Room of the Day: A Media Room With Mystery and Moody Details
A secret door and hidden drawers make this basement lounge a mesmerizing getaway
In creating this basement media room, design-builder Norm Lecuyer set his sights high. He wanted it to feel like a polished penthouse, full of fine materials and separate but equally luxurious zones. Using reclaimed wood, rolled steel and a hidden door and drawers, he and his team integrated several sophisticated spaces into one large urban-style lounge in the middle of the suburbs.
The homeowner can control the fire, dim the lights and close the blackout shades from his smartphone.
Fireplace: Napoleon
Fireplace: Napoleon
The reclaimed-wood feature wall has hidden compartments for gaming equipment, remote controls and audiovisual wires.
Steel I-beams provide structural support near a reclaimed-wood-clad bar area, which features its own TV and refrigerator. Hand-sawn wood beams above the bar, Edison bulb-style pendant lights and a rolled steel backsplash continue the industrial-meets-rustic theme.
A hidden door allowed the owner to have a little fun with the design, Lecuyer says, even though the passage leads only to a hot-water heater.
Pendants and bar stools: Restoration Hardware
A hidden door allowed the owner to have a little fun with the design, Lecuyer says, even though the passage leads only to a hot-water heater.
Pendants and bar stools: Restoration Hardware
Near the bar sits a pool table, extra seating and a foosball table in an alcove to the right.
Lights, table and chairs: Restoration Hardware
Lights, table and chairs: Restoration Hardware
Here you can see the foosball table in the background. A collection of framed maps hangs on the wall.
The team feels they succeeded in their goal to go beyond a pizza-and-poker-night man cave. “If you are creating a place to watch football, well, you might as well go the whole 9 yards,” Lecuyer says.
More
Contractor Tips: Finish Your Basement the Right Way
How to Dig Down for Extra Living Space
The team feels they succeeded in their goal to go beyond a pizza-and-poker-night man cave. “If you are creating a place to watch football, well, you might as well go the whole 9 yards,” Lecuyer says.
More
Contractor Tips: Finish Your Basement the Right Way
How to Dig Down for Extra Living Space
Basement at a Glance
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Size: 1,040 square feet (96.6 square meters)
Designer: Norm Lecuyer of Just Basements
The homeowner wanted a retreat in which to watch the big game and relax with friends, but Lecuyer and his team fought the term “man cave.” Instead they strove for a “subterranean penthouse,” as Lecuyer calls it, that would feel current and modern.
To achieve this, they focused on sophisticated materials, such as reclaimed vintage wood for the big-screen backdrop, wire-brushed hardwood floors and cold-rolled steel panels that surround the fireplace and TV.
Couch, coffee table, side tables and armchair: Structube; wood: Atmosphère & Bois; steel: Black Truck