Modern Basement

By Candice Olson

Lori has lived in the same cozy, suburban house all of her life. She spent her childhood and teenage years there, and now that she and her husband have purchased the home from her parents, she plans to spend even more time there as an adult.

As Lori grew and changed over the years, most of the house grew and changed with her--with the exception of the basement. While it was a hip and happening room when it was decorated in the 1970s, the room's "roller disco-platform shoes-fondue party" aura was not what Lori had in mind moving forward.

This cluttered den of darkness had danced its last hustle. It was time for a modern makeover. I gathered together my crew and told them to get down to work, and help this basement move away from its dark past and into a bright future.

The challenge was to lighten up a space that contained no natural light and make it a comfortable space where Lori and her husband could relax and entertain guests. The room had a support post in the middle that naturally divided the room. Using this to my advantage, I decided the renovation would focus on two distinct, yet complementary zones: a lounge area with a reading nook and a media space with an entertainment center.