33 Basement Kitchenette Ideas For a Stylish Bonus Space

Try a One-Wall Layout

This cottage-style basement kitchen from House of Jade Interiors is designed to optimize movie and game nights. It includes a streamlined one-wall layout with 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.

Decorate the Walls

Wainscoting and wallpaper add a finished look to this basement kitchenette from Fynes Designs. A corner bistro table and chairs and a lounge area with a comfortable couch and coffee table provide multiple seating options in the small space.

Feature Exposed Brick

Add character to a basement kitchen by highlighting original details like exposed stone or brick. Pizzale Design Inc. built a basement kitchen around an exposed brick feature wall that includes hidden storage. A spacious island with a place to drink or dine defines the kitchenette from a nearby sitting area.

Try a British-Style Kitchen

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, like this space from deVOL Kitchens that includes painted white brick and exposed beams that add character to the traditional design.

Use Colorful Cabinetry

This galley-style basement kitchen from Pluck Kitchens is decorated in luminous shades of peach that amplify the natural light from the window.

Keep It Light and Airy

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.

Use Moody Dark Finishes

Christina Kim Interior Design added a stylish wet bar with moody black finishes and gold accents to this finished basement rec room that could be adapted into a full kitchenette with a heat element.

Maximize Light

One of the biggest challenges when outfitting a basement kitchenette is ensuring that there is adequate lighting.

If your basement doesn't have windows or natural light of any kind, install recessed lighting into the ceiling like this space from deVOL Kitchens. Glass block-style built-in LED panels diffuse warm light from overhead that gives the illusion of natural light, a more stylish solution than your average can lights.

Add a Corner Kitchenette

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

Add Colorful Accents

"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.

Outfit the Guest Suite

This fully equipped 49-square-foot basement kitchenette in a guest suite from Velinda Hellen for Emily Henderson Design has an efficient L-shaped layout that includes a built-in oven, a small stovetop, and a full-size refrigerator. A soothing palette of white, gray, and pale blue keeps it feeling light and airy.

Use Vertical Space

Many basements have lower ceiling heights than upstairs spaces. In a basement kitchen, 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.

Add a Dining Table

Michelle Berwick Design relegated this basement kitchen 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 cooking space from the seating area.

Use Shaker Cabinetry

This basement kitchenette from deVOL Kitchens is tucked into an alcove for a custom fit. It is decorated with sage green Shaker-style cabinets, an apron sink, and floating shelves in a darker shade of teal that adds contrast with the warm hardwood flooring.

Add an Island

This London basement kitchen from Pluck Kitchens 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.

Hang Some Art

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.

Set Up a Snack Station

Create a simple budget DIY backsplash with removable wallpaper in a fun pattern. Two-toned blue cabinetry and countertops, a multicolored backsplash, gold hardware, and a retro-style mini refrigerator turn this family-friendly kitchenette from Cake & Confetti into snack central.

Include Wine Storage

This basement bar from deVOL Kitchens is an excellent kitchenette alternative for those who love to drink and don't need to cook.

Use Contrasting Materials

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

Include a Wine Fridge

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.

Add Wood Paneling

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.

Include a Peninsula

This modern basement apartment conversion has shiny white walls, polished pale gray concrete floors, and a dark wood kitchenette with a space-saving peninsula housing the sink tucked into the back wall of the room.

Choose Glass-Front Cabinets

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 cabinets and drawers 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.

Mix Dark and Light Finishes

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

Accent With Color

Try an easy budget DIY project to energize your basement kitchen by painting a door in a bright hue, like the neon yellow accent in this basement kitchenette from Michelle Berwick Design.

Mix Cool and Warm Tones

There's no reason your basement kitchenette can't be as chic as the upstairs kitchen. This basement game room kitchenette from Erin Williamson Design mixes cool grays and warm wood tones, with modern lighting and textured finishes to add polish.

Add Coastal Vibes

Add coastal color to your basement kitchenette by painting the cabinets in a soothing shade of blue. This basement guest apartment kitchen from Michelle Berwick Design has industrial finishes like polished concrete floors, exposed beams, and soft turquoise cabinetry finished with black hardware that adds contrast with the bright white subway tile backsplash.

Include a Pizza Oven

Create a multifunctional entertainment space with a fully equipped basement bar and kitchen hybrid. Amy Leferink of Interior Impressions equipped this basement bar kitchenette with a pair of beverage refrigerators, a microwave/pizza oven, and a full-size sink.

Skip Upper Cabinets

For an airy feel in a basement with natural light, consider skipping upper cabinetry. Michelle Berwick Design installed a stylish charcoal gray backsplash with an integrated shelf that matches the countertops, and installed base cabinets in the same creamy white as the walls. In lieu of upper cabinets, a trio of brass sconces add warmth and task lighting after dark.

Whitewash the Walls

One way to lighten up a basement kitchenette is to whitewash it along with the rest of the subterranean space.

Leanne Ford Interiors transformed a drab basement into an ideal home design studio complete with a kitchenette. Decorate the walls with thrift store mirrors for an affordable and original look.

Stencil a Backsplash

If you don't have the budget for a patterned tile backsplash, consider faking one with a simple DIY stencil project. Michelle Berwick Design chose a simple black-and-white pattern that adds graphic interest to the space, with open shelving and matching butcher block countertops.

Tuck It Under the Stairs

Utilize the dead space under the stairs by installing a kitchenette, like this L-shaped mini kitchen from Fantastic Frank. Custom-built kitchen cabinetry that hugs the stairs maximizes every last square inch of space for a sleek and uncluttered feel.

Match Cabinets With Walls

Painting your built-in cabinets the same color as the walls and ceiling will create a cohesive look.

Jessica Nelson Design chose a neutral taupe for this basement kitchen and lounge space, and added plenty of integrated lighting to make the finished basement space usable after dark for movie nights.