Remodeling basement room into a studio apartment - need ideas.

9 years ago

I am remodeling a basement room into a small apartment in Atlanta, GA. The goal is to rent it out to a young professional.

The room is 21 ft long 10 ft 6 in wide, has wall to wall carpeting and some shelving on the far end.

On the right hand wall, there are two doors. The first leads to a bathroom and the second to the basement:

On the left hand wall, there is a window:

View from other direction: Screen door and bathroom door are visible.

The challenge is to build an effective and appealing studio apartment in this limited space. I would love ideas and suggestions on everything!

The layout, types of flooring, size and placement of kitchen, type of bed (sofa bed, Murphy bed etc.) storage/closets etc.

Rough sketches for two possible layouts are below.

Option 1: Kitchen in the center, bed at the end.

Option 2: Kitchen at the end and bed/sofa in the center

I am leaning towards using tile flooring (wood look) with a full sized bed using the Option 1 layout. What do you think?

Thanks!

Featured Answer

User

9 years ago

Replacing the sliding door with a solid door will cut out most of the natural light that the room currently has. Rethink that. Basements need all of the light that they can get. You need to make provisions for incorporating some if the other basement space to storage for any tenants. This doesn't have enough storage for a weekend hotel guest much less an actual long term tenant. They need a big closet.

And you need to talk to your city about permits, fire codes, and also your own insurance company about creating a rental. If your tenant starts a fire that burns the house down because of a lack of firewalls, will they pay? Or will you be left owing all of the mortgage because you had an illegal rental unit? What happens when your tenant sues you because it doesn't meet the rental requirements for a habitable unit? Or your neighbors turn you in for running that illegal Air BnB rental? And then the IRS wants their cut?

If you are going to do this, you need to do it all legally, and with your insurance company and a lawyer involved so that your interests are protected.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

S Rodriguez
9 years ago
Start by speaking with the city about building codes , fire codes, and zoning requirements. You might need permits for plumbing and electrical work as well.
Jmc101
9 years ago
No refrigerator.

is "Storage" intended to be the ONLY storage for clothes and linen/towels? What about a dresser?

is there additional storage outside of this room?

There is no room to move between the counter and sink in sketch 2.

is the only acces through the sliding door?
Related Professionals
Fort Wayne Home Remodeling · Gloucester Home Remodeling · Poughkeepsie Home Remodeling · Lima Home Remodeling · Murrieta Home Remodeling · Texarkana Kitchen Remodelers · Charlottesville Kitchen Remodelers · Wilmington Bathroom Remodelers · Westminster Bathroom Remodelers · Asheville Bathroom Remodelers · Rocky Mount Bathroom Remodelers · Cincinnati Bathroom Remodelers · Rock Hill Bathroom Remodelers · Wheeling Bathroom Remodelers · Saint George Bathroom Remodelers
shashmax
Original Author
9 years ago
@S Rodriguez - Good point. Will have to check.

@Jmc101 - Responses below:

No refrigerator.

While it is not depicted, I intend to have a small refrigerator either in the cabinetry under the stove or as a stand alone.

is "Storage" intended to be the ONLY storage for clothes and linen/towels? What about a dresser?

Mmm...yes. I had not thought of a dresser.

There is room to expand the right wall, behind the area marked "storage", further into the basement. However, due to the vents behind the wall the ceiling height would be lower than the rest of the room.

is there additional storage outside of this room?

The rest of the basement has a lot of empty room but I wasn't planning on giving any additional storage to the occupant.

There is no room to move between the counter and sink in sketch 2.

The sketch is not drawn to scale but that is a valid point. Need to double check.

is the only access through the sliding door?

There is a door (first pic above) which leads to the basement and the laundry room. However, the sliding door (which will be replaced by an entry door) is the primary access.
shashmax
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
@Sophie

Good points about adding storage space. I will amend plans to incorporate more room.

Regarding the entry door - the plan was to use French door style for entry. Something like the image below.

However, you raise valid points about city permits and codes. Probably makes sense to run everything by them before getting too far. Thanks for sharing your insight.
User
9 years ago
Search online for apartments in Paris. Many are small unconventional and amazing.
dan1888
9 years ago
Can you draw up a complete floor plan of the basement including the bathroom.
Michelle
9 years ago
I'd thought I would chime in and send along a video of a studio apartment and how it was put together to create a cohesive unit. I thought it very clever of the designer.

Youtub Christopher Lowell City Studio Apartment Makeover

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSlLJc8XYXE
Vith
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Door needs to be both secure and let light in. I dont think a renter would feel safe with that door as-is.

Lets talk about egress. Is there a second way of egress out of that room in the areas beyond the doors? The window does not look sufficient. It must have a minimum net clear opening of 5.7 sq. ft.

The window is also awfully close to the door. More ideal would be an different egress from one of the other rooms if there was fire or debris blocking the doorway and the window.

Would also need to implement a full oven instead of just a stovetop. It would be silly to not have an oven. Maybe a smaller one but still. And as noted above, the fridge is missing.

I dont think you can fit it all in that space unless you want it cramped or tiny house feel. The studio apt I rented for 3 years had a kitchen area, bathroom, storage room, then the main room approx the size what you show. Unless you can utilize the basement in some form I am not too sure about this.