For whatever reason, basement homes aren’t common in Arizona. It would make a ton of sense to put the house under ground for efficiency reasons, but we get a lot of excuses about the ground being hard. I don’t think we’re going to get a lot of sympathy from the east coasters on that, since they go through granite rock to put their basements in every home.
None the less, there is an occasional basement home scattered through the Phoenix valley. When one comes up, it doesn’t last long, so you need to snag it quick… so what will you do with a basement if you’re lucky enough to snag one?
1. Man cave / Woman cave – Throw up a chandelier, paint the walls glitter pink and black, light a candle and relax in a comfy chair with a big glass of wine… Or make it sportsy or something boring like that… whatever.
2. Theater room – Add a couple couches, put in an 80″ flat screen and bumpin sound system and call your basement Harkins.
3. Music studio – In order for you to become a rockstar one day, you’ll need plenty of practice. You can practice in any home, sure, but in order to maintain your status as likable human to your neighbors, it would be better to practice in a soundproof area, like a basement.
4. Party room… Picture it… By day, your home is a normal, quiet and cozy house, complete with house cats and family portraits… by night, your home comes alive, down in the basement pool hall. You can get a bar, a pool table, bump up the music, invite your friends over and live it up without making your neighbors wish you harm.
5. Home office – If you work from home, you know how hard it can be to separate home and work life. With an office in the basement, you get a better separation of those 2 areas in your life.
6. Guest room – Not that we don’t all love having company stay in our homes, but once the day is over, it’s nice to be able to go to our own rooms and not have someone ‘right there’. A basement is a perfect place to set up a guest room.
7. Place to store the children – Lets be honest, we love them, but sometimes we need quiet time. We know they won’t get into too much trouble in their own playroom in the basement. Now you can sit on the couch with a nice Merlot and relax knowing that the rugrats are entertained and trapped safe.
8. Mommy’s time out – Similar to the woman cave… We love our family, but sometimes you just want to come out the winner in a good game of hide and seek. Maybe you hide with a glass of wine and quietly wait while the kids search for you. Maybe you even tell the kids that the basement is haunted to ensure you come out the winner of that game… I won’t judge.
8. Storage – One of the more boring options, but still valid. If you’re paying for storage units to store your holiday decorations, save that cash and just keep it all in the basement.
9. Arts and crafts/hobby room – In a space away from everything, you can spread out and make a mess. Do your puzzles, sew your next quilt or scrapbook to your hearts content. When it’s time for dinner, just leave the basement and relax upstairs.
10. Living space – keep the upstairs clean and sparkling, fool everyone into believing your home is always ‘model home’ clean. Throw your socks around the room and hide popsicle sticks in the living area that no one sees.
11. Your own personal dungeon- I don’t judge.. do whatever you want with your dungeon. (I think you can expand on this idea on your own.)
12. Wine cellar- Basements stay cooler naturally, so it makes the perfect place to store your wine. Set up a bar table, find a few oak barrels to decorate and host some killer wine tasting parties. Note: Some dungeons go well with wine cellars… some are creepy together.
13. Vampire lair – we all saw the movies. Who doesn’t like a glittery pale person? A basement will allow you to provide your vampire love with a cool, dark place to rest up.
14. Home Gym – A nice, cool place to put a home gym. Not the kind that you only use to hang clothes on your treadmill, but the kind that you actually use. Get some weights and a yoga mat. Even if you still don’t use it, it will be much more impressive.
15. Indoor Swimming pool. Don’t worry about getting the bobcat down there, they’re typically built out of block or cement… just fill that puppy up and turn the sump pump off. Check with your HOA first, they may frown upon this…
Speaking of basements, I have a great basement home for sale in Gilbert, AZ… in the coveted neighborhood, Breckenridge Manor. Check it out!
