Basement vs. Main Floor

When we moved into our first house in August, we did not have a finished basement, so naturally, I made out main floor and up stairs the daycare. We eat in our kitchen, play in our living room, sleep upstairs (divided among three rooms). I also have 2 upstairs rooms that are strictly dedicated to the daycare and my own boys. A toy room and a library/puzzle room.

Creeping up on the 1 year mark in this house, and hubby wants the daycare moved into the basement to 'have his house back'. I understand where he is coming from. No matter how many times I vacuum, it needs to be done again. When he comes home, right when I close, there is usually still toys scattered on the floor. When he comes home, he either goes to our bedroom or the garage until the last of the kiddies leave. I am always scrubbing dirty hand prints off of the walls. You all know how it is.

He figures, if the daycare was in the basement, he could come home and relax on the couch and the mess, would be 'our' mess.

It is ideal, I know. However, I do think that having a full home daycare, sets me apart, even just a little, from the other providers in the area.

What do you think? Do you run your daycare in the basement? Main floor? Have you done both? Which do you prefer?

I totally understand! When I first started, I had the daycare in the main living room upstairs and the family room in the basement. It worked great for a while, but eventually I got sick of the daycare being the first thing that our company sees when they walk in the front door. We also wanted to have our main floor family room back. It was also easier to keep the daycare stuff contained to one place.
I think it might have been different if my own kids were younger and needed their own playspace upstairs, but my oldest is grown and out of the house and my youngest is 12.

We find it works better this way.

I have the daycare on both the main floor and in our basement, as well as in a spare bedroom. It works really well right now because my own children are still young (2 and 4 years old), so having the play rooms on both levels of the house works well as it gets used after daycare hours. I also like the change of scenery for myself and the kids of having different rooms to go to during the day. I like being able to sit in the sunny mainfloor living room in the morning.

But we have our family room in the basement and the main floor living room is solely for the daycare, so my husband can go downstairs and I can be upstairs with the daycare kids if necessary (though I can't say my husband tries to purposely avoid them). We came from a very small house before the one we live in now, so the spaced used just for daycare isn't missed.

I don't know, I don't think I would want to change what I have right now to being only in the basement, even though it does feel like there are toys and daycare stuff all over. But I try to keep things organized, maybe it will change as my own children get older. I would probably think about what was best for MY day, as opposed to my husbands, since he isn't the one that is home in the daycare all day.

My first go round with daycare it was main floor. My hubby hated having toys everywhere, etc. We didn't have the option of where as we didn't have a basement.

This time around I have it in the basement (well, our house is a split, so the lower level). I love it so much better. The daycare is the daycare. I still make full use of our home but the majority of daycare 'stuff' is down in the designated area. We eat in our upstairs living room and have naps up there, do crafts at the upstairs table, get to the outside through our back door, etc etc, but the majority of play and toys are in the lower level. I have done it for 2 years this way and my husband has never complained once.

I have had parents tell me that they like that I have a designated area for daycare that is separate from the rest of the house. So I guess it just depends on how you play that up and present it to parents. :)

So far I've had it both ways in the same house. When we moved in we finished the basement and I had my daycare playroom down there, however I still had a little eating room ( the breakfast nook) that was for daycare along with a few toys on the main floor. This spring our basement flooded and we had to rip the floors up and bring the daycare upstairs. We haven't refinished the basement flooring and I'm not sure we ever will but I added a few area rugs and the kiddos sleep there in their cots and playpens.

So far I like it better upstairs because it is more functional...close to the kitchen and bathroom and we don't have to go up and down stairs several times per day anymore which is the best part. What also helps is the fact that I've recently come to the realization that I am NOT going to do daycare forever, I have maybe 2-4 years left in me and by then I will have my house back. And I have big plans too...new couches, new dinning table, NEW EVERYTHING when daycare is over!!! But right now my own kids are 3 and 6 so having a playroom upstairs still makes sense. I would most definitely feel differently if I was in this for longer tho and if my kids were older.

I'm also anxious to see how the new daycare room will "sell". I haven't yet had an interview with the new setup but I'm anxious to see how ppl will like it/ not like it. I've been told my upstairs playroom is better because of better lighting and because it does seem more functional so we"ll see!

Basement only daycare here. I wouldn't have it any other way. My family space is my space and I don't have to worry about kids getting into things they shouldn't, completely kid proofing and my daughter doesn't have to share her toys or her room. That was the one thing we decided was a must when I wanted to start my home daycare. It isn't my daughter's choice that I work from home so I felt it so important that she have a space away from daycare if she needs. This also applying to my husband as well although he is only home one day a week when I am working. I do everything in my basement - napping, cooking etc. nothing is upstairs other than they come in the back entrance and head directly downstairs. It is also nice for me because I feel like I am actually "going to work" and feel like I am relaxing away from the daycare space in the evenings. Our home is currently for sale and if we sell and move the first thing I want my husband to install into our new house is a kitchenette so that daycare can continue to be 100% in the basement.

I'm with mickyc....basement all the way!!!

I had a main floor set up in our old house and now have separate dedicated space. I have one large play room, full bath and two 'bedrooms'. One is tiny and used by one little guy for sleeping. The other is larger and has enough room for table, kiddy table, highchairs and permanently set up pack and plays!

