One of the biggest luxuries in real estate comes from whether your home has a basement to use. It’s a great way to expand on your living space without having to tack on an extension or expand into the garden that you may love to own. You can choose to use a basement in any way, even expanding an existing room in the home by moving it entirely, such as the kitchen. It always makes sense to utilise the basement, especially as house prices rise at a rapid rate. A home that is fortunate enough to have a basement is often called an ‘iceberg home’, because it’s being built DOWN rather than out. Property space has been at an all time high, especially in the city, so if you have the opportunity to expand downwards and not have to move away from the home that you have so carefully crafted to be your own.

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A popular conversion choice, is as mentioned, a kitchen, as it’s a great way to spread out the layout that you have into the layout that you want and combine it with a dining space – especially if you don’t have one already. You do have to be mindful of having a basement, as in inclement weather the basement is often the first place to suffer. You’d need to research and educate yourself on what happens when your sump pump fails as the rains come in. Making the most of the basement space that you have and ensuring it’s protected from the elements is going to make the difference between whether you spend all your cash on your basement to up the value or whether you spend even more money on water damage. Be smart before you do any conversions at all and dedicate your basement to a safe, amazing space to relax in. If you are short of ideas, then check out this list of eight ideas for your basement space.

1. A Guest Room

When you run out of spare bedrooms upstairs in the rest of the house, the basement is the clearest choice for a guest suite. It doesn’t just have to work for family or friends that need a place to crash after a long night, but it could work for the resident teenager in the home. You could even make it a small studio, with a miniature kitchen space and a walk-in ensuite shower. You can even build the bed against the wall. The main thing that you would need to do is make sure that you keep the area ventilated and install extractor fans in the bathroom to prevent damp.

2. Kitchen/Diner

Having a bright kitchen space in the basement can free up a room in the main house to be a separate den or even a huge family bathroom. Your downstairs kitchen should be painted white due to the lack of windows and natural light. LED spotlights that are installed in the ceiling can give the room a boost in light. Building a large family dining table into the basement also gives it the illusion of two separate rooms, making it look bigger and adding value.

3. Games Room

Not just for kids, you could turn your entire basement into a space for entertainment. Think about installing a cinema screen or projector downstairs with either individual cinema chairs or a couple of massive L shaped sofas. Modular seating around a low coffee table with storage for board games also gives the room the entertainment space that you dreamed of. Use darker colours on the walls for a cinematic space, so that you can get the most out of the cinema experience under your house.

4. Chill Out Space

The lounge upstairs is excellent for entertaining guests, but the basement could be converted into a relaxation den for the family. Think of large floor pillows and beanbags, book shelves with the latest and greatest books that the whole family loves, thick and soft rugs along the floor for a muted feel. You could install a stereo directly into the wall to allow for music to pipe through the space and think about sound-proofing the basement so that you aren’t disturbed by upstairs and vice versa.

5. Study/Office Space

Whether you work from home or you have kids in the house that need somewhere to do homework, an office could be the perfect solution for your basement. You could build in desks and ergonomic chairs along with a wall dedicated to chalk or cork for pinning and jotting ideas. Make sure the Wi-Fi connection reaches the basement and keep laptops and computer in the house down there. It’s a good way to remove electronics from the rest of the house and give the kids a peaceful place to get their heads down and get the grades that they need to succeed.

6. Workshop

Some people choose to use their garage to work on cars, bikes or furniture, but you could use the basement. Installing concrete flooring, tool stations and outlets for machinery along with soundproofing to make it the perfect space to craft whatever you want to build. A workshop is a great space to unwind, relax and indulge in hobbies that you can’t partake in up at the main house.

7. Gym

If you have the cash, buying good quality gym equipment is a good use of your basement space. Install mirrors around the walls and a good quality flooring to absorb the impact of a workout. Make the whole space as bright as possible and you’ll save money on your monthly gym membership. All you’d need to do is head downstairs!

8. Wine Cellar

The wine connoisseurs among you will love this idea as it’s a great way to show off to guests who join you in your home. A wine cellar with the best wines from around the world is a fantastic use of the space under your home. It’s light, airy and cool down there, and it’s a good space to hold a collection.