Long-time Dublin resident Crystal Schulze has spent the last five years perfecting every detail of her renovated entertainment basement. With help from friends, family and contractors, Schulze and her husband, Kenton, were able to fill the space with a pub-style bar, a theater area complete with a projector, new bathroom and storage space.
On cold, rainy days, the couple – with their 7-year-old son, Cameron, and two rescue dogs – had no place to escape. So, they decided to create their own space in their unfinished basement. The finished space delivers exactly what they were looking for.
“Any time we want to have fun with our friends, watch a movie, sit at the bar and have a drink, it’s just a great entertaining space for my family and friends,” Schulze says.
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She wanted to incorporate a modern farmhouse look for one half of the basement and a pub space, with elements of wine and tiki bars, on the other side. Strategic choices in the rest of the lower level help to connect those styles. The bathroom design matches the pub aesthetic, and Schulze included barn doors, brick, reclaimed wood accents and complementing colors throughout the basement to bring her vision to life in a cohesive way.
“It gives it a really unique look, because it looks like a pub but it also feels old,” Schulze says.
Kenton’s father helped the couple lay the foundation for the renovations with contractors aiding with drywalling and masonry. She says she chose her contractors carefully, as Schulz wanted everything down to the smallest detail to match her vision.
Some of those unique touches include the brick-lined walls and the mahogany woodwork. The brick lining starts at the top of the stairs and continues all the way down and behind the bar. The bar, in harmony with the aged-barn aesthetic, was crafted using repurposed mahogany from a restaurant bar.
Those details and others – including the penny flooring in the bathroom and specific barn door color choice – all add to the perfection of the space in Schulze’s eyes.
“Between the brick and the wood accents, those are things that some people see and others don’t,” Schulze says. “That’s my favorite part.”
The process took time though. While Schulze imagines the work could have been completed within a year, the renovations stretched into a five-year process as life routinely got in the way.
Though it took longer than expected, Schulze wouldn’t sacrifice the control the family had in getting everything just right.
“My best advice is just don’t rush it and do it exactly how you want it,” she says. “And if you don’t find someone to do it the way you want to, find someone else.”
Kate Anderson is an editorial assistant at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
