For those of us who don’t want to move but need more space, extending is often the answer. However, if you don’t have room around your house or any potential to convert a loft, going down may be the solution. A basement conversion can be fitting out an existing cellar, enlarging it enough to be habitable or starting from scratch. However, there are several questions you need to ask yourself before starting your project.

Does it need planning permission?

While the current rules for basements are under review (see Planning Portal for more details), generally, converting an existing space won’t require planning permission while digging a new one will. As habitable space, both will be subject to building regulations in relation to insulation, structural support and minimum height. You may also need permission from your neighbours, unless you live in a detached house – this is known as a party wall agreement and could also involve employing a party wall surveyor. This is because a basement conversion involves a shared wall and could potentially damage their house. It’s a specialist job so you’ll need to hire experts, such as an experienced architect, structural engineer and builder – or a conversion company.

This basement conversion has been used for a kitchen-diner that opens up onto the garden.

Image source: Matteo Bianchi Studio

Read more: how to get more space without knocking down walls

Will it be cost-effective?

This depends on whether you’re converting an existing space or digging a new one (which can double the cost) and how much you need the extra room. If there are few other options or you live in an area where the property prices are typically high (making the new space more valuable), then the investment can be cost-effective. Simply digging and underpinning a new basement can cost up to £3,000 per square metre, and can be made more difficult by ground conditions, so it’s good to know what’s underneath your house before you start. If you’re unsure, ask for a geology survey. You could also ask neighbours to find out if anyone has had a conversion locally or speak to local trades, to find out what issues they faced.

A basement makes a great location for a luxurious spa-style bathroom.

Image source: Design Republic

How can you keep the space dry?

Time was when basements were cemented in place without waterproofing, ending up becoming damp. However, a properly excavated, underpinned and tanked space should minimise this problem, and, along with heating and ventilation, prevent condensation forming. There are several techniques to make a basement watertight and which one you use will often depend on the water table level. If you live in an area with a high water table for example, your basement may be prone to flooding and require more than one form of waterproofing for an effective solution.

Most conversions use a cavity membrane system that allows the moisture to run behind it into a sump below the floor, which is then pumped away. It can also be tanked, like a wet room, or have external waterproofing. A quality damp proofing specialist will be able to make sure your conversion’s watertight.

A basement is simple to turn into the ideal room for a wine collection.

Image source: Spiral Cellars

What are you planning to use it for?

Basements can be almost anything you’d like them to be but may be better suited to one function or another. If you’re not able to include much natural light, for example, they may work better as bathrooms, guest bedrooms or cinema rooms (when darkness is a good thing!). However, if you’re keen to create a light, bright space, artificial lighting is a great way to boost daylight from sun tunnels and lightwells. Remember that your ceiling may be lower than in other rooms, so avoid low-hanging pendants and opt instead for recessed spotlights, wall lights, track lighting and lamps, all of which an electrician can help you fit safely. Perimeter lighting around a dropped ceiling is a great way of mimicking natural light coming in at the edges of a room.

All a smart cinema room needs is spotlights, lamps and backlighting.

 Image source: Qualitas Construction

Find more ideas on how to create more space without moving house.

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You can personalise everything from your coffee to your car to suit your needs, so why should your house be any different? Open-plan living offers one option for changing your space but there are several other solutions for reconfiguring your home that can be less drastic. Make your home feel more spacious, hide away clutter and give yourself extra room for the things you enjoy the most – all without sacrificing walls.

Open up a staircase

Image source: Bisca

Visual obstructions, such as a chunky wood staircase, can make your home feel dark and cramped, especially if your hallway’s small. Instead, think about swapping it for a glass-sided design. Not only will this allow extra light to reflect and be refracted, making the area feel brighter, it’ll give the illusion of extra space. Made using laminated or toughened glass panels that can be continuous or framed with wood or metal (often with wooden steps), you can even add recessed lighting for light-time illumination. A specialist staircase designer or carpenter will help you select a design in keeping with the rest of your home.

