Basement Remodel: Basement Bedroom Suite (Part 1)
The basement of this house has presented a quandary since we first moved in. It was a finished basement, supposedly. But it was not really ready to be lived in. The first thing that had to be done, even before we closed on the house, was to have a radon removal system installed (by the previous owner, a relocation company). The granite bedrock around here makes radon problems common, and this house had been tested with an elevated level. Presumably it is fine now, since there is a pipe under the foundation and a fan pulling out the poisonous radioactive gas so we will presumably not suffer cancer for living here.
The basement had wall-to-wall carpeting throughout, except for the utility room and a recently installed bathroom (which includes a glass-walled shower). The bathroom floor is vinyl. The walls of the basement are drywalled, though we had to cut out and replace some of it when water damage caused some mold to form a colony there.
The ceiling, except in the bathroom and the so-called bedroom, was suspended ceiling, with many canister lights. Much of the ceiling (including the drywalled ceiling in the bedroom) has been taken down because of the kitchen remodel we did two summers ago.
The kids' playroom takes up most of the basement. The carpet was taken out (due to the mold) and replaced with some light-colored laminate flooring. The walls are now a sunny yellow. They had been painted with a barnyard theme mural but that was destroyed when we had to cut out the moldy drywall. We have nailed in white beadboard paneling to the bottom third of the wall, and there will be chairrail above that. Someday. We also installed an entertainment center/toy storage system along one long wall. It's not a bad space, when it's clean.
It is the bedroom area of the finished basement that has made us ponder and say "hmmm." It is such an odd layout. The bathroom is triangle shaped, and the hypotanus wall forms one of the bedroom walls, making that room into an elongated pentagon. There is one tiny closet under the stairs. In the middle of the doorways to the closet, bathroom, bedroom and utility room is this big open area of nothingness. Because of the position of the doors, there isn't even a good spot to put in a closet, and we sure need more storage space.
The bedroom has one tiny foundation window. It should not even count as a bedroom without having an egress window, but the house was sold to us as a 4 bedroom home, including the basement bedroom.
I think I have finally figured out what to do, however. The question is, can we do it in time for my friend's upcoming visit? She will be staying for several days and it would be great if she had her own private space, rather than ousting one of my kids out of their bedroom. It will also be handy for my inlaws when they visit, also usually a several-day stay. In the meantime, my husband uses that bathroom and keeps his clothes down there... in piles around the floor or crammed into that tiny closet. It is time to do something and I have a plan that will create a gorgeous basement bedroom suite that will have me tempted to move into the basement.
More about my basement remodel bedroom suite plan.
