At Empire, we know that many families use their basements as an extension of their home’s main living space, and a home with a walkout basement offers additional opportunities to get the most out of your floor plan. By design, a home with a walkout basement gives buyers many advantages that elevate the overall look, feel and functionality of their home.
Most simply defined, a walkout basement is exactly what it sounds like: a basement you can walk out of. Typically, these basement designs incorporate a wall with windows and a door that you can walk out of on the ground level. Often the home’s lot has a slope to the rear of the property where the walkout basement will have access to the backyard, and it may have a raised patio or covered roof from the upper floor of the house. If you are searching for a new home, these are some of the top advantages of choosing a floor plan with a walkout basement.
1. Enjoy More Living Space
A unique indoor/outdoor space, a walkout basement lets you use the basement level of your home as a true living space extension rather than just a dark and scary storage area for old sports equipment and boxes. Walkout basements can be transformed into mudrooms that neatly hold shoes, backpacks and other items for coming in and out of the house; a hosting space or second living room that leads into the backyard for seamless entertaining; or as an indoor/outdoor playroom for the kids. It can also be an ideal space for an office or studio to run your business from home while keeping privacy and separation from the rest of the house. When put to its best use, a walkout basement provides endless ways to gain square footage in your home without enlarging its footprint.
2. Increase the Value of Your Home
Because a walkout basement can be considered part of your home’s liveable square footage, it often will add to the home’s value. Typically homes with a walkout basement appreciate in value faster than a home with a standard basement. As many families see the benefit in having the increased living space and flexibility that a walkout basement affords, this type of home design continues to be in high demand. A lot of walkout basement lots often back on to small ravines, which also offer greater privacy and increase the homes’ value.
3. Access to the Outdoors
Walkout basements create a sense of fluidity and seamlessness between the outdoors and your home — bringing nature and your home’s surroundings into your living space. This close connection to nature is actually proven to support cognitive function, physical health and psychological well-being — making your walkout basement a beautiful and healthy addition to your home.
4. Get More Natural Light
The natural sunlight that comes with having larger basement windows and a sliding door means the space feels less like a basement and more like a main part of the house. This is especially ideal if you’re planning to use the space for additional bedrooms or other living areas that will benefit from that airy and bright, inviting feeling. Plus, you can then finish and furnish the basement more like the rest of your home to be enjoyed year-round by the whole family.
5. Have a Separate Apartment
A private door to the outdoors makes a walkout basement ideal for a standalone apartment where older children can live or as a complete in-law suite for flexible multi-generational living. If you’re looking to supplement your income, you might consider turning your walkout basement into a rental apartment where the tenants can come and go as they please without needing access into your home from the side door.
If a home with a walkout basement sounds like the perfect design for you or if you want to explore some of our other options, get to know our Empire communities in Ontario offering walkout basement floor plans and more.