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hobbitmom
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Joined: March 29 2007
Location: Maryland
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Posts: 58
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 1:37pm | IP Logged
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We moved into this house (our first) almost two years ago, and have been fixing up the upstairs. Those projects are almost completed, and our eyes are turning to the basement. There is a ton of empty space here just begging to be put to good use... but we can’t decide what to use it for!
The house is a little 70s rancher, with a living/dining/kitchen area, three bedrooms, and a bathroom on the main floor. The finished basement has a bathroom/laundry room, a storage room (good thing, because there’s no attic), an "extra" room, and an open area with a woodstove and a door that opens to the outside. The problem is with the latter two rooms. What would you do with them?
My first thought was to turn the "extra" room into a library, but this room gets slightly damp when it rains, so that would be bad for storing books. Should we make it a guest room/craft room? Or maybe a learning space? Or should we make the open area the learning space instead... or maybe a family room? Or a playroom? So many choices!
Any ideas on the most prudent uses for these rooms? And what furniture and storage would we need? The only furniture down there right now is a sofa, loveseat, and chair set left us by the previous owners (I think it’s from This End Up, and it’s VERY heavy), and a pair of antique rocking chairs.
We’ll take all the suggestions we can get!
Amy
mommy to ds2 and d? due in August
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JodieLyn
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Joined: Sept 06 2006
Location: Oregon
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 2:29pm | IP Logged
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I would leave the open space as open as I could with lots of moveable things.. like.. a card table or larger folding table that can be set up if you want to do table work/crafts there.. leave it very open so in the winter you can use it for the kids to have space to run and be loud in.. get some sort of sleeper sofa in there maybe (getting rid of the ones that's there if needed) so it could be used for a guest room.. things like that.. leave it open and lots of options.. so that it can be used for more than one thing.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SuzanneG
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Joined: June 17 2006
Location: Idaho
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| Posted: May 17 2007 at 3:58pm | IP Logged
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Our house sounds very much like yours.
We have sort of a second living room....where our tv is, along with bookshelves....ours and the children's that we're not using at that time. There is lots of hidden storage in this area. Also where I keep my bins of sewing stuff and the ironing board set up. And, bins for school stuff that is being rotated. There is an extra closet here also, which is GREAT! I keep a card table here for me to do things at, on the rare occasion that dh and I watch a movie. Also, the 6 and 4 year old could be down there working on something if they want quiet time away from the chaos upstairs.
Another room is the guest room, that is ready for family to visit. But, most of the time it functions as a "holding spot" for switching out clothes, holiday/seasonal, liturgical stuff, birthdays, etc. It's usually a MESS, but that's OK, becasue it keeps the upstairs from being messy. When in doubt or don't have time to put something away, it goes here. The first weekend of the month, I clean it up.
Also, there is another unfinished room that we have lined with nothing but deep shelves for bin storage, and a chest freezer. There is exercise equipment in the middle of the room (for my dh, not me  ).
The other room is dh office.
And, we have a GREAT pantry down here with lots of shelving...it's sort of tucked back behind the furnace. No one ever knows that it's there.....but it sure is full of STUFF!
Our basement is quite cold in the winter, but you have a woodstove, so that may not be an issue. When looking at LIVING in a basement.....maybe converting to a learning area....you have to think, would you WANT to spend lots of time there. Could it be light and delightful? Or dark and dim? We COULD make the downstairs living room into a learning space (as we are so cramped upstairs) but it's so much more pleasant to be upstairs where there is more natural light and better air. These things COULD be remedied, I suppose.....sounds like you have some time cuz the kids are young.
Just my .02
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: How would you use this space?
