elmhurst

About our client

Oswego, Illinois

This couple in Oswego was hoping to enhance their partially finished basement and bring in elements to help entertain their family and friends.

Goals

The clients wanted an open space for entertainment with an industrial yet warm feel. They had existing exposed brick they’d like to maintain where they could. They had dreamed of a large bar that allowed for bottle storage and offered plenty of seating for guests.  Clients were also hoping to find a separate space for “the guys” to wind down.

Challenges

The existing basement needed a lot of drywall repaired for mechanical access. We also needed to rough plumbing to the new locations of the proposed bar area. We were hopeful of the large windows brightening the space but were met with a challenge to incorporate them into the space that allowed for both open and closed off space.

Solution with results that paid off

After consulting with the clients and assessing their needs, our design team came up with a plan to reconfigure the basement for both entertaining and weeknight fun.

To keep the open feel we proposed to add a partition wall nearest the large windows and center the bar here. This allowed for multiple seating, ample bottle storage and it allowed the windows to become part of the space.

We were able to incorporate an industrial yet warm feel by incorporating natural wood and pipe shelving to accent the existing brick. We suggested updated lighting throughout to warm and brighten the space as well as create definition.

To create a separate hangout space for the guys we suggested a hidden murphy door at bar that leads to a cigar room. We kept the storage here open and chose a bold color to differentiate this space from the large bar in the main living room. Adding pipe shelves here and incorporating tile allowed for easy clean up and additional bottle storage.

This finished basement project will serve this happy couple for years to come. The clients were happy we were able to meet all of their entertaining needs and so are we.


Before

After