Call us at (614) 459-7211.

How to Add Extra Living Space to Your House

extra living space

Whether you’re feeling the squeeze in your home because you’ve added more family members or you’re ready to transform your space into your dream home, adding extra living space to your house can be a daunting task. It can also be an incredibly fun and rewarding project, especially when you find just the right way to make your project happen. Here are some of our favorite ways to add extra living space to your house.

Add Extra Living Space with an Addition

This strategy for adding extra living space to your home is arguably the most popular. Not only do you get to maintain the integrity of your current floor plan, you get to add essentially a “blank slate” to your home to build out as you wish. Add a full entertainment space, enough room for a gourmet kitchen or a master bedroom with a luxury en suite bathroom…if you can dream it, you can add the square footage with an addition to make it happen.

The sky is truly the limit when you are able to add an addition onto your home. You can add extra bedrooms or even an extra wing, depending on your budget, your lot and your neighborhood. Work with a reputable design-build firm to see what the best option is for your space. Many of them will be able to help you with a solution that has minimal disruption on your current living situation and allows you to live in your new space as quickly as possible.

Add Extra Living Space by Building Up

If you’re unable to add an addition “out” onto your home (or are prohibited by your lot or neighborhood), you may be able to build “up” instead. Add a second floor to your home, an apartment over the garage, or a dormered attic space. Adding extra space this way means you can continue to enjoy your home as is on the floors you already inhabit while getting a new bedroom or kids space. Building up can also bring a new personality to your home and transform your curb appeal.

Building up is great for spaces like garages. You can add a small in-law suite or an apartment for guests or renters, but still maintain privacy in your own home. Work with a good designer who will ensure that your build up will blend seamlessly with your home’s aesthetic.

Add Extra Living Space by Finishing Your Basement

basement remodel

Basements are often wasted square footage that become home to long forgotten boxes, old furniture and holiday decorations. But they can go through incredible transformations and add hundreds of livable (and yes, beautiful!) square feet to your home.

We’ve seen basements finished into entertainment rooms and gaming spaces, wine cellars, second kitchens, bedrooms, studios and offices. If you have kids, basements can become rec rooms during the week and guest spaces on weekends and holidays. You can add separate entrances, elevators or nearly anything you can dream to a finished basement.

And gone are the days when basements–even finished ones–had to be dark and damp. Today’s basement transformations can be as light and airy as any room on your main floor or upper rooms.  In some ways, more than other options for adding extra living space to your home, basements are ideally suited for renovating. They’re already primed for plumbing and electric and while you’ll likely need to make some changes to update it for living, it can often be an easier update than starting from scratch in another space.

Add Extra Living Space by Finishing Your Attic

attic remodel

Like basements, attics can be an ideal space for renovating into livable square footage. Unlike basements, attics often already have some built-in charm. We love attic transformations that honor sloped ceilings and dormer nooks. They can be great additional bedrooms, play rooms or offices, with the added benefit of being easily shut off from the rest of the home when needed.

Depending on the current size of your home, you can add hundreds or even thousands of square feet of extra living space when you finish your attic. There will likely be some workarounds as with structural issues, HVAC equipment or plumbing (if you decide to add a bathroom), but the payoff is worth it.

Add Extra Living Space by Reconfiguring Your Floor Plan

One of the oft-overlooked methods of adding extra living space is simply reconfiguring the floor plan of your current home. Many homes suffer from poor layouts which eat up livable space, cause major flow issues or simply don’t make sense. While you’ll need a reputable design-build firm to make sure you have the proper design and permits for your renovation, this type of update can make the most of your home and add tons of value and room to your existing square footage.

Rearranging the floor plan in bathrooms and kitchens can often have a major transformation on both the perception, flow and usability of the space. Blowing out a closet and adding an en suite bathroom can take a blah bedroom into a gorgeous master suite. And removing some walls to combine a tiny formal living room (that no one uses) with a family room and kitchen can result in a fabulous great room where everyone congregates.

If you have a home that you love but it suffers from a surplus of tiny rooms, awkward hallways or a badly organized layout, a renovation that reconfigures your floor plan can be the perfect solution. Not only will you get the extra living space you’ve been craving, you’ll get the opportunity to enjoy and appreciate your home in a new way.

Regardless of how you choose to add extra living space to your home, be sure to work with a design-build firm who has your best interests in mind. They’ll help you decide on everything: how and where to build, what it should look like and the best finishes to bring it all together. They’ll also work quickly so you can begin to enjoy your home as soon as possible with minimal disruption to your day to day living.

Remodels, Renovations and Additions in Columbus, Ohio

Dave Fox is an employee owned company who makes our clients our number one priority. We design and build remodeling, renovation and addition projects for our clients in Central Ohio and deliver the best value through exceptional craftsmanship, excellent materials and ethical business practices. Contact us today to learn more and sign up for our newsletter here!

Experience the Dave fox difference


We are a design-build remodeling firm unlike any other. As an employee-owned company based in Columbus Ohio, we are committed to serving our customers and employees by delivering high levels of quality and value through innovative design, unparalleled craftsmanship, and professional services. Learn more about our basement remodeling services and projects:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.