Basement Project Featured in Washington Post Home Section

Each week, The Washington Post asks a Washington, D.C. area interior designer to accept the challenge of redesigning a homeowner's problem space.  In exchange for exposing their troubled rooms, these homeowners are given a detailed redesign plan for their specified budget.  This week that lucky designer was me.

For the October 8th edition of this feature, I was assigned the misunderstood, forgotten basement rec room of a Fairfax, Virginia couple.  Their recreation area is very long and relatively narrow, and offered a less than inviting space for them to enjoy as they desired.  As the homeowners stated, "One-third of the room is taken up by the couch, end tables and recliner, and the other two-thirds has a huge treadmill."  They added, "...and we don't want the basement to look like a basement"!  This couple expressed a desire to redesign the room into a welcoming space for friends and family since they frequently have out-of-town guests, and they love to entertain.

Their basement wish list included:

1. An eating area for at least 6 people
2. A dartboard
3. Hide the treadmill behind a screen, etc.
4. Keep as much of the existing furniture as possible
5. More lighting
6. Use of warm colors with ginger and red being cited as particular favorites
7. Maintain a large, spacious look
8. Keep the design style contemporary to transitional

Before:


I provided this couple with a complete plan which included:

1. Creation of a dining/game area for family and friends
2. Creation of an inviting seating area to view TV and converse
3. Additional lighting in the form of two floor lamps and a 3-light pendant over the dining/game table
4. A 6 foot pool table
5. A dart board with a 36 inch protective backboard in color coordinating with wall paint
6. Artwork that reflects their background and interests
7. Warm, comforting wall and ceiling colors

Rationale:

• Keep the room  open.  The farther we can see into the space, the larger it will appear.  Use of corner bench seating and armless chairs/stools around the game/dining table and the low profile of the pool table all help to minimize visual obstructions.
• Set the sofa on an angle.  The longest straight line in any room is its diagonal so placing furniture diagonally leads the eye along the angle instead of the straight wall.  It confuses the eye a bit  so that the exact length of the room is not easily determined.  This approach helps to de-emphasize the room's length while visually widening the room.
• No clutter!  Decluttering always adds to any room's sense of spaciousness and lends an overall calmness to the space.
• Use paint to widen the room by using similar paint colors on walls and ceilings and painting the shorter window wall a darker shade.  To maintain this effect, the window's Roman shade is nearly the same darker color as the surrounding wall.
• Give the clients the space they want.  One of the  most  important factors in determining any room's design plan is the consideration of the clients' intended use and purpose for the room.  This couple described casual dining, games and movies as their desired activities in the space -- not working out.  Therefore, I recommended that the treadmill be relocated to an entirely different room and I replaced it with a corner dining/game table, pool table, and portable bar behind the sofa.

After, designed by Carla Davis:

Washington Post House Calls