Basement Transformed Into a Serious Library and Living Space
An architect installs extensive bookshelves and a kitchenette on the lower level — with a bedroom suite on the way
A library wasn’t even on this New Jersey couple’s radar when they first called architect John Conroy about renovating their kitchen. Neither was finishing their basement. At their initial kitchen meeting, they brought up a few other projects they’d like to complete, such as their primary bathroom and potentially adding a second floor in order to add another bedroom suite. Conroy suggested that he put together a master plan complete with budgets for each phase. “Then we went to do a survey of the house and realized we couldn’t see where a lot of the walls were because the homeowners’ extensive book collection was neatly organized on shelves in front of many of them,” he says. “All I could think was ‘These people need a library!’ ”
While surveying the house, he also found that the basement was in prime condition for finishing. “The builder of this midcentury ranch had lived in it, and he’d put in a wood-burning-fireplace alcove. And all the framing was hung on joist hangers for flush ceilings,” the architect says. “As I finished showing my clients the master plan, I said, ‘By the way, you should have a library in the basement.’ ” He also proposed adding the extra bedroom suite they’d wanted, as well as a kitchenette, in case they needed live-in care in the future. A year passed as the couple figured out what they wanted and when. When they decided to proceed, they wanted to start with the basement library.
While surveying the house, he also found that the basement was in prime condition for finishing. “The builder of this midcentury ranch had lived in it, and he’d put in a wood-burning-fireplace alcove. And all the framing was hung on joist hangers for flush ceilings,” the architect says. “As I finished showing my clients the master plan, I said, ‘By the way, you should have a library in the basement.’ ” He also proposed adding the extra bedroom suite they’d wanted, as well as a kitchenette, in case they needed live-in care in the future. A year passed as the couple figured out what they wanted and when. When they decided to proceed, they wanted to start with the basement library.
After: Conroy sourced used bookshelves that had once been in a public library. He had them cut down to fit the space, placed them to fit within the grid of support columns and added drywall around them to give them a built-in look. “They are authentic, and with just a little touch-up paint they look phenomenal,” he says. “It saved us a lot of money and saved them from going to a landfill.”
The couple found the library table at a flea market and some of their book-related collectibles sit atop it. These include a card catalog and a book press.
The ceiling is corrugated perforated metal. “The ceilings are only 7 feet high so they are a big deal,” Conroy says. “This metal adds texture within this reading area and helped with the acoustics.” He also carefully planned the new soffits to create a cohesive ceiling. Because the home’s existing HVAC system was electric and the air conditioning ducts were in the attic, he didn’t have to work around a ductwork system.
Browse bookshelves in the Houzz Shop
The couple found the library table at a flea market and some of their book-related collectibles sit atop it. These include a card catalog and a book press.
The ceiling is corrugated perforated metal. “The ceilings are only 7 feet high so they are a big deal,” Conroy says. “This metal adds texture within this reading area and helped with the acoustics.” He also carefully planned the new soffits to create a cohesive ceiling. Because the home’s existing HVAC system was electric and the air conditioning ducts were in the attic, he didn’t have to work around a ductwork system.
Browse bookshelves in the Houzz Shop
As anyone who has ever visited the stacks in a university library knows, it’s very easy to get lost. So before venturing further into the 1,700-square-foot basement, let’s get oriented. After entering via the staircase on the left, an olive green wall at the opposite end of the space orients you. Once you reach it, you can head straight back toward the kitchenette, powder room and bedroom suite. Or you can hang a left to reach the library table and reading alcove area.
Also seen on the plan are new deep window wells required for safe egress. They provide so much daylight that the couple intend on moving into the bedroom down here as soon as the bedroom suite is completed. (It’s under construction as Phase 2 of the project.) “The bedroom down here actually gets more light than their bedroom upstairs does,” Conroy says. And their new bathroom will be more spacious and modern than the tiny one they use now.
Also seen on the plan are new deep window wells required for safe egress. They provide so much daylight that the couple intend on moving into the bedroom down here as soon as the bedroom suite is completed. (It’s under construction as Phase 2 of the project.) “The bedroom down here actually gets more light than their bedroom upstairs does,” Conroy says. And their new bathroom will be more spacious and modern than the tiny one they use now.
“Lighting is always a big factor when we transform a basement to lower-level living,” Conroy says. “Placement, light, color, temperature and quality keeps the space from feeling like a basement.”
In between the stacks, Conroy recessed linear LED fixtures. He notes that using 2,700 Kelvin provided warm, cozy and bright light that illuminates the books beautifully. The light fixtures are mudded into the drywall so that just the strips of light show. “It gives them a clean and crisp look on the ceiling,” Conroy says.
