Let’s face it; your basement may not be the largest space. You see all of these basement remodeling ideas. But no matter how you try to plan it, there simply isn’t enough room. Still, that doesn’t mean you can’t finish it and do something useful with it. So what can you do to finish your basement without just letting it turn into a storage area? You may want to consider building a utility area.
Leaving Parts of Your Basement Unfinished and Others Finished is OK
One common thing that some people do with smaller basements is to leave one part unfinished while finishing the other parts. This is particularly true of where the Furnaces and other utilities might be located. While you may want to wall these particular items off from the rest of the basement, it might make the rest of the basement feel too small. Especially if you plan on using your new utility space as a work area for business or hobbies, leaving parts unfinished could be OK. Any “wasted” space could be used for storage or be set aside for another purpose later.
Organize Your Basement Utility Area With a Purpose
Keeping your basement organized in a purposeful way helps to expand the usable square footage of your home while freeing up some space on the main floors of your home. With a smaller basement, it’s well worth the finishing costs to make it a more comfortable area to use. You could use part of the utility area for storage. But you want to make sure that it is purposeful storage. You only want to keep things that you actually need.
Utility Areas Can Change Their Purpose Over Time
The major benefit of a basement utility area is that the purpose that it serves can shift over time based on what you need the space to do. Even if your space is small, you may be able to fit a small stack-able Washer and dryer unit in it. You might consider an extra refrigerator/freezer for stocking up on certain foods when they go on sale.
Whatever you decide to do with your basement, if you can’t settle on a single purpose right away, that’s OK. The idea is to spruce it up and bring some sort of organization to what is likely currently a disorganized space. That way, if you do decide to use your basement for some other purpose later, most of the work will already be done for you to use the space however you wish. The important thing is to realize that even the smallest basement can be re-purposed into an area that will serve you and your family well.