We moved into our three bedroom terraced house back in August. Since then, the house has remained untouched. We haven’t even gone near it with a paint brush.

Our little home could be amazing. There is huge potential. But if we are going to make changes then we need to do it properly.

We need to consider all our options. So over the past few months various surveyors, builders  and heating specialists have looked over our house and provided us with some ideas of improvements we could make.

This has left us deciding between a loft or a basement conversion.

A loft or basement conversion?

Both of these conversions will involve a lot of work and a large amount of disruption so they definitely will not be happening for a while. We are looking at a timeline of next Spring or Summer. But with all projects of this kind, planning needs to begin early. So we really need to bite the bullet and make up our minds.

To help Mr H and I decide I thought I would write a post suggesting what we could do with these spaces if we had the work done.

Loft conversion

To have our loft converted, we would need to have the roof raised to give us the head height that is necessary for a decent sized room.

The room will also need a source of natural light and ventilation. And I love the idea of having windows that would follow the natural line of the roof. We could also consider having windows on both side of the roof to maximise the light in the room.

I can imagine, lying in our bed as the sun rises and light gently creeps through our roof blinds. Or if we converted the loft into a playroom then I know that Little Miss H would adore these Disney blinds from the company VELUX.

My preference would be for the loft space to become our main bedroom. Turning it into a playroom would make it harder for me to keep an eye on the children. Plus I love the idea of Mr H and I having a private space or even a floor all to ourselves.

But I have reservations about having the loft converted.

Having the roof lifted would be a huge amount of work. We would need to move out of the house and our road would need to be filled with enormous pieces of equipment to lift the roof. I just don’t think that the disruption would be worth the extra space.

Basement conversion

Having our basement converted would involve weeks of drilling through concrete. And then removing these materials from the garden through the house. As we don’t have any internal access to the basement.

Our garden would also need to be lowered so that there is enough head height for a conversion.

But utilising this space properly would make an amazing difference to our house. It could be stunning.

The back of our house as it currently looks. You can see the basement space, our living room balcony and the steps down into the garden. These will all be completely transformed if we decide to have our basement converted.

We could reconnect the house to the garden. Our outside access would then be from the basement and not from the living room, the balcony and a set of rickety stairs. This would be much safer for the children and mean that I could just fling the doors open and let them play in the garden.

A basement conversion would give us more space than a loft conversion. Even with the addition of an internal staircase which would need to be placed in our current living room.

We could then remove the balcony and outside steps down to the garden. And instead we would have an unimpeded view of our garden and the woods.

Our lovely (but small) garden and the amazing view from our living room. Once the balcony is removed this view will be unimpeded. And we will be able to have floor to ceiling windows that look out over it on two floors.

Our basement could then become our living room and our current living area could become more of a day room. With a play area and a table for the kids to eat at.

These plans are so exciting and I really can’t wait. But I know that these things take time and with a baby on the way it is not something that we can do this year.

The difference this work could make to our house would be immeasurable. And the extra space would mean that we could stay in a house that we adore for much longer.

Have you ever considered a loft or basement conversion? Which option do you think you would choose?

Hugs

Lucy

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Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by the company VELUX. However, all words and opinions are my own and we are truly weighing up the possibility of having either our loft or basement converted.