Have you recently received a new job offer for a remote, at-home position? Or perhaps you are starting your own online business but don’t have a dedicated workspace? Maybe you have an empty basement with cluttered storage and might be better served by some TLC and a fresh coat of paint.
Before you begin your basement renovation project, check if any finishing work needs to be done. Are there cracks in the drywall that need filling? Does the bare floor need some concrete filler before flooring can be laid? Is there an option to install plumbing for a bathroom? If there is finishing work that needs doing, find a local basement finishing contractor to complete the job before proceeding with any basement home office ideas.
Once ready, here are some basement renovation ideas to turn your forgotten third floor into a functional home office.
How Do I Make My Basement Office Brighter?
Your first step in your quest for a home office might be more light. If your previous basement was dark and dingy without much natural or artificial light, save for a small basement window. Brightening it up should be your priority.
Bigger Windows
This may be an expensive endeavour, but if you have the clearance between the foundation and the first floor of your home, more oversized windows might be the first basement remodel idea to allow more natural light.
Artificial Lighting
Your next best bet to increase the light in your basement is to resort to artificial lighting. This can be a sizeable dome-style light hung from the ceiling or several smaller lights. LED lighting controlled by dimmer switches is an energy-saving basement design idea, providing enough light to brighten a room.
White Walls.
When brightening up a room, a coat or two of white paint on the walls is a great way to do just that. Even if you don’t have excessive natural light, a brightly coloured basement wall is a great way to introduce brightness into a room. Couple this with a light-coloured laminate or wooden flooring, and suddenly, your dark and dingy basement will be no more.
5 Best Basement Office Ideas
If you’re finally ready to bring your basement remodel ideas to life by creating a basement home office, here are five of the best basement home office ideas to ensure that you have a private, functional, well-lit and comfortable working space so that you can do your best work without the leaving the creature comfort of your own home.
Soundproofing
If you have a job that frequently requires you to be in meetings or deal with sensitive information, installing soundproofing in your basement office room is best. You can buy unique soundproofing acoustic panels on your walls. These self-adhesive peel-and-stick panels come in many sizes and can be easily installed and taken down if you need to repurpose your basement again.
Another basement wall idea is to use blankets if you don’t want to spend the money on acoustic panels.
Directional Lighting
While having an ample overhead light is great to add more light to a large room, if you have a large enough basement that there are a couple of rooms down there and your home office is in the back, then multi-directional lighting (such as a couple of small stand-up photo ring lights) is essential to ensure that your office room is well lit.
These can be found relatively inexpensively and will keep you from having your office door open to the rest of the basement.
Have an Electrician Re-Check Your Basement Electrics
Suppose you’re a sound engineer who needs to reproduce a basement home theatre design. In that case, having an electrician check you have enough electrical power to support this load on your home’s circuit is best. If not, installing a second panel and extra sockets in the basement may be worth installing.
Or, if you’re a product photographer who operates an extensive lighting system and a second monitor, you want to ensure that your electrics can handle that load. Have a licensed electrician check your electrics and make any necessary changes.
Comfy Furniture
Hopefully, you won’t be stuck in your office chair for the entirety of your working day. Ensure you get up and move around every hour to prevent muscle cramps and let your eyes rest from staring at a screen. It might help to have a second comfy couch in the room or elsewhere that you can move to if your office chair gets too uncomfortable, bringing your laptop.
Alternatively, an adjustable standing desk is an excellent option for desk-bound workers. In any event, having comfy furniture in your home office is a must. Research basement furniture ideas to see what you can find.
The Necessity of a Bathroom
While going upstairs to use the bathroom might not seem like such a big deal, if you live in a house with many people, or your partner also works from home, or your kids are home or in and out a great deal throughout the day, then not having to wait to use the upstairs bathroom will be a blessing. If you have the space, installing a basement bathroom is a necessity.
Our basement bathroom idea is that it should have simple, well-lit, and brightly coloured walls with simple flooring. It’s all about function over form.
Benefits of a Basement Office?
Working from home has many incredible benefits, but having a purpose-built space away from the hustle and bustle of family life will quickly become necessary. Even if you weren’t expecting to work from home but now find yourself facing that reality, it’s time to embrace the basement’s potential as an office space. Here are a few benefits of a basement office.
Privacy Allows Focus
Having a secluded workspace where you can focus on your job is far better than working from the uncomfortable upstairs couch and being interrupted every five minutes by your kids with a million questions or the affectionate family cat. A private, preferably sound-proof space lets you focus on your job and eliminate unnecessary distractions.
A Transformative Space
When looking at basement remodel pictures, imagine how you might transform your basement home office into a basement home media design for a family movie night or check out basement bar ideas, inspiring the installation of a modular pop-up bar. While a basement home office will serve a great function, using modular furniture will also allow the basement to become a source of play after work.
Embrace Creative Lighting Solutions
If you don’t have the space for a large window and natural light, you’ll need to get creative with your lighting solutions. A single IKEA desk light, supplemented by adjustable overhead lighting, could be a good option.
It might help to have your leading basement lights on a different switch than your basement office room. That way, you can close your basement office door and turn off the light while still having good lighting in the rest of the basement.
Tailor Your Basement Office To Suit Your Aesthetic Needs
Consider your basement office to your work cave. You can design it however you like. After all, you’re the only one that’s going to be in there on the daily. Buy posters and put them up. Have a coffee machine in there or a small refrigerator for lunches and snacks.
Hanging pictures of your kids or a dream destination in your basement may help provide some motivation when it’s lacking. The beauty of your home office in the basement is that you can build it however you like.
Frequently Asked Questions
As many people transition to a work-from-home role, we’re getting a lot of questions about working from home and how best to transform a dull and dark basement into a functional office space. Here are a few of our most frequently asked questions.
Can a Home Office Be in a Basement?
Of course. With the right lighting, proper soundproofing and bright, airy interior design, your home office can be in your basement without feeling like you’re working away in some dark, dingy place.
Is It Good To Have an Office in the Basement?
While it might be more ideal to have an upstairs office because of the more available natural light and the more accessible access to things like a pre-existing bathroom or full kitchen, sometimes your home might just not have the space for an entire home office upstairs, or it’s simply too busy a household to use the existing upstairs office. If this is the case, it’s possible to transform your basement into a suitable, functional space for your at-home work.
How Can I Make a Basement Office Look Nice?
Making a friendly basement office look nice requires ingenuity and an understanding what makes a pleasing aesthetic. Typically, you want a basement office to have lots of light, including a blend of natural and artificial. You also wish good acoustics and soundproofing options for walls and solid doors to prevent sound from travelling. Additionally, plants and brightly coloured walls and furnishings make for lovely aesthetic accents.
If you need help finishing your basement before it is transformed into your home office, look for “contractors to finish basement near me”. Worthington Homes has been finishing, furnishing and designing basement offices for clients for years. Our team of designers and builders are ready to help you bring your basement media room ideas or basement home office design ideas to life. Worthington can always custom-design a home to suit your needs or requirements.
Contact us today to help with basement home theatre design, finished basement ideas, or basement remodel ideas, and let’s turn your space into a productive working environment.
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