A new ceiling was added on the left side of the wooden bulkhead to enhance the existing painted joists. A barn door hides the storage room. Photo credit:Barb Kelsall

Storage needed to be hidden but there was very little space to put it, so we did the best we could with the bulkheads dictating where this was best placed.

Small Basement Rec. Room - TV space with heat producing electric fireplace, hidden storage, and bookcase storage.

This chic and contemporary basement renovation is for an accessory apartment dwelling. Its intriguing spatial configuration transforms an ordinary unfinished basement into a lofty and trendy apartment with a relatively high ceiling, delectable color palette, and day-lighting.

Who wouldn't love their very own wet bar complete with farmhouse sink, open shelving, and Quartz counters? Well, these lucky homeowners got just that along with a wine cellar designed specifically for wine storage and sipping. Not only that but the dingy Oregon basement bathroom was completely revamped as well using a black and white color palette. The clients wanted the wet bar to be as light and bright as possible. This was achieved by keeping everything clean and white. The ceiling adds an element of interest with the white washed wood. The completed project is really stunning.

A lovely Brooklyn Townhouse with an underutilized garden floor (walk out basement) gets a full redesign to expand the footprint of the home. The family of four needed a playroom for toddlers that would grow with them, as well as a multifunctional guest room and office space. The modern play room features a calming tree mural background juxtaposed with vibrant wall decor and a beanbag chair.. Plenty of closed and open toy storage, a chalkboard wall, and large craft table foster creativity and provide function. Carpet tiles for easy clean up with tots! The guest room design is sultry and decadent with golds, blacks, and luxurious velvets in the chair and turkish ikat pillows. A large chest and murphy bed, along with a deco style media cabinet plus TV, provide comfortable amenities for guests despite the long narrow space. The glam feel provides the perfect adult hang out for movie night and gaming. Tibetan fur ottomans extend seating as needed.

James Benson Group

Mews Development, Barnsbury , Islington N1 Change of Use from Single Family Dwelling to 2no. Apartments Previous existing condition Originally arranged on2 floors ( ground and 1st floors), a single family dwelling which formed part of a set of late 20th century mews development dwellings set within a gated and private development. The original single family dwelling retained a rear garden, largely unused with a smaller*ambiguous ‘garden’ area seen upon arrival from the main street. As built condition Planning Approval was successfully gained for the following: 1. Basement extension with ‘sunken’ garden space to south face Light wells, front and back, in order to allow sufficient light into the interior basement spaces and assist in ‘defining’ the ‘ambiguous’* approach elevation. 2. Creation of a new2ndfloor leveland mansard roof extension: 2 additional floors on top of the original 2 floor single family dwelling development. This is in addition to the basement extension. 3. The above has culminated in the building owner also achieving permission for a change of Use from Single Family Dwelling to 2no. High specification speculative apartments thus: Flat A x 3 bedroom flat: comprising basement, ground and 1st floors Flat B x 2 bedroom Flat located on 2nd and 3rd floors(withnew mansard roof). The development also incorporates the following: 1. Avoidance of Exterior alterations for access Exterior alterations for access to the upper levels were avoided by concentrating the access requirements within the building’s structural envelope. This was achieved by the intervention of an internal stair that would service the top floor flat and the reconfiguring for the existing stair for the flat below. Therefore, any incongruous exterior access stair structures, that would necessitate rising up the exterior elevation, were avoided. 2. Two Separate Main entrances: Each flat has its own separate entrance, Flat A from the South elevation and Flat B from the North Elevation. Privacy has also be enhanced for occupants since each flat has its own separate entrance. This design element has also created the added benefit of giving a ‘purpose’ to the north elevation, something which itoriginally lacked.* 3. Exterior Balconies as additions In addition, the inclusion of light weight balconies that were sympathetic to the original Mews development design have improved the occupants’ well-being and quality of day to day living by creating pockets of additional amenity spaces. The original aim and intent was to convert an existing single family dwelling into 2 spacious apartments, and yet retain the external appearance of the building as well as avoid imposing external stair structures for access. This was achieved by adding volume vertically, upward and downward and by carefully creating 2 new stairs internally that also offered privacy to both units. In doing so, the constraints imposed by the planning department in relation to the sensitive nature of the original Mews development setting were respected and the client’s requirements were successfully achieved.

We built a multi-function wall-to-wall TV/entertainment and home office unit along a long wall in a basement. Our clients had 2 small children and already spent a lot of time in their basement, but needed a modern design solution to house their TV, video games, provide more storage, have a home office workspace, and conceal a protruding foundation wall. We designed a TV niche and open shelving for video game consoles and games, open shelving for displaying decor, overhead and side storage, sliding shelving doors, desk and side storage, open shelving, electrical panel hidden access, power and USB ports, and wall panels to create a flush cabinetry appearance. These custom cabinets were designed by O.NIX Kitchens & Living and manufactured in Italy by Biefbi Cucine in high gloss laminate and dark brown wood laminate.

Andrew Snow

Small kids space under the stairs. Great place to hide

Brighton, MA — “Hang-out Suite” A miraculous transformation from dark, dingy basement to well-appointed family room, laundry room and full, second bathroom. Click through to the end for the “before” shots.

This bathroom was a must for the homeowners of this 100 year old home. Having only 1 bathroom in the entire home and a growing family, things were getting a little tight. This bathroom was part of a basement renovation which ended up giving the homeowners 14” worth of extra headroom. The concrete slab is sitting on 2” of XPS. This keeps the heat from the heated floor in the bathroom instead of heating the ground and it’s covered with hand painted cement tiles. Sleek wall tiles keep everything clean looking and the niche gives you the storage you need in the shower. Custom cabinetry was fabricated and the cabinet in the wall beside the tub has a removal back in order to access the sewage pump under the stairs if ever needed. The main trunk for the high efficiency furnace also had to run over the bathtub which lead to more creative thinking. A custom box was created inside the duct work in order to allow room for an LED potlight. The seat to the toilet has a built in child seat for all the little ones who use this bathroom, the baseboard is a custom 3 piece baseboard to match the existing and the door knob was sourced to keep the classic transitional look as well. Needless to say, creativity and finesse was a must to bring this bathroom to reality. Although this bathroom did not come easy, it was worth every minute and a complete success in the eyes of our team and the homeowners. An outstanding team effort. Leon T. Switzer/Front Page Media Group

Simple doesn’t have to be boring, especially when your backyard is a lush ravine. This was the name of the game when it came to this traditional cottage-style house, with a contemporary flare. Emphasizing the great bones of the house with a simple pallet and contrasting trim helps to accentuate the high ceilings and classic mouldings, While adding saturated colours, and bold graphic wall murals brings lots of character to the house. This growing family now has the perfectly layered home, with plenty of their personality shining through.

This guest bedroom reflects the charm of the house with the combination of a quilt, blue and white lamp and wooden side table. Located in the basement, natural light is provided by an egress light well and ribbon window. Note the decorative vent cover in the soffit and deep sill provided by the foundation wall.

The original basement bath was tight and outdated. This new space feels huge & serves the short-term rental guests in a welcoming way. Photo -

This basement kitchen is given new life as a modern bar with quartz countertop, navy blue cabinet doors, satin brass edge pulls, a beverage fridge, pull out faucet with matte black finish. The backsplash is patterned 8x8 tiles with a walnut wood shelf. The space was painted matte white, the ceiling popcorn was scraped off, painted and installed with recessed lighting. A mirror backsplash was installed on the left side of the bar