My daycare is also in the basement and I really like that I can close the door at the end of each day and leave my work behind. I have a full bathroom with a tub and it's great. I have a counter top for meal preparation and cutting fruit but I prefer to cook upstairs and that's mainly for safety.
My meals are always prepared ahead of time so the actual amount I spend in my kitchen is very minimal. I use a tray to carry everything down. The bowls, spoons and cups are already down there. I have a big pantry in which I store anything and everything that does not need to be refrigirated so snack time is a breeze. I cut the fruit while the kids tidy up and use the bathroom.
I have two seperate sleep rooms. One is for the playpens and the other is the main play room where the bigger kids sleep. They unroll their mats at nap time and sleep all together. After nap, we tidy up the mats, go to the bathroom and we're ready for snack once again.
I have a great made up table that I got from IKEA. You can really customize your tabletop there as well as legs. I also have the IKEA plastic chairs with boosters on them. The table is where they do messy crafts and puzzles. My table/eating area is completely appart from the rest of the playroom so the kids don't track food (well mostly anyway).