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I would like to turn my basement into an apartment. It has a kitchen and a bathroom and some unfinished space, but there is no bedroom and the windows are laid out in a way that makes it hard for me to imagine where the bedroom would go (needs to have a window).

Here's the general layout: enter image description here

The scale might be a little off (I very recently bought the house and I'm not there right now) but the problem, to me, is having a bedroom with a window far from the kitchen. There is the front window, but I'm not sure a bedroom should face the front of the house like that (it's a raised bungalow so the window is at ground level). The house will be pretty much gutted, but moving the kitchen/bathroom might be problematic since they are now positioned below their main level equivalents.

Thanks!

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  • 2
    You may need to think of the space more in terms of a dorm room or hotel room that contains a kitchen (efficiency /studio apartment), unless you do major restructuring, like moving the kitchen to the other end. As-is, you could use dual purpose furniture, like a sofa that turns into a bed, or a Murphy bed, so the living room turns into the bedroom.
    – fixer1234
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 7:27
  • Voting to close as opinion-based. Layout design isn't something that has an objective answer. That, and you haven't really asked a question in the first place. Feel free to revise to meet network standards.
    – isherwood
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 15:46
  • Don't forget, the window in the bedroom has to meet the code definition of an emergency escape and rescue opening.
    – Tester101
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 11:36

2 Answers 2

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You should be able to partition off a portion, either with permanent walls or even with furniture and hanging drapes. I closed off the "bedroom" area of a studio I lived in years ago, using the bed headboard, the dresser, and rock & roll banners hung from the ceiling.

enter image description hereenter image description here

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  • Yes, this is the only option I can see too, but I wouldn't want the bedroom to have a window facing the front of the house at ground level...
    – Mosho
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 16:19
  • Hmmm... I assume your concern is security? I look at it differently: if I need privacy I use shutters or drapes. I like to have a view of the street side of my property from my bedroom, to assess and react quickly to any disturbance, whether that is to go back to bed, call police, flee, hide, or load up and strap up to protect my family.
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 16:32
  • If it is because you want the light from the large window for the common area, I will post another suggestion
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 16:33
  • I guess it's a combination, everything you said makes sense. If you could post another suggestion though, I'd appreciate it.
    – Mosho
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 20:13
  • Added additional option idea, good luck
    – Jimmy Fix-it
    Commented Jun 9, 2017 at 20:38
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I'd keep the space as "open" as possible and assuming you don't want to move the plumbing for the kitchen and bath, I'd try:

1) Murphy bed or Futon, (maybe near the large front facing window,) or

2) using part of the storage room that has a furnace in it. If the furnace is near the rear of the room, you could partition off a "furnace room" and leave enough space for a bedroom. Usually, we like bedrooms on outside walls so an "egress window" can be installed. However, an egress window is NOT required if there is no wall/door between the apartment and bedroom. I've seen a floor to ceiling curtain to "separate" the bedroom area from the apartment area to give the bed area a little privacy.

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