We built our first basement suite the fall of 2014, and moved in just before Christmas. I like to think of it as “my dream basement suite” and we lived there happily for two years. Let me show you around!
Before you even step foot into the suite, there is a large patio that offers great outdoor living space for the downstairs tenants. And look at that huge window! No, it does not feel like living in a basement.
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Yes, this space is small! You can see pretty much all of it when you stand at the front door. All done, it’s around 620 sq. ft. and we planned and designed every inch of space to be as effective as possible. Although it’s “cozy,” it’s comfortable and still feels spacious.
There is a small closet next to the entry which offers enough storage for coats and shoes. That’s something I love about this place, there is a surprising amount of storage.
Kitchen
Aaaah, the kitchen. Look at all that cupboard space! And cabinets that go up to the ceiling – luxury. Seriously, this is an amazing kitchen. We chose materials that were timeless and simple as well as affordable and durable.
We chose a counter depth refrigerator since the kitchen is quite narrow. A regular fridge would have stuck out an extra 6-8 inches beyond the 24″ deep bottom cabinets and we just couldn’t afford to lose the floor space. Not to mention it would have made opening the oven door really squishy.
Notice all the drawers! There are two banks of three 24″ wide drawers which is really dreamy. You don’t know how horrible storing pots and pans in a cupboard is until you have POTS AND PAN DRAWERS. I don’t know how anyone lives without them. We were able to squeeze quite a bit of counter space out of this kitchen and even a little spot for a stool at the end of the counter on the left side. Perfect for a quick breakfast, making a grocery list, or sitting and chatting with whoever is making dinner.
There is a tall narrow bank of cupboards on the other side of the fridge that offers additional storage. It’s as deep as the cupboard over the fridge and perfect for a food pantry.
Heres the view from the back of the kitchen looking towards the door (in the bathroom doorways). We chose a door that had a big window in it to allow even more light into the space. I think that is really the key to any basement suite feeling like more than just a basement – natural light! Wherever possible, add a window, or a bigger window to let in more light.
For privacy we made sure the door’s window had an adjustable blind between the panes like this. A window with frosted glass also would have worked.
You can also see how much furniture we were able to fit into the space and it still feel usable and not too cluttered.
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Bathroom
The bathroom. Again, lots of storage and utility crammed into a tiny footprint. The large mirror over the vanity helps open up the room and all the white keeps it so clean and airy. We also put lights over the vanity as well as in the ceiling to add as much light as possible.
Because there is very little wall space, we put towel bars on both of the doors (one leads into the common space/utility room). It was fun being creative with how to include some of necessary elements into the room when we didn’t have regular space to work with. The shelving we had built for behind the door acted as a linen closet and held towels, toilet paper, and every other bathroom item you can imagine that didn’t fit in the vanity storage.
Bedroom
Our bedroom was small and simple but the 9′ ceiling, big window, and white paint made it feel bigger than it was. We were still able to fit night tables, and a small IKEA shoe cabinet at the end of our bed. We also chose a bed that has huge drawers in it to house all the extras. I don’t know if you can tell, but I like organizational
There is a small walk in closet with custom shelving that was built under the stairs leading to the upper suite. What did I say about being clever about using EVERY INCH we had? You’ll also notice a slightly haphazard chest of drawers peeking out on the left side of this photo. Although not perfect, it was another space saving idea we had. We cut a hole in the wall that led to the empty space beneath the stairs and shoved the dresser in there. It can be moved out of the way to access additional storage space for things like boxes and Christmas decorations.
Living Room
Here is a great shot of that big window and the 9′ ceilings in the main living space. The ledge along the far wall is from the concrete foundation and, instead of boxing it in and making the wall flat, we left it open to create the sense of more space. The ledges also add some interest and depth to an otherwise white box.
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Here’s another view looking straight at the wall with the ledge. Although you can see that one thin wire hanging down from the TV, you’ll notice how most are hidden away. We used some PVC tubing in the framing behind the drywall to hide the cables from the TV to the game systems and other electronics that are stored on the shelving below. We had planned to place the TV above the ledge and didn’t want the mess of cables to deal with.
Across from the living room was open space that we weren’t sure how to use. When planning how wanted to use the suite, we were pretty conscious of all the stuff we already owned and what we wanted to keep out instead of put in storage. Our book collection needed a home, so we made “library” that also served as a desk and office area. The ledge fit in perfectly and added more shelving. The books also add so much colour and livens up the otherwise simple white space. It’s one of my favourite elements in the whole suite.
Well, there it is! There are millions of other little details I could go into about what elements we chose and why, but at least this gives you a peek into our first big project and gives you a sense of all you can do in a basement suite, even when there isn’t a lot of space to work with.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about anything we shared with you in this post, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
I’ve included a simple floorplan of the space for you to reference.
