25 Basement Kitchenette Ideas For a Stylish Bonus Space

Whether you're remodeling an underground rental apartment, in-law guest suite, or a family game room, including a basement kitchenette can provide a place to make simple meals, store wine and snacks, host poker night, and help create a flexible bonus space that will make your home feel more functional and fun.

Space constraints and a lack of natural light can make designing a basement kitchenette challenging. But just because a kitchenette is relegated to the basement doesn't mean it should be treated like an afterthought. Here are some ideas for decorating a basement kitchenette that doesn't skimp on functionality or style.

01 of 25

Add Cottage Style

Design by House of Jade Interiors / Lindsay Salazar Photography

This cottage style basement design from House of Jade Interiors is designed to optimize movie and game nights, with a built-in pantry for storing snacks, a glass-front fridge for beverages, soft blue cabinetry, a farmhouse sink, and a decorative real stone wall in shades of beige, taupe, and gray.

Continue to 2 of 25 below.
02 of 25

Think Pink

Fynes Designs

Fynes Designs added a pastel pink kitchenette with a diamond-patterned tile backsplash, gold-toned hardware, and open shelving that includes a bistro table and chairs located off to one side, and a lounge area with a comfortable couch and coffee table on the opposite wall.

Continue to 3 of 25 below.
03 of 25

Feature Exposed Brick

Pizzale Design Inc. / Photo by Mike Chajecki

For this stylish renovated home basement in Mississauga, Ontario, designers at Pizzale Design Inc. created a kitchenette built into an exposed brick feature wall that includes hidden storage. "A second kitchen was created to accommodate the mother’s love for cooking with more fridge storage," the designers say. A spacious island with a place to drink or dine defines the kitchenette from a nearby sitting area outfitted with a comfy sectional in bold coral upholstery.

Continue to 4 of 25 below.
04 of 25

Go British Style

Design by deVOL Kitchens

Not all basement kitchenettes are created equal. In the U.K., townhouses often feature a basement kitchen that opens up onto a terrace or back garden. The Classic English Kitchen range by deVOL Kitchens looks just as great underground as above ground, in classic black and white. Exposed beams, black piping, painted white brick, and a red Anglepoise task light give a polished industrial feel, while an open shelf decorated with a plant and an oil painting adds a homey touch.

Continue to 5 of 25 below.
05 of 25

Make It Peachy

Design by Pluck

This basement kitchenette designed by London-based Pluck is decorated in luminous shades of peach that amplify the natural light from the window.

Continue to 6 of 25 below.
06 of 25

Keep It Light and Airy

Louis Duncan-He Designs / Photo by Genevieve Renee

This large basement renovation from Louis Duncan-He Designs includes a kitchenette that's clad in white shiplap and cabinetry that maximizes the natural light from a small window.

Continue to 7 of 25 below.
07 of 25

Go Dark

Christina Kim Interior Design / Raquel Langworthy Photography

Christina Kim Interior Design added a stylish wet bar with moody black finishes and gold accents to this basement rec room that could be adapted into a full kitchenette with a heat element. The relaxing, sophisticated space is a self-contained bunker for family hang outs and game nights with friends that stretch into the wee hours.

Continue to 8 of 25 below.
08 of 25

Light It Up

Design by deVOL Kitchens

One of the biggest challenges when outfitting a basement kitchenette is ensuring that there is adequate lighting. If your basement space doesn't have windows or natural light of any kind, installing recessed lighting into the ceiling is a clever solution. In this contemporary London basement kitchenette designed by Sebastian Cox for deVOL, glass block-style built-in LED panels diffuse warm light from overhead that gives the illusion of natural light and is strong enough to illuminate the functional space, a more stylish solution than your average can lights.

Continue to 9 of 25 below.
09 of 25

Game It Out

White Sands Design Build

This Southern California coastal farmhouse style basement game room from White Sands Design Build has a kitchenette tucked discreetly in the corner so that you can keep your game night drinks and snacks at the ready.

Continue to 10 of 25 below.
10 of 25

Make It Fun

Rebecca Foster Design / Photo by Meghan Beierle-O’Brien

"This Manhattan Beach, CA basement kitchen was designed to be fun but functional," says interior designer Rebecca Foster. "The kids can get snacks but also wash dishes in the dishwasher, and it is a combo oven so meals can be cooked, not just microwaved. It is the perfect spot for after beach snacks or dinner and a movie." Stainless steel appliances, gray wood-toned cabinetry, and white walls and ceilings give the space a crisp, modern look, while multi-colored glass storage jars displayed on open shelving create a focal point.

Continue to 11 of 25 below.
11 of 25

Outfit the Guest Suite

Designed by Velinda Hellen for Emily Henderson Design / Photo by Sara Tramp

This 49-square-foot basement kitchenette in a guest suite designed by Velinda Hellen for Emily Henderson Design was built with Hellen's mother-in-law in mind, equipped with everything she would need to cook up a storm like she does at home. The efficient L-shaped layout includes a built-in oven, a small stovetop, and a full-size Smeg refrigerator. A soothing palette of white, gray, and pale blue keeps it feeling light and airy.

