“When my husband first suggested finishing the basement into an apartment for my daughter and her two sons, I said “No way!”” Hope said. “It was such a dark space down there that I couldn’t imagine my grandbabies in it. What if they were scared? Maybe they’d have nightmares.”

Hope’s husband, Jeffrey, took her to see some basement renovations in Abington, MA that were similar to what he had in mind. “His best friend had had his basement renovated into an apartment for his in-laws,” Hope said. “Being able to see what a light and airy space they had really opened up my mind to the idea that this could work.” She shook her head. “The basement finishing company was really clever about how they installed the lighting and laid out the rooms – it really had an open, airy feel that was very comfortable.”

More and more families are searching for ways to make multi-generation housing work. These situations can include having an adult child – who may have children of their own – return to the family home to live, providing housing for aging parents or in-laws, or other family configurations, such as one sibling taking up residence in another sibling’s home.

In these instances, it’s often good to create defined spaces for each family unit. Rather than try to make a child’s old bedroom their current domicile and expect two families to seamlessly merge in shared spaces, such as the living room and bath, converting the basement into an apartment can make family harmony much easier to attain.

“You imagine that a basement apartment is going to be claustrophobic,” Hope said. “But don’t rely on your imagination. Get the facts. If you can see other basement remodels that have been done in your area, that’s a great start. You’ll discover the possibilities are so much more inviting and comfortable than you ever imagined!”

“I suppose every family has a lot of stuff,” Dawn said. “But I feel like we are above average in that regard.” An antiques book dealer, Dawn has built a considerable collection of volumes that are ‘just too good to let go of’. Her partner, Peter, has never met a piece of fine furniture he didn’t like. As a result, their Boston home was full to overflowing.

“We needed a sensible way to store things,” Dawn said. “But why put all of this time and energy into building a collection if you’re just going to hide it in boxes in the basement? What we needed was a space where we could enjoy and appreciate our things.”

“I hate spiders,” Peter said. “Which is why I was so averse to using the basement space for anything, really. Who wants spiders dropping down into their hair?” He shuddered. “But when we talked to the Boston basement finishing company that was recommended to us, we learned that there are several different ceiling options available. Once all those dusty floor joists were covered up and turned into an attractive ceiling, my fear of spiders vanished.”

The couple had their basement transformed into an attractive study, with lots of book cases and built in storage space. “We did the numbers, and creating this same space as an addition would have been much more expensive,” Dawn said. “Plus we would have lost a good chunk of our yard, and I wasn’t willing to make that sacrifice if I didn’t have to.”

“We have lots of books and antiques. But we know other couples who have things like sports equipment or their grandchildren’s toys: things they want to keep and have access to, but that don’t need to be right in the house all the time, cluttering things up,” Dawn said. “For those people, we strongly recommend they look into having their basement finished. We’re really glad we had it done, and we think you will be too.”