Backyard. We bought a 1400sq ft house this summer with a 3yo and new baby and put a swing set in he backyard (was already fenced) and finished part of the basement into a playroom. We get more use out of the yard, even though we have much less space inside (just 3 bedrooms, no offices or guest rooms). Every weekend we have friends over and the kids play in the yard while we cook, my son is out there very day while I make dinner. We constantly find ourselves saying thank god for this yard. The basement is nice too, but it sounds like you have tons of space inside already. DS does love to go to playgrounds to play with other kids, but he doesn't love playing in the basement alone either. He likes to get muddy and mess around with the trees and send cars down the slide etc.

Anonymous wrote:You have one child and 2800 square feet. Our family is the same size and we live in less than half of that. So I'm having a really hard time figuring out why you need more indoor space. Backyard.

+1

I think it's funny that your preschooler needs a play room. Ours does just fine hanging out in whatever room we are in and no, we don't have toys everywhere, we have hidden toy storage in bookshelves/ottomans. I would prioritize the backyard - kids need to be outdoors, and in my family, the backyard is used 12 months out of the year, not just May - September. Kids LOVE going outside, no matter the weather.

Return on investment- basement. Also, your child will be a teenager before you know it and wanting more solitude with friends. Basement will be the go-to space, likely.

The answer OP is that it depends in your kid. I have a nine year old boy with hyperactivity - yard for us! We used our yard when he was tiny because I put a play set in it- great for burning energy.

You have one child and 2800 square feet. Our family is the same size and we live in less than half of that. So I'm having a really hard time figuring out why you need more indoor space. Backyard.

If the choice is between a cheapo basement job and a nice yard (because I can't imagine that the basement won't cost quite a bit more than the yard), go with the yard. Doing something "on the cheap" will not make you happy and will not give you a good return at the end of the day.

I would be hesitant about going with the "contractor friend" on the basement. Just saying.

We can:

Pull out a bunch of trees in the backyard that sort of break up the lot, put in a fence so there is no safety issue with the busy street, and buy an awesome swingset. This would make the backyard fantastic. We love to grill in the summer and would probably be outside almost every day with grilling and play time.. I have no doubt that we would get a ton of use out of this between May - September

I think you answered your own question.

Anonymous wrote:Backyard but I wouldn't pull out any trees and I'd buy a swingset off of Craigslist or the like so it's way cheaper. Put in the fence so you feel safe.

We like our trees because:
-we will likely want a tree house as the boys get older
-shade in the summer is awesome
-they're used frequently as part of their games, running around, building off of them (well, leaning stuff against them) and for hanging their hammock and eventually their slack line.

Backyard. And +1 about the trees. You need shade back there. Doesn't need to be full shade, but be selective.