A Designer’s Guide to a Basement Remodel: From Forgotten Space to Family Retreat

I have a soft spot for basement remodels.

Maybe it’s because the before and afters are usually pretty dramatic, or maybe it’s because basements are one of those spaces that families tend to live with for years thinking, we’ll get to that eventually.

And I get it.

Especially in older South Minneapolis homes, basements can come with a whole list of challenges. Low ceilings, exposed ductwork, not a lot of natural light, questionable previous renovations, and, of course, the collection of boxes and toys that somehow finds its way downstairs.

This basement had plenty of those things.

When we first walked into the space, it wasn’t necessarily bad. It just wasn’t doing much for the family. It had become a place for storage, toys, and all the things that didn’t have another home upstairs.

But underneath all of that, there was a really good room waiting to happen.

And now? It might be one of my favorite spaces in the house.

First Things First: What Does This Basement Actually Need to Do?

This is always where I start.

Before we're talking about paint colors or furniture or the really fun stuff, I want to know how the family is actually going to use the room.

Because basements have a tendency to get assigned about twelve different jobs.

It needs to be the kids' playroom! And a movie room! And guest space! And storage! Maybe a workout area! Oh, and somewhere to entertain!

Suddenly we're designing five rooms in one.

For this project, we really wanted to create a comfortable family hangout space, somewhere everyone would actually choose to spend time. We also needed plenty of storage because, well, real families have stuff.

Once we figured that out, everything else started falling into place.

I’m Not Afraid of a Dark Basement

There can be this immediate reaction with basements that we need to make everything as light and bright as possible.

White walls! Bright lights! Anything to convince ourselves we're not underground!

I actually like going in the opposite direction.

If a basement naturally wants to be a little darker and cozier, why not embrace it?

We leaned all the way into that idea here with deep green walls and cabinetry. Instead of trying to make the room feel like an upstairs living room, we gave it its own personality.

And I LOVE where we landed.

The dark green paired with warm wood, leather, plaid, books, and layered textiles gives the room this cozy, collected feeling. It feels like somewhere you want to curl up on the sofa when it's freezing outside—which, here in Minnesota, is obviously a pretty important design consideration.

And Then There’s That Ceiling...

Can we talk about the ceiling for a second?

Basement ceilings in older homes are rarely the glamorous part of the project. There are ducts and pipes and soffits and all kinds of things happening overhead that we simply have to work with.

Rather than trying to make the ceiling disappear, we decided to make it one of the best parts of the room.

The wood slatted ceiling brings SO much warmth to the space.

It also completely changes the way the room feels. Your eye is drawn across that beautiful wood rather than immediately noticing that you're in a lower-level room.

This is one of my favorite things about designing older homes. There is almost always something that makes you think, Well…what are we going to do with THAT?

Sometimes those limitations lead to the best design decisions.

Give All the Stuff Somewhere to Go

I love a beautiful built-in.

But I love a beautiful built-in that actually works even more.

The before photo is a perfect example of why storage was such an important part of this remodel. There were toys, boxes, games, books, all normal family things, without a designated place to live.

So we gave them one.

The built-ins run along the room and give us a combination of closed cabinetry and open shelving. The closed cabinets can hold all the things we don't necessarily need to look at every day, while the shelves give us room for books, art, and those little collected pieces that make a room feel personal.

I don't believe every shelf needs to be perfectly styled or every sign of family life needs to be hidden away.

But I do believe everything should have somewhere to go.

Lighting Is Everything Down Here

If there is one thing I don't want in a basement, it's a grid of harsh overhead lights being asked to do all the work.

No thank you.

Basements need layers of light perhaps even more than the rest of the house.

We have recessed lighting for function, integrated lighting in the built-ins, and lamps that create those smaller, warmer pools of light throughout the room.

When you're working with a dark palette, lighting becomes even more important. Done well, dark walls feel warm and enveloping. Done poorly, they can just feel…dark.

This is one of those details that isn't necessarily the star of the before-and-after photo, but it makes a huge difference in how the room feels when you're actually sitting in it.

New Doesn’t Have to Look Brand New

This is a big one for me.

Especially when I'm working in an older South Minneapolis home, I don't want to finish a renovation and have the new space feel like it belongs to a completely different house.

I also don't want everything to look like we went out and bought an entire room in one afternoon.

I want some age. Some texture. A little imperfection.

Here, the leather sofa, warm wood, plaid, artwork, books, brass details, and layered fabrics help the room feel like it has been collected over time, even though we just remodeled it.

That's always the sweet spot for me.

The room is new, but it doesn't scream NEW ROOM!

It just feels like home.

The Before & After Might Be My Favorite Part

This one is pretty fun to look back on.

The footprint didn't suddenly become enormous. We didn't magically add a wall of windows. It's still a basement in an older Minneapolis home.

But it feels completely different.

What was once a pass-through/storage/play area is now a cozy family room with beautiful storage, comfortable seating, intentional lighting, and a whole lot of personality.

And really, that's why I love doing these spaces.

A good basement remodel isn't always about adding more to your house. Sometimes it's about looking at the square footage you already have and asking, Could we be using this so much better?

In this case, the answer was a very enthusiastic yes.

And if the end result feels a little bit like a Ralph Lauren library tucked underneath a South Minneapolis home?

Even better.