Valuable Real Estate
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Photo by Erik Rank
In the quest for extra square footage, a dry, unfinished basement is a holy grail. For the cost of some finish work and mechanicals upgrades, you can get a whole new room, sometimes two or three.
For years kitchen designer Karen Berkemeyer used her below-grade space as a laundry room. But the desire for what her home lacked—an informal space for family lounging and TV viewing—caused her to take a second look. “We never had one space where we could all gather and watch a movie,” says Berkemeyer. So the basement was transformed into just that, and during the process upgrades were made to the laundry room and storage closet, and a full bath was added, allowing the space to double as a guest suite.
Letting in the Light
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Photo by Erik Rank
Though only one was required to meet code, two egress windows were added in the family room; their top halves sit above the grade. Custom fieldstone window wells with drains in the bottom dress up the view. Additional lighting is supplied by multiple recessed fixtures.
Neutral Nooks
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Photo by Erik Rank
The whole of the bathroom is wrapped in limestone to prevent dampness, including the ceiling. In the laundry, the Miele washer and dryer are tucked under a Corian counter.
Laundry Sink
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Photo by Erik Rank
The limestone backsplash behind the Kohler laundry sink and faucet provides a focal point when viewed from the main living area.
Guest Bath
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Photo by Erik Rank
In the bath, honed black granite tops an antique-dresser vanity.
Before
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Photo by Erik Rank
The old basement, which housed the washer and dryer, had a concrete floor, exposed plumbing, and stone foundation walls. The main challenge was excavating below the concrete slab to achieve the 7-foot finished ceiling height needed to meet code.
Water Heater
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Photo by Erik Rank
The water heater in the mechanicals closet still stands on the original concrete floor, 8 inches higher than the renovated areas of the space.
Original Layout
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Photo by Ian Worpole
An exterior wall divided the basement from crawl space under a porch, a tiny—but key—70 square feet of extra room.
What They Did
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Photo by Ian Worpole
1. Removed a wall to dig out under-porch crawl space and make it part of the new family room. A steel beam provides support in its place.
2. Dug out the existing floor except in the mechanicals area to achieve a 7-foot finished ceiling height.
3. Kept the original locations for the water heater and boiler, shutting them away behind doors.
4. Created a storage closet to hold extra household goods, from cases of wine to bulk-size paper towels.
5. Squeezed in a full bath measuring 5 by 5 feet.
6. Moved the laundry to the far end of the space, tucking the washer and dryer under a counter, adding a sink, and installing a space-saving ironing-board cabinet.
7. Built in cherry cabinetry by Wood-Mode to maximize storage for the TV, stereo, DVDs, CDs, and books.
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