Years ago, the living room was considered the ultimate gathering space in a home, but recently, finished basements have become where the action happens. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 9 percent of all U.S. homes have a finished basement in 2021, a leap compared to past years.
“Basements are no longer always dusty cellars and unfinished sections of the house,” the report states. “They’re becoming essential living spaces for families and entertaining.”
Ryan Carlson, owner of the 2020 basement remodel headed by The Cleary Company, says that’s exactly why he and his family wanted to renovate.
“We wanted to create a kids play area and a comfortable environment for entertaining friends or have a family movie night,” he says.
For the project kickoff, the basement needed major demolition.
“They opened up the wall between the old bedroom (now a new playroom) and when we walked downstairs, we saw all this natural light pouring into the main room through the sliding doors and side windows,” Carlson says. “It was a great moment because we saw our vision starting to come to life.”
The project took six months, and although the end result promised fun family time, cozy movie nights and cocktail hours with friends, challenges along the way were stressful at times. Carlson recalls when the countertop was cut to the wrong size and compounded delays for the next steps like installing the backsplash, shelves, and more.
Not to mention Ryan’s wife, Leigh Ann, is an ER doctor at OhioHealth, so things were hectic with the pandemic and the remodel. A blessing amid the chaos, however, was their baby girl born June 3 – a week before the demo began.
The end result was worth any stress along the way. The space is brighter and more inviting, with new light gray walls and white trim that pops.
“The paint colors coupled with the extra lighting (natural and recessed) make the space feel less like a basement and more like any other living space,” Carlson says.
One of his favorite changes to the basement is the new fireplace, which is made of dark grey herringbone tile against white marble.
“Besides looking great, it really brings warmth to the room in late fall and through winter,” Carlson says.
Hey, Bartender
One of the most impressive additions is the bar, where Carlson jokes that there’s never a line. The double kegerator allows for trips to local distributors and breweries, which Carlson loves to do. The slide out “spice rack” is designed to hold all the proper bar fixings like mixers, bitters and drink glasses.
“My go-to drink is an old fashioned,” Carlson says. “But during the summer, a margarita with fresh squeezed lime is tough to beat.”
To go along with the bar, Carlson had wine shelves installed and considers this to be his favorite design element in the basement. While he and Leigh Ann have had fun filling the shelves, he says they aren’t serious collectors – yet. Their favorite Dublin place for wine?
“Tucci’s in Dublin,” Carlson says.
Any Excuse
You’d be hard-pressed to find a better spot for relaxing and hanging out together. Carlson says the family spends time in the basement relaxing and just being together.
“The kids love being down there,” he says, “and we’re really looking forward to having friends over for birthdays, OSU games and really any excuse to get together.”
Mallory Arnold is an editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
