Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 Comments

  1. I was SO excited to read the post this morning! We are nearing the completion of our new home and I have been really stumped by what to do in our great room. This looks like an ideal solution. Look forward to trying them out. I especially like how they will work with existing pieces as I have several that made the ‘cut’ when deciding what to keep and what to sell/give away/temporarily store, just in case…. Great start to the day!

    1. I am so glad to hear that! I love when things I find, resonate with readers and I very much agree about the usefulness if this service… 🙂 I actually cannot wait to do my basement now!! Good luck with your great room!

  2. The three best basements I’ve ever seen:
    (1) a retired car-mechanic neighbor who collects antique cars. The entire basement was a huge garage for his babies. He pulled out most of them but left a couple of real gems, and he and his wife set up tables. The floor was tiled–not a drop of oil (and of course Mr. Mechanic’s cars didn’t leak oil anyway). They had lots of posters on the walls–antique posters of cars, posters from places they had visited on rallies. Great atmosphere. Once a space is full of guests, all that matters are a few big “wow” factors and having enough seating. Added points for the space being used (for his cars) when not serving as mega-dining room.
    (2) an architect’s house with an enormous picture window–in a window well. The window well held huge plants, and there was a grid on top so that people could walk over it safely and yet the light came through to the basement. It was like being in a terrarium. Very cool. Also, the basement was so bright and welcoming thanks to the window.
    (3) another neighbor’s wine cave. This was an accident–after the house flooded, they dug out and discovered the basement walls were made of bricks (I think the house dates to the early 1800s). They left the bricks, put in racks for their wine collection and installed a long, tall table with stools, and we have apéritifs there before dinner. Again–very simple, but what grabs attention are the ancient brick walls.

    1. Nice options. I think the key is to treat the basement like it’s a regular part of the house. Then the sky is the limit on how creative you can be… 🙂 We actually have a tiny room next to our great room that I wanted to make into a wine cellar when we first moved in. But right now it’s storing all of my son’s guitars and amps. Still, maybe some day when he moves his stuff out, it could be a good spot to store wines since it’s near the entertainment room. I’d love to do wine tastings down there. No ancient walls, but there’s plenty you can do with stone and wood.

  3. Love this post! They don’t even look like basements. I don’t know which one I like best!

    1. Thank you!! And I agree they don’t look like basements… 🙂 But that’s exactly what I’m going for. We’re lucky to have some windows, so why not decorate it like a regular living space?

  4. Wow! What a great idea to get another pair of eyes on your project! I know you’ll find the perfect pieces to fill in beautifully with plan 2. Love the sectional too!