Continue to 12 of 25 below.
12 of 25

Use Vertical Space

Designed by Velinda Hellen for Emily Henderson Design / Photo by Sara Tramp

Many basements have lower ceiling heights than upstairs spaces. In a basement kitchenette, adding open shelving that reaches all the way to the ceiling will add storage while making the ceilings feel taller by drawing the eye upward, especially if you finish the walls and shelving in bright white tones.

Continue to 13 of 25 below.
13 of 25

Add a Dining Table

Michelle Berwick Design

Michelle Berwick Design relegated this basement kitchenette to a single wall, adding a long stone backsplash with a built-in display shelf. A large dining table anchored by a pendant light replaces a kitchen island, creating a space for comfortable sit-down meals that divides the kitchenette from the seating area.

Continue to 14 of 25 below.
14 of 25

Use Shaker Cabinetry

Design by deVOL Kitchens

This basement kitchenette from deVOL Kitchens is tucked into an alcove, with Shaker-style cabinets painted in a serene blue-green, a farmhouse-style sink, and floating shelves in a darker shade of teal. Wide plank hardwood flooring elevates the space.

Continue to 15 of 25 below.
15 of 25

Add an Island

Design by Pluck

This London basement kitchenette designed by Pluck has wrap-around blue cabinetry, a sink under the window that lets in natural light from the street above, a farmhouse sink, navy blue cabinetry, and a marble-topped kitchen island.

Continue to 16 of 25 below.
16 of 25

Add Some Art

Britt Design Studio

A stone countertop and matching backsplash, gold hardware, and a gilded framed painting that's lit like it's in an art museum adds polish to this wet bar from Britt Design Studio that has plenty of space for preparing and storing drinks and snacks.

Continue to 17 of 25 below.
17 of 25

Make It a Snack Station

Cake & Confetti

Two-toned blue cabinetry and countertops, a colorful backsplash, gold hardware, and a cute retro-style mini refrigerator turn this colorful family-friendly kitchenette from Cake & Confetti into snack central.

Continue to 18 of 25 below.
18 of 25

Open a Cellar Bar

deVOL Kitchens

While it's not technically a kitchenette, this cellar bar and wine storage corner made up of elements from the Real Shaker Kitchen by deVOL Kitchens is a great alternative for those who love to drink and don't need to cook, preferring to use their basement square footage for an impressive collection of bottles and a dedicated prep area for cocktails.

Continue to 19 of 25 below.
19 of 25

Mix Materials

Michelle Berwick Design

Michelle Berwick Design mixed pale wood cabinetry and shelving with an abstract patterned tile backsplash wall that adds interest to the small dry bar and could work just as well in a basement kitchenette.

Continue to 20 of 25 below.
20 of 25

Include a Wine Fridge

New Perspective Design

This basement kitchenette, complete with a wine fridge from New Perspective Design, is incorporated into a faux brick feature wall, allowing it to blend into the background and keep the focus on a comfortable seating and TV watching area perfect for family movie nights and watching big games with friends.

Continue to 21 of 25 below.
21 of 25

Add Wood Paneling

Design by Laura Brophy Interiors

Laura Brophy Interiors added wood paneling to this wet bar that could easily double as a kitchenette with a hot plate that can be stored when not in use. Dark lower cabinets and a pale wood-paneled backsplash with windows and open shelving adds balance.

Continue to 22 of 25 below.
22 of 25

Keep It Open

drewhadley / Getty Images

This modern basement apartment conversion has shiny white walls, polished pale gray concrete floors, and a dark wood kitchenette with a peninsula housing the sink tucked into the back wall of the room, out of the way but open to the rest of the room.

Continue to 23 of 25 below.
23 of 25

Choose Glass-Front Cabinetry

New Perspective Design

In this basement pool room from New Perspective Design, a kitchenette provides temperature-controlled storage for adult beverages, a mini-fridge, and plenty of built-in storage for snacks. Glass-front, interior-lit upper cabinetry mimics a pair of windows on either side of the kitchenette, and recessed can lighting brightens up the basement space even more.

Continue to 24 of 25 below.
24 of 25

Add Color

Michelle Berwick Design / Instagram

Don't be afraid to introduce color in a basement kitchenette, like the yellows and blues that lift the herringbone pattern white subway tile backsplash and stainless steel appliances and hardware of this basement kitchenette from Michelle Berwick Design.

Continue to 25 of 25 below.
25 of 25

Mix Dark and Light

Design by Amy Leferink at Interior Impressions

Open wine storage, glass-front cabinetry, and gleaming silver backsplash tile keep this dark wood basement kitchenette and wet bar from Amy Leferink at Interior Impressions from feeling too heavy.