Homeowner Christina Katos stretches every dollar and considers a budget an enjoyable challenge. When she and her husband were home hunting three years back, they had been seeking to add living space via a basement or an attic. This 1,800-square-foot multilevel home with an unfinished basement fit the bill.
in a Glance
Who lives here: A family with 3 young children
Location: Belmont, Massachusetts
Size: Around 400 square feet
Budget: $35,000
Before Photo
Christina Katos
BEFORE: When they toured the home, Katos and her husband knew they could flip this basement into further living area.
Christina Katos
AFTER: Following two years and a lot of preparation, they transferred the living room downstairs and also added a fourth bedroom to it — a guest area for today and a potential space for one of the three kids later. “I really like to use what I’ve,” Katos says, and she is generous about sharing her ideas on her website, No. 29 design. She’s a graphic designer, and her design eye gives her a large advantage, permitting her to make a gorgeous space and follow her strict budget.
When Katos learned that ripping out and replacing the ceiling could add $15,000 on for their costs, she opted to keep the same ceiling and wrap the structural posts. Her contractor managed to reroute all of the plumbing within the wrapped boxes also, saving quite a few dollars. They included a new skim of plaster to the existing ceiling to get rid of its textured end. New recessed lighting brightens the space.
For today the couch is an old green leather one with a slipcover Katos found at Target. This can be daughter Mia and dog Dolly.
Christina Katos
Katos crafted the strategies herself. Relocating the family room downstairs included relocating the laundry area down there too. She chose to put it wherever the least amount of plumbing work would be required, which was in the upper right corner on this strategy.
The design also includes a large closet for games and toys, another closet for Katos’ project stuff and a huge pantry. The storage space on the left side holds the mechanical components.
Christina Katos
Katos got a really custom find a bargain on this particular media wall. She arranged five storage components from Ikea and had the builder paint them to fit, place them in place and add finished pieces in between. She wrapped shelf paper to add dimension. The wall includes a custom built-in appearance but cost just about $2,000.
The cabinets and drawers hold books and games as well as media equipment for family movie nights. Mia and her brothers, Stephen and Anthony, love to play Wii down too. “When we have parties, all of the kids just run down here to hang out,” Katos says.
Christina Katos
Once open to the former family space, the new guest area is closed off by this new stenciled wall, which also creates a hallway with access to the basement.
Christina Katos
“We do not have a coffee table, since Wii dance has taken a table could just cause an injury,” Katos says. “When I decide we need you, I will probably make one myself.” Floor pillows are great for the kids for now.
Rug: West Elm
Christina Katos
The floors look like wood but are vinyl, so not as costly than hardwood. “There are always concerns about water, but once we inserted bulkhead doors during the renovations we were able to look after this 1 water problem we had around that area,” Katos says. They were able to dig out around the basement, and to add gravel and pipes which redirect water out into the yard.
Christina Katos
Katos tucked a play area behind the laundry area.
Christina Katos
Stephen loves to play Legos here.
Christina Katos
The ceilings are just 7 ft high, so Katos made them look larger by adding molding. It’s simple planks wrapped around the drywall and painted the trim colour to resemble board and batten. “We are short men and women, so the ceiling height does not bother us,” she says.
Christina Katos
“I did not care where it went, but I needed to have a barn doorway,” Katos says. The door is mounted onto a very simple closet door track. She described what she wanted the doorway to appear like and gave the builder direction as he assembled the pieces.
Christina Katos
There comes A utility sink in handy. The laundry area cost between $5,000 and $7,000 to build and finish.
Christina Katos
This area is Katos’ domain. “It was fine to recover our mudroom upstairs and have it just be a mudroom, rather than have baskets and heaps of laundry around it,” she says.
The basement has been completed for about a year now, and the family has enjoyed it very much. Katos is now looking forward to completing more jobs and sharing them on her website.
Next: Watch more basement before and afters