I have a small finished basement about 20 x 15 in Maryland. There is one supply vent on the ceiling about 8' from furnace and one return vent about 11' from the furnace running in parallel on the ceiling. On the (outside) wall opposite the furnace I supplement with an electric fireplace because it's really cold down there in the winter. So basically the return vent is between the supply vent and the fireplace.

I was thinking about creating a new return vent around floor level on the wall my air handler is behind opposite the fireplace. I would just leave the old return vent and close the register. Do you guys think it worth the effort to create a new return? Would it make for a warmer more comfortable basement. We are making it a living room area. Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

This video shows exactly what I would do.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7750636096127977001#