Install an enclosed porch

Image source: Anglian Home Improvements

While some properties have space for a utility or boot room, what to do with the practical but space-hogging aspects of our homes can be tricky. Built onto the front or side of a house, an enclosed porch is an inexpensive mini extension that can solve your clutter problems. Porches are usually a simple structure of dwarf walls, windows and an exterior door but you can also include lighting and power sockets to make them more functional. Small projects normally fall under permitted development but check the Planning Portal or with your local council first. Good uses for a porch include hanging coats, umbrellas and shoes, storing wood for a stove inside or as a home for a condensing tumbler dryer (though insulate the porch well as some won’t work below 5C). A local builder will be able to advise you on what’s possible.

Read more: create more space without moving house

Convert a cellar

Image source: London Basement

Unless you’re a wine collector, chances are your cellar or basement could be put to much better use than a general store-all junk room. While loft conversions usually end up as bedrooms, converting the space below your floor creates the possibility of an additional room for almost anything you like (and can cost around the same for a basic loft conversion), from a hobby and crafting area to a study or location for a home business. Cellar and basement conversions are also perfect as playrooms or utility rooms. As long as you’re not altering the floor height to create more headroom, you’re unlikely to need planning permission and a conversion can be finished in just a few weeks. Find more information at The Basement Information Centre or find a builder specialising in basement conversions here.

Add an orangery or sunroom

Image source: Amega

Built using less glass and more brickwork than a conservatory, orangeries and sunrooms have greater scope for year-round use. Sunrooms tend to look more like a traditional extension with a solid roof and large areas of glazing at either side. An orangery usually has a partially glazed roof with a roof lantern and the sides either built of brick with doors and windows within them or some fully glazed walls. The reduced amount of glass means that these additions are more comfortable to spend time in during very sunny days, too. They’re both good for using as a second lounge, family room or for dining, yet unlike an open-plan extension, can have glass doors separating them from the main area of the house, giving you extra space only when you need it.

Read more: make the most of existing space without extending

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The new year is the time when we traditionally make resolutions and promises to ourselves and each other. But how about making some to your home? After all, the start of the year is a great time for new beginnings in and around the home, as well as a fantastic time to get projects under way. You can start small or go all in. Here are four examples of resolutions that you may want to consider for 2017.

Extend your home

There has seldom been a better time to add an extension to your home, as property taxes bite and house prices continue to rise. Adding a new section to your home is an economical way to add space and will also add value to the property. The relaxing of rules on permitted development have also made it easier to build larger extensions on your home, so it’s a good idea to act now and bring in a builder before any of these changes are reversed, which is due to happen in 2019. Check with your builder and council for rules on permitted development before you begin any project.

Install patio doors

Having patio doors installed may seem old hat, or even less than glamorous. But they will guarantee to change the way that you use your home and your garden. For a start, the doors will bring more light into your room. But the main advantage is that they break down the barrier between indoors and outdoors. You will find you are out in the garden far more than when you have to go down a side entrance or even unlock the French windows. With the most modern patio doors, you can splash out on models that fold all the way back into themselves, opening up the entire back wall of your home and inviting the outside world in.

Redesign your garden

Without a plan, most of our gardens can end up looking like an unruly and uneven mess of plants, garden furniture, oddly-placed trees and that pond that the kids insisted you install. This is no surprise, as garden design is an art. Professional garden designers and landscapers know which plants thrive where, as well as what looks good where. The new year is a great time to have someone pull together what you have, or start over from scratch. Think about what you use your garden for, rather than what you think you should have or what you’ve seen in weekend newspaper supplements. Shade, sun traps and something to attract wildlife (while keeping the neighbour’s Tom at bay) can all be built into your garden. So why not start in January and have the rest of the year to enjoy it?

Read more ideas for small gardens with tips from a professional garden designer

Consider a loft conversion

Most of our lofts are used to store things we really don’t need and half the time we can’t recall what’s up there bar the Christmas decorations for 11 months of the year. Like a rear or side extension on our house, building up into the loft will add space and value to your home. For a clue as to how much, simply look to see how much more a home with an extra bedroom on your street costs, using online property apps or websites. Loans are still relatively cheap if you need to borrow to build. So take advantage of that while you can, before interest rates rise once again.

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