Basement Makeover

Luckily, her home has a large basement, which is the ideal place for the kids to run wild. The problem was that this room was outdated and completely disorganized. A set of weights, a jumble of toys and a sofa bed were all competing for floor space--with the end result being a room full of clutter.

Jennifer wanted her basement to do triple duty as workout space, playroom and occasional guest room. It was definitely a tall order, but what I had in mind for this space was fun, functional and kid-fabulous.

We started by stripping off the old beige wallpaper and ripping up the dated linoleum tiles. The weights posed a bit of a problem--they're not exactly the kind of toys Jennifer wants her boys to play with--so I decided to create a separate workout zone at one end of the room. The other half of the room is kid central, and in a pinch it will also sleep a guest or two.

This dark basement needed a big dose of color and light. I chose a neutral palette of warm butter yellow, avocado and barley cream. We painted nine-inch vertical stripes in alternating colors around the entire room. The floor was covered in a durable, wall-to-wall sisal carpet, which can take a beating from the boys and still look great.

To bump up the lighting in this space, we ditched the old ceiling fixtures and replaced them with updated track lighting. We also installed some super-tough caged wall sconces that are reminiscent of a hockey arena. These add a lot of visual interest, but more importantly they are unbreakable.

Probably the coolest thing about the boys' new space is the activity wall we created by recycling the old faux fireplace. By adding some doors, cupboards and fun graphics, we breathed new life into this dated fireplace and provided the boys with a place to shoot hoops or practice their slap shots. The unit also offers lots of storage space for books and toys to help control clutter.

The fabrics in this room will need to withstand the abuse dished out by three children. So I selected kid-proof, contract-grade materials for the sofa bed and beanbag chair slipcovers. We also made the decorative cushions from the same durable fabrics.

Since controlling chaos was our biggest mission, I designed a custom wall unit to hold the television and several baskets of smaller toys. Larger wheeled bins slide under the shelving unit, making cleanup quick and easy when guests are coming to stay.

To protect the kids from the weights (or the weights from the kids), I designed a series of pivoting panels that partition the workout section of the room. The panels can be secured with a childproof lock when the weights are not in use and simply folded back when Mom and Dad want to burn off some stress by doing a few curls.

Creating a triple-tasking play space in this basement was definitely a tall order. We solved the problem by using bold colors and fun graphics, boy-proof carpeting and fabrics, and industrial lighting fixtures. This space is now functional, fun and ready to rumble.

(Interior decorator Candice Olson is host of Home & Garden Television's Divine Design.)