In between the stacks, Conroy recessed linear LED fixtures. He notes that using 2,700 Kelvin provided warm, cozy and bright light that illuminates the books beautifully. The light fixtures are mudded into the drywall so that just the strips of light show. “It gives them a clean and crisp look on the ceiling,” Conroy says.
The golden yellow wall orients people back through the stacks toward the staircase. Conroy has strong views on how to use paint. “We always end a color in an inside corner, never on an outside corner,” he says.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
The architect pushed the yellow wall out from the adjacent wall, giving it depth. This provided thickness where he could end the color around the side, in an inside corner. This gives the wall a substantial architectural presence.
During the year between when Conroy gave the couple estimates and building commenced, the pandemic hit, and lumber and labor costs soared. So throughout the project, he found clever ways to save money. For example, rather than using lumber, he used 100% recyclable metal studs where needed. He also sourced a high-performance wall system called InSoFast with integrated insulation, vapor control, structure for installing drywall and a raceway system for electrical for the exterior concrete masonry unit walls. The easy-to-install system involved much less labor than traditional methods.
Another element that cut down on labor was the choice of natural cork flooring, which was a good value at $2 per square foot. And the glue for this flooring doubles as a vapor barrier, which avoided the labor cost of adding another coating to the concrete floor. The cork material is natural and was finished with two coats of sealant after installation. The floor is soft and a little bouncy underfoot. “This kind of cork flooring is something that would have been used by Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe,” Conroy says.
Wall paint colors: Crispy Gold and City Loft, Sherwin-Williams
During the year between when Conroy gave the couple estimates and building commenced, the pandemic hit, and lumber and labor costs soared. So throughout the project, he found clever ways to save money. For example, rather than using lumber, he used 100% recyclable metal studs where needed. He also sourced a high-performance wall system called InSoFast with integrated insulation, vapor control, structure for installing drywall and a raceway system for electrical for the exterior concrete masonry unit walls. The easy-to-install system involved much less labor than traditional methods.
Another element that cut down on labor was the choice of natural cork flooring, which was a good value at $2 per square foot. And the glue for this flooring doubles as a vapor barrier, which avoided the labor cost of adding another coating to the concrete floor. The cork material is natural and was finished with two coats of sealant after installation. The floor is soft and a little bouncy underfoot. “This kind of cork flooring is something that would have been used by Walter Gropius, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe,” Conroy says.
Wall paint colors: Crispy Gold and City Loft, Sherwin-Williams
Before: When Conroy and his team surveyed the house, things had been stored in front of the existing fireplace alcove for so long that the homeowners had kind of forgotten it existed. The fireplace is wood-burning and fully functional. The mantel was already there as well.
After: The fireplace alcove was the perfect space to set up a cozy reading spot. Conroy framed it out with open shelves that provide space to display some of the couple’s pottery collection. White oak was scarce, impossible to find or impossibly expensive at the time, so he stained red oak to give it the look he envisioned.
“When I asked the homeowners about the large chair, they laughed and said, ‘It’s a funny story,’ ” Conroy says. Their daughter had bought it for her Brooklyn apartment, but it was too big to fit through her door. She called them in a panic to come and pick it up, and sat in it outside her building for the hour and a half it took them to get there. It had been in the basement ever since. Now it’s finally being reused as the coziest spot to curl up with a beloved book.
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“When I asked the homeowners about the large chair, they laughed and said, ‘It’s a funny story,’ ” Conroy says. Their daughter had bought it for her Brooklyn apartment, but it was too big to fit through her door. She called them in a panic to come and pick it up, and sat in it outside her building for the hour and a half it took them to get there. It had been in the basement ever since. Now it’s finally being reused as the coziest spot to curl up with a beloved book.
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Conroy also designed a built-in loveseat for reading. The shelves in the corner house the couple’s vintage camera collection. “The main floor was very neat and organized,” Conroy says. “But making room for their collections not only allowed the upstairs to breathe, but also turns the space into a gallery. Every time I visit she’s moved stuff around. The collections are ever-changing.”
The chairs around the library table were already in the basement. “They are Knoll, but they were a dated wood and had ugly fabric,” Conroy says. “We had them painted and reupholstered in a new Knoll fabric.” The homeowners had been using the yellow and green Eames shell chairs upstairs before the renovation.
On the left, two windows pull in natural light from the large new window well. The rug under the library table is composed of carpet tiles by Flor.
On the left, two windows pull in natural light from the large new window well. The rug under the library table is composed of carpet tiles by Flor.
