Address Excessive Moisture Issues

• Examine all moisture problems and correct them. Waterproofing wall compounds and moisture-resistant drywall boards are possible solutions. Your lawn or driveway may need to have some corrective work done to shed water away from a basement wall as well. However you choose to address moisture problems, it pays to have a dehumidifier as a low-cost way to keep basement moisture down. Adding a separate heat pump for the basement to keep the air circulating with the right moisture content in just the basement area would be the ideal solution.
  
  

Plan Wiring and Electricity

• You will need to review ways to route plumbing and electrical wiring to the basement. Examine how to run wiring from the main breaker box, and how to connect to bathroom plumbing overhead in the main part of the house. Talk with a plumber about toilets that flush up versus down.
  
  

Design a Floor Plan

• Draw the new floor plan using graph paper. Figure out where the basement stairs will descend, and design a staircase that is sufficiently wide to bring down furniture. Rooms will need to be laid out to create good traffic flow and connect in some manner with a walk-out door, if there is one. Keep in mind that a walk-out door is a good idea in case of fire, so consider installing one.
  
  

Fine-Tune the Layout

• A good basement layout will include a family room, perhaps a bar, one or two bedrooms and at least one bathroom. It's possible to build a separate kitchen, but a small kitchen at one end of the family room will work fine. Use a single wall space for a stove, small refrigerator, sink and microwave. Build the bedrooms for teenagers or guests, but include the kitchen space to create an apartment of sorts. This will make the basement much more user-friendly without having to come upstairs for snacks or meals.
  
  

Use Light and Color

• Paint walls a light color and use colors with bright accents for furnishings. Use a couple of red sofas, for example, against pale taupe walls. Make sure every room is well lit, even a storage room, so the basement will seem bright and cheerful. Use dimmer switches to tone down lighting at certain times, if desired. Make the space its own world by using any decor that pleases you versus matching the rest of the house. Paint a bedroom wall lime green, for example, or one wall of a bathroom purple. Glass shelving, for books or art objects, large floor pillows and bright rugs work well in a basement space.