Congratulations, home owner! You’ve bought a “real” house complete with a basement. You have a clear vision for what you want to do with the rest of the place but you’re not quite sure what to do for that lower level. We understand needing to take one home renovation project on at a time, but be warned: if you procrastinate too long on renovating the downstairs, you could risk having a basement that becomes:
- A permanent storage area for everything from Christmas decorations to shameful infomercial purchases
- A space where dorm-era furniture goes the die
- The cold, dank place your kids refer to as “The ghost’s room”
The good people at This Old House recently did a photo feature called Basement Bonus Rooms on various ways people can use basements large and small. We recommend checking it out for inspiration.
Not surprisingly, we thought the suggestions of converting your basement into a home bar and / or private wine cellar were the most appealing. If you agree with us, you might like some of these products we discovered in various online shops:
- How and Why to Build a Wine Cellar By Richard Gold
- Home Bar Project’s Bar Designs and Plans
- Rockler Wine Lattice & Glass Moldings
- Rockler Traditional Bar Moldings
- Blanco Undermount or Drop-In Sink
- Summit 24″ Wine Cellar with 120-Bottle Capacity
- Vinter Series DIY Wine Rack Kits (one such kit is shown above!)
- Kegworks Assorted Keg Taps
I am 100% with you, Marie. Better yet, a ghost wine cellar would be perfect!
I personally would love a “ghost room” for the kids 😉 But I do agree with you — wine cellars are SUCH a great idea for a basement. The DIY wine rack was great! I actually was wondering where some of the stuff in the picture came from, so thanks for posting that link!