Before & After Small Basement Remodel
Scroll through the before and after pics of our basement renovation and find small basement remodel ideas including an open joist ceiling.
These last couple of months have been a whirlwind. We wrapped up the last renovations on our third fixer-upper by finishing the small basement before putting it on the market.
5 days and 50 showings later the house was under contract. 4 weeks later we exchanged the keys for a check.
Now we are renting a house from friends (a miracle story) until we find our dream property.
But let’s press rewind and finally check out all the before and afters of our 640 sqft basement renovation.
Let’s remind ourselves where we started. Hot mess express. Small. Dark. And totally drab. Paint peeling of the block walls. Insulation falling from the ceiling.
Someone send help.
To look at this basement wasn’t much to speak of and with the ceiling less than 8ft many homeowners wouldn’t have tried to finish it let alone design a full bathroom into it.
Hopefully this small basement renovation will inspire you to think outside the box and give you some basement remodel ideas for your own space!
Ready to brighten this space up? Let’s do it!
For more basement ideas, be sure to check out:
Basement Remodel Ideas
Painted Concrete Block Basement Walls
To keep this renovation on budget we decided to paint the block walls and run the electric wiring through metal conduit. It gave a slightly more industrial vibe to the room, was significantly cheaper than drywalling, and also left a slightly bigger footprint in the space.
We took a wire brush and removed all the chipped paint from the concrete blocks. Then we primed the walls and painted with Sherwin Williams’ Silver Strand in a semi-gloss finish. I chose semi-gloss because it reflects more light, giving the room and brighter and bigger appearance.
Basement Remodel Ideas
Exposed Joist Basement Ceiling
One of the first design elements I knew I would do down here was an exposed joist basement ceiling. This basement ceiling was low to begin with, and exposing the joists gave added height.
Step number one was removing the old insulation from the joist bays along with the 3,284 staples that held the insulation in place.
It was amazing how much lighter and brighter this space was after painting the walls and exposing the joist ceiling.
The next steps after removing the insulation were a little more complicated and involved running new wires, burying old wires, installing the canned lighting, and painting.
I will do a more detailed post of the exact steps to finish an exposed joist ceiling in your basement, but look at the difference!
Pre-insulation removal.
Post insulation removal.
And then paint!
Look how light and bright! The ceiling was painted with a flat white. I realized too late what Zach and his buddy had bought, but originally I had wanted to spray the ceiling with the same semi-gloss sheen for the light reflection. My go-to white color is Simply White by Benjamin Moore.
Here you can see the industrial-style metal conduit for the electric as well as the heated baseboards. If you have questions about the ceiling drop them in the comments, and I will be sure to answer them!
Basement Remodel Ideas
Basement Bathroom
This basement bathroom is about the smallest possible bathroom design that will still get approved by most codes. Forgoing a full bathroom when remodeling a basement is one of the biggest mistakes people make. If you missed 21 Design Ideas When Remodeling A Basement, then be sure to check it out. I shared a lot of design ideas from our last couple of basement remodels.
The secret? If your basement has stairs then you probably have room for a full bathroom.
See the masking tape on the floor beside the stairs? That is where the bathroom went.
We framed in the stairs with the bathroom wall, and then created a little hallway when you first turned the corner at the bottom of the stairs so the bathroom was on your left.
Here it is all framed out. Can you believe that tiny space is going to hold a full tub/shower, toilet, and vanity and still not feel super crowded? It’s true. I was even surprised how roomy it felt when it was done.
Ready to see it almost finished?
Still a work in progress here, but check that out! I had more than one person stand amazed that I fit a bathroom down here that was not only roomy but hardly took up any floor space in the basement.
Basement Remodel Ideas
Basement Bar And Sink
Once the bathroom was finished the next step was to add the basement bar and sink.
I used this incredible 3D printed stone wallpaper as an accent wall because paint bores me.
And you guys. I cannot even believe how amazing this wallpaper looked. Everyone had to touch it to see if it was real.
I reclaimed the skinny oak plank wood flooring that we pulled up from the kitchen in this house to build the bar top and sink countertop. Have leftover wood flooring? Check out this tutorial and learn how to build a countertop from reclaimed oak plank flooring.
