By Christine Cooney, Direct from the Designers™ Staff Writer
One of the main functions of a basement foundation is to support the entire weight of your home, but there are plenty of additional benefits to selecting a basement floor plan over a slab, crawl space or post and pier foundation. Being roughly the same size as the main floor plan, a full basement can greatly increase your living space as it adds value and efficiency to your home. Popular basement design ideas include a recreation room, media room, home office, extra bedroom, second kitchen with wet bar, and the increasingly popular ‘Man Cave.’
A finished basement is also a great way to give your children a fun and flexible place to hang out with their friends, watch movies and store all their toys, games and electronics. Don’t forget to include a powder room into your basement design. You'll appreciate the convenience when you have guests or a sleepover. A small kitchen or wet bar comes in handy for quick snacks and beverages.
To meet the growing demand from consumers to maximize all available living space, our designers and architects are including finished basement floor plans into their home designs. Here are some popular basement design options that we hope may inspire you to take advantage of this large, flexible living space: