Warm-Up Basement Remodel

Seattle, Washington
2016–2018

The owners of this 1979 house and their family had been living with a cold, outdated basement lacking in storage and functionality for a number of years. They wished to improve the space with modern insulation and finishes, better natural lighting, more storage, and a layout that better suits their lifestyle. To accomplish these goals, I proposed gutting the basement and removing the existing foundation floor slab and then rebuilding the space with a more open, flexible layout, a new mud room, and clean finishes.

The small bedroom and family room have been combined into one flexible space with overlapping functions and natural light from two sides. The family area doubles as an office with a shared credenza.

The bedroom doubles as a multipurpose area with a bed that hides away in a combined bank of storage.

before

Previously, all the spaces in the basement were separate rooms—small and cut off from each other.

after

Now, the spaces flow together. Walls have been removed between the bedroom, family room, and new mud room to allow light and air to flow through the central hallway.

The already small bathroom was even divided up with its own walls. The new bathroom is slightly larger and free of barriers.

A new desk is integrated with cabinets on either side—low cabinets forming a credenza to the left and tall closet cabinets to the right.

During construction the previous foundation slab was removed to make way for a new slab with radiant heating and under-slab insulation. A new wall layer was also added to the existing exterior walls to provide added insulation over the cold concrete foundation.