The 36′ x 13′ Bedroom. In the Basement.

Bedroom Sizes:  “Small,” “Medium,” and “(Extra) Extra Large”

You certainly can call a 36′ x 13′ room in the basement of a home a “Bedroom,” as a certain listed Golden Valley home does now.

But, that doesn’t make it so.

That’s true even if the room technically meets the criteria for a legal Bedroom:  it has a minimum average ceiling height > 7′; finished walls, ceiling, and flooring; a heat source; a closet; an egress window (pictured at right); and is more than 75 square feet.

Instead, most Buyers are likely to see — and use — such a large, lower level room as an Amusement Room or Family Room.

“The Duck Test”

Exact specifications aside, the true test of whether a basement bedroom is likely to pass muster with Buyers is more amorphous, and subjective.

Call it a variation of “the duck test”:  that is, if it walks, paddles and quacks like a duck . . . it’s probably a duck.

Likewise, if a basement room looks and feels like a Bedroom . . . it is (or could be).

That’s especially true if there’s a nearby 3/4 or full Bath.

Strategically Placed Adjective

But, what if an otherwise usable room falls just short of formal, legal requirements?

Agents have a good (and perfectly legitimate) fallback:  they/we simply bill it as a “non-conforming, lower level Bedroom.”

P.S.:  Context is also key when it comes to Bedroom size.

So, a 20′ x 16′, Upper Level Master Bedroom makes perfect sense in a 6 BR/5 Bath home with over 6,000 square foot.

Anything bigger than 16′ x 12′ Bedroom (ballpark) in the lower level of a 3 BR Rambler, not so much . . .

See also, “The Basement Owner’s Suite.“



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