Basement Kitchen Design Plans

Most makeover projects we undertake in our home start out by someone opening their big mouth and sharing an idea. Mostly me. Our basement kitchen is no different.

I’m pretty sure it all started one evening when my mum came upstairs to dig around in the freezer for ice cream. She probably complained about the state of our freezer and how packed it is (it is truly terrible). Then I probably said something along the lines of “it’s too bad we can’t reconfigure the cabinets in your kitchenette to make space for a larger refrigerator with a freezer”. Most likely I was being a smart ass (as you do) but the seed was planted and we started asking…wait, can we do that? 

But let me backup for a minute here…

In case you’re new to the blog you may not know that Chris and I bought our house with my mum. It was a new construction house and we had our builder finish the basement into a separate living space for her and my dad. After my dad passed away we’ve done a few makeovers in the basement to make the space work better for her including her bedroom

The basement kitchenette is part of her living room and is just a few cabinets, a counter height fridge and a mini dishwasher. Here’s a shot of it from when we first moved in:

Basement apartment kitchen BEFORE PHOTO | Basement Apartment Kitchen | House by the Bay Design

We had made a few DIY updates to the space a few years ago that will stay, including her shiplap doors and mini island.

Now, this is not a typical basement “wet bar” that is only occasionally used. Mum uses this space every day to make her breakfast, fix a quick lunch when she’s working in her office or occasionally prep an easy dinner in her toaster oven or microwave.

Overall the  kitchenette has been fine, but there were some things she wished were better:

  1. The sink (it’s tiny)
  2. The frige – she’d love something bigger with a freezer
  3. The look overall – something more interesting than big plain white doors

After a lot of research on layout, design and budgets mum gave the green light on the makeover!

Her new kitchenette will maximize space while also adding an “apartment size” fridge. The cabinets will be from Ikea and have a mix of solid and glass fronts. An Ikea kitchen cart (taken from my office) will extend the counter space without blocking the air return vent. 

Mum wants to create a ‘modern farmhouse’ feel (think Joanna Gaines) so we’ve selected white cabinets with shaker style doors and a concrete look countertop. We’ll also replace the backsplash will be replaced with a faux-brick tile. This should compliment the existing shiplap and butcher block we’re leaving in the space.

As you can image I’m super excited for this makeover – not only will the new space be more beautiful, but I hope it will also be more functional for mum.

Stay tuned here for more updates and follow me on Instagram to follow along!

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