Basement Remodel Ideas
Stenciled Basement Stairs
I gave these stairs a complete makeover which included plywood risers, sanding, paint, staining, and then stenciling the risers.
For all the details you can read all about this DIY Painted Stair Case Makeover.
Basement Remodel Ideas
Flooring
Last but not least, the flooring.
This is the BEST vinyl plank floor! We used Khaki Oak Grip Edge Vinyl Flooring from Home Depot, and I would definitely use it again.
I’m not winning style points, but the floor does.
Use this DIY tutorial, materials list, and the breakdown of cost for finishing a basement floor to add farmhouse-style charm to your remodeled basement.
Ready to see all of the before and afters? This is my favorite part.
Come on in.
From drab to fab for sure.
Those laundry sink cabinets were piecemealed together from another project, but they are from my favorite wholesale kitchen cabinet company that you need to check out if you have any need for bathroom or kitchen cabinets – LilyAnn Cabinet
See that sink cabinet? It was a base microwave cabinet that I converted into a sink base. And that sink was repurposed from the kitchen we tore out upstairs. Hello, budget reno.
Look how light and bright that ceiling makes it down here.
I’m in love with that 3d stone wall paper.
Last but not least let’s check out the bathroom.
What do you think of this small basement renovation? If you have any questions please drop them in the comments.
Hopefully, you have some basement remodel ideas for your next project!
For more basement ideas, be sure to check out:
Pin any of the images below for later.
I will never understand the allure of the unfinished ceiling in the basement. It’s a haven for spider webs and dust. Plus it isn’t sound proofed. Just a big nope in my plans.
I can understand that. The soundproofing issue is the biggest drawback for me.
What is the height of your basement?
This one was slightly less than 8 feet from the bottom of the joists.
Thank you for posting this! I have a similarly dingy basement that I would love to renovate for a full bathroom and nicer laundry space. A couple questions: 1) what did you do about the floor drain in the basement? Did you cut the flooring around it during install? And 2) Do you feel like this extra bathroom significantly added value to the home vs. what you put into the renovation?
Yes, we cut the flooring around the drain. The full bathroom in this basement definitely was worth the added value but that was largely in part because we did all the work except for the plumbing. So one, you have to assess how much $ you will need to drop into it, and two, what is the standard home value in your neighborhood? Check Zillow and see how many bathrooms most houses have on your street. You want to make sure you are either the same or more. For us adding that full bath put us on par with the majority of our neighborhood…
What lights did you use? I love the way they look.
Thanks Mandy. We used these canned lights from Home Depot. https://bit.ly/3O4AgkL We installed them and then sprayed the entire ceiling with white paint. Then you can put the light bulbs in after that. Hope that helps!
How much did it cost to do this Reno?
Hi Maddie! After it was all said and done approximately $12k.
I have a Question or two about the Bathroom you put in. It is making me rethink my Basement finish. Could I ask a couple questions?
Of course!
Also what brand of spray painter did you use? Thank you again this gives me hope.
We use Wagner’s paint sprayer here https://amzn.to/3OO5IUo but another tip is to rent one from your local hardware store so you get a high grade sprayer for a single project for a fraction of the cost.
Hi! I have a similar basement. Does the insulation in the ceiling not carry any importance? Why is it there? It looks SO MUCH BETTER without it but I’m assuming it was put there for a reason and before I tear it all out I’d love to know what I’m doing lol
Hi Olivia! The ceiling insulation in a basement is typically to prevent the cold air from the basement from traveling to your first floor and also helps with noise reduction in the basement. But if your basement is finished and heated then that’s not as much of an issue although it might help KEEP the basement heated. And it also makes foot traffic upstairs noisier in the basement, but if you have a lot of rugs or carpet on the first floor then this is also not as big of a deal. So just depends on what matters most to you! I hope that helps.
Good morning, that is what I was planning to do to my basement ceiling. Was it easy to move the laundry room. Thank you, it makes it look more possible
A plumber should be able to move the water lines for you fairly easily if there is already hot and cold water run in your basement. Otherwise it’s more costly because you have to pay to have new lines run plus drainage etc, but we have also done that with success in a basement. My best recommendation is to get quotes for exactly what you want from 3 plumbers and go from there. I hope that helps!