A person’s home is their castle. As the ruling monarch of your own palace, why wouldn’t you want to make the most of your space? After all, the more livable space you have, the higher your home’s resale value will be. Plus, you’ll have more room to do the things that are important to you. The scepter is in your hands. All you need to do is find ways to increase the livable space in your home.
Convert a Space
For many homes, it isn’t an issue of not having enough square feet. It’s the fact that you aren’t using the existing square feet to their full potential. If that’s the case, the trick is to take some of those underutilized areas and make them livable.
Basement
In the movie Home Alone, the protagonist, Kevin McCallister, has an abiding fear of his family’s unfinished basement—namely, the ominous furnace lurking there. Many of us see our unfinished basements in a similar light: as unpleasant places that function for storage and little else. But there are plenty of ways to design a basement to make it livable. Once you’ve sealed the floor, added drywall, and improved the lighting, your basement can become an apartment or entertainment center for everyone to enjoy.
Garage
The garage is the last place most people would think of as a “livable space.” But if you live in a warm climate or have a “carriage house” style garage with an extra story, repurposing your garage can be a great way to increase your home’s livable space. This project is a bit more involved and may require you to get a building permit. But doing so can give you an area away from the main house, perfect for a guest suite or in-home studio.
Attic
Not every attic is suitable as a livable space. You’ll want to be sure that the ceiling is at least seven feet tall and accessible by a proper staircase rather than a pull-down ladder. But if it’s safe, the attic is a great place to put an extra bedroom or home office since it’s part of the rest of the house while still being away from the action on the main floors.
Add an Addition
When in doubt, build it out! If you’re already utilizing your home’s square footage to its full potential, why not just add some more? Adding an addition to your home can be as simple as adding a room or as complex as adding a story. Keep in mind that this is one of the biggest projects that you can tackle for your house. If you don’t have construction experience, you will want to consult experts on what it will take to make your vision a reality before you pour the time and money into it.
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