Livin Lodge Basement Remodel: Family Room Pictures
Basement Remodeling
A great way to add living space to your home is to think about remodeling your basement. Finished basements can almost double your square footage giving you a welcome addition at usually a lower cost than adding on to your home.
The type of basement you have will depend on the costs associated with the remodel. A walkout or daylight basement gives you more options for rooms and design. However, larger windows can be added with a little excavation.
TIP: If you are in the process of building a home, this is the time to be thinking about window sizes regardless if you plan on finishing your basement right away or not. Advance planning will save you grief later.
***Also, if you live in an area that has cold winters, seriously consider putting in radiant floor heating before the basement floor is poured. This is a little luxury that you will absolutely love. Basements get cold and drafty in the Winter and having heated floors completely takes the cold draft away. If your floor has already been poured you may want to try baseboard radiant heat. It is the same type of idea in that it warms the perimeter of the room at the floor.
I am writing a series on a Lodge Living Decor Basement Remodel. The first part is going to focus on the family room. I will go on to write articles on bathroom design, guest bedroom, trophy room and game room design. The decor ideas are all rustic in nature and the layout of the basement design is done in such a way that every bit of space is usable.
Family Room Remodeling
A basement family room adds a fun casual living space for the family to hang out. Often times our teenage kids take this room over with their friends, which is fine with me!
A fireplace adds a nice warm focal point to the room. Of course it is most easily added at the time the house is built but this also can be added later with a little work. Electric fireplaces also give the warm feel without the excavation. Picking a surround and hearth of stacked stone or fieldstone gives a rustic or lodge feel. Adding rustic accessories accentuates the feeling.
Most basements will have some sort of support poles which can get in the way of a good floor plan. We had one pole where we didn't want a wall. Instead of making a wall to separate the kitchenette area from the family room, we simply covered the pole with wood. This way it looked more like an open beam you might find in a cabin or a lodge and went with the decor we were going for. Strategically placing the furniture and lamps also helped to make it fit right in.
We chose a dark burgundy paint color for the walls of the family room to cozy it up. It is a fairly large open area and can get away with a darker color. All of the surrounding rooms that we look into are done in a tan which really accentuates the family room.
Kitchenette: Having the kitchenette as part of the family room has proved to be extremely useful. Parties are made much easier when we gather in the basement. There is a walkout slider going out onto a large patio. This has proved ideal for graduation parties and other outdoor entertaining. Food can be kept inside even when eating is set up for outside. Having the extra appliances is also very handy for entertaining.
Making Use Of Available Space
With the fireplace and windows and traffic flow to consider, I didn't have a lot of options for television placement. Unfortunately, a t.v. was a necessity downstairs and a plasma t.v. was out of the question.
Luckily, there was the area underneath the stairs. We decided to finish it off by cutting out a square for our t.v. to fit. It is totally out of the way and yet visible from all seating areas. The square was cut a little taller than the television so we made the best of it and placed a canoe on top of the t.v.
To the left of the bottom of the stairs is a closet door which opens to underneath the stairs. This area acts as storage and is access to the back of the television and the surround sound system. It's a great use of space and keeps electronics hidden.
When you are framing in your floor plan, consider options for any space that looks like it could be wasted. Instead of walling over a space to get a room to look right, think about built in shelving or a storage closet. Little nooks add character and interest and plenty of design options. Since basements have mechanicals that you have to frame around, you will probably find plenty of opportunity for little nooks and crannies of interest.
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