Conroy’s other rule for paint is to treat it like architecture when possible. “If the wall has two sides, we think of the wall as being filled with that color,” he says. This is analogous to the way a solid brick wall would show the brick on both sides. So he painted this powder room wall in the same green used on the accent wall on the opposite side.
Another way Conroy saved the couple money was through tile choice. The backsplash and floor are composed of the same large-format porcelain tiles with a stone look. Installation of 36-by-18-inch tiles was less laborious than installing a larger number of smaller tiles.
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The powder room is located off this small kitchenette. “They had intricate panels and hardware on their kitchen cabinets and found they were hard to clean. So we went with flat panels and no hardware here,” Conroy says. The style contributes to the clean, contemporary lines and makes the cabinets easy to wipe down. Open shelves provide space to display more of the couple’s pottery collection.
Conroy repeated the same tile he used in the powder room on the kitchenette’s backsplash. “This really cut down on labor costs — you put up like four of these and you’re done — clean and simple,” he says. He hid the electrical outlets under the upper cabinets to avoid breaking up the backsplash.
Look to the wall just past the countertop to see where the architect with a particular set of painting rules avoided ending the green paint at an outside corner. Instead, he created a reveal in the end of the wall. It provides a cleaner, more interesting point for the green and white to meet.
Look to the wall just past the countertop to see where the architect with a particular set of painting rules avoided ending the green paint at an outside corner. Instead, he created a reveal in the end of the wall. It provides a cleaner, more interesting point for the green and white to meet.
In addition to storage, the kitchenette includes a sink, small fridge, microwave and trash pullout. “This is great for grabbing snacks and drinks and will work well if they need live-in assistance when they are older,” Conroy says. And now that the couple plan on moving down here themselves, it will be easy to get the coffee brewing first thing in the morning.
The next phase of the project is the bedroom and en suite bathroom, which are under construction. “Their bathroom upstairs is as tiny as can be,” Conroy says. “This one is not large but has a nice-sized shower with a zero-clearance threshold.” The couple are looking forward to moving downstairs, something they hadn’t imagined when they first called Conroy to renovate their kitchen. That project has been pushed back to a later phase of construction.
The next phase of the project is the bedroom and en suite bathroom, which are under construction. “Their bathroom upstairs is as tiny as can be,” Conroy says. “This one is not large but has a nice-sized shower with a zero-clearance threshold.” The couple are looking forward to moving downstairs, something they hadn’t imagined when they first called Conroy to renovate their kitchen. That project has been pushed back to a later phase of construction.
“One of the homeowners tells me that she has a collection of videos of people who are coming down the stairs and seeing the basement for the first time,” Conroy says. “She says their jaws drop every time as they say, ‘You really built a library!’ ”
The homeowners have found that the new space has changed the way they live at home. “Standing in the library, I can hear the voices of the authors, and sometimes of their critics, and tune in on specific conversations by opening a particular book,” Stahura says. “It’s tangible but it is always changing.”
Sustainable Elements
Strategies That Reduced Labor Costs
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The homeowners have found that the new space has changed the way they live at home. “Standing in the library, I can hear the voices of the authors, and sometimes of their critics, and tune in on specific conversations by opening a particular book,” Stahura says. “It’s tangible but it is always changing.”
Sustainable Elements
- The couple’s repurposed furniture and the recycled public library bookshelves
- A high-performance shell created by the wall system
- Metal studs and a perforated metal ceiling that are 100% recyclable
- Cork flooring — a natural, sustainably harvested product that also insulates the floor effectively
- Zero negative impact FLOR tiles
- LED lighting used throughout
- A high-performance HVAC system
- Water-saving plumbing products
- No-VOC paints that absorb any VOCs from the off-gassing by other products
Strategies That Reduced Labor Costs
- Choosing easy-to-install flooring and using glue that doubles as a vapor barrier
- Choosing the easy-to-install, high-performance wall system
- Installing large-format tiles
- Using repurposed library shelves and giving them a built-in look rather than crafting new built-ins
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Basement at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple of empty nesters
Location: Plainsboro, New Jersey
Size: 1,700 square feet (158 square meters)
Architect: John Conroy of Princeton Design Collaborative
Contractor: Michael Kaiser of M. Kaiser Building & Remodeling
Before: Overflow books and lots of collectibles had been stored in the basement. In fact, the clients had enough extra furniture to meet most of the interior design needs down here.
As an IT professional, homeowner Alan Stahura likes to turn off the technology when he’s not working and immerse himself in books. “I read books because they expand the ground I can stand on and also help me see how much is outside my understanding,” he says. “I collect books that seem to have affected other people the same way, sometimes over centuries, and are also rare and beautiful in themselves.”
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