I love closing the door at the end of the day!

In my last house (bungalow), I had plans to use the basement, but didn't want to make the switch until we added a bathroom down there. That never happened. So I had the bedrooms nice and close for napping, and daycare stuff was mixed in with our own things. If I had stayed there I would have moved to the basement to get more space, and to keep my personal space less cluttered.
In my current house, the previous owners had done a nice job converting the attached garage into living space. So I converted that living space to a daycare room, and I love it. We are close to the kitchen and bathroom, and have access to the yard without having to manage stairs everyday. The only thing I miss about my old place was how nice and cool the basement stayed all summer. And now the bedrooms are on the second floor, so the kids don't have any bedrooms to nap in. They are just spread out everywhere on the main floor.
Every interview I've done in my new house, parents have loved all the natural light and separate main floor daycare room.

Also just a note. If you use your basement and designate it for daycare only then you get to claim 50% of your whole home's expenses. When you use your own space as daycare then you have to calculate it different (amount of hours in a week and how many of those hours are daycare etc) and it usually works out less. It is better for the bottom line to designate the basement as 100% daycare.

Basement only daycare here (though the kids nap in upstairs rooms). I would not do home daycare if I wasn't able to close the door at the end of the day and 'go home'. I'm certain my husband would not be willing to have the daycare in our personal home area either.

I have had no trouble filling my spots and no families have ever commented on it being in a basement. Of course, the basement is fully finished and does not resemble a 'basement'.

I would think the families you have signed on would be understanding of the switch...I doubt they would leave good care because you are moving to the basement.

I think you would quickly come to see the perks of keeping your work separate from your home!!

Basement ! Although I saw an ad for a dayhome that said , " no dingy basement "' ugh ! Mine is 1200 sq ft of playmats ! Lol a bathroom and a set up sleeping room ! I love having it downstairs ! Our dcks never go upstairs !!! My dd has a full playroom for her only and I love being able to keep my furniture and items dc free !!
My dcps love my playroom , we have little tikes forts and 2 slides ! Great place to have fun and space to get energy out !
I'm pretty OCD about how clean and organized I am so downstairs !! I have lunch pretty much prepared the night before so a quick run upstairs to grab it !
Bonus is laundry is always done lol ��

I used to do mine in the basement at my old location. We had large, above ground windows, so it was bright enough. Now that I've bought a townhouse, the main floor is all daycare. I find it much more convenient as kitchen, bath and yard are right there. It's never bothered me having it here. Our basement was renovated last spring for our family space and doesn't feel like a basement at all. I will say that every person I've interviewed has said they prefer the daycare on the main floor. So yes, Ttremble, I do think it sets you apart a bit for some families. For me, I don't care if I see my daycare in the off hours. I love it and decorated it nicely (not super cutesy) and it's very organized, so it's not a big deal. I've found it to be a very good change for my business....plus, it's nice to be in a bright, sunny room all day and not dealing with stairs. To each his/her own and both options are fine....this has just been my experience.

Our basement is set up as a suite so there is a full kitchen, bathroom, living room (which is now a play room) and bedroom down there. My whole basement is daycare except for the laundry room which is actually more daycare space than laundry lol.

I love that it's all down there, the parents comment on how nice it is that everything is done down there and how it's sorta set up like a mini dc centre. For the first year, I had nothing upstairs but I do now have one toy box upstairs and we play upstairs if it's a lower number of kids or for a change of scenery. I will often greet the first parent upstairs and than say goodbye to the last parent up there as well. The kids like coming up here to play with the different toys from time to time but my other half MUCH prefers to have it all downstairs. I can't blame him...he works evenings so he doesn't want to be around kids all day long and see the mess. I would say we spend 90% of the time downstairs and the other 10% upstairs throughout the week.

If/when we move, I would love to find a house that I could do daycare on the main floor for the sole purpose of not having to take the kids up and down stairs every time we want to go outside. If we could find a space that we love the basement enough for us to live in, I would take it in a heartbeat!!

I think there are pros and cons to having the dc all throughout the house, in the basement only or on main floor only. Whatever works best for you and your family is what is the most important!! Dcparents will enjoy a quality dc no matter where the space is. I know my other half is much happier when we are downstairs LOL. Yes, I work here but he lives here and I do take his feelings into consideration. Today for example we were upstairs quite a bit but he was fine with it and has been playing with the kids :)

My hubby was the same way, he wanted his space back. We did a year using the whole house but this past Feb we finished the basement and I love my space. It is nice and cool in the summer too!!! Basically we are in the basement for the majority of the day however we still can and do use the rest of the house occasionally. We do baking activities on the main floor or hang out there if I have to use the stove. I have toys up there but a limited easy to tidy selection for transition to outside time. I still have the children sleeping in the bedrooms upstairs. It is sooooo nice to have the space in the basement though. I have my house back, I can throw in laundry while down here and at the end of the night i can just shut the door and leave it. Plus it is a great place to host playdates with friends and their kids, good for holiday parties (the kids can tear it apart down here!) and its safe. and my daughter can use it as a playroom!