Unfinished Basement Becomes an Awesome Man Cave

This basement remodeling project began in a traditional Edina home with an unfinished basement and underutilized space. With the Super bowl on the horizon the owner wanted a new space for entertaining and chilling out. The project began with a warm fireplace positioned at an angle to get the most impact in the smallest space. A solid wood mantle encloses the firebox and supports the large-screen HDTV, offering the best angle for viewing HDTV. Using a gas-burning fireplace insert makes the new fireplace enjoyable and efficient, great for cold Minnesota nights. Outdoor landscaping to accommodate the new windows greatly improved the volume of natural sunlight and fresh air available to the basement. Removing layers of soil and rock and reinforcing with landscaping rock created a great new place for summer flowers. This technique also works well when installing egress windows that can serve as a legal fire escape that can add value to a basement remodeling project.