked for us!~!!

Geez, this poor woman asks a question and is hammered with comments about her decision making skills and her mothering skills. Maybe she should have said: “Im renting the basement and need to add a door”. People are so judgemental.