When Melanie and Shawn Anderson built their home in the Oaks of Dublin three years ago, they left the basement unfinished.
They didn’t do it because they didn’t have plans for the basement. In fact, they had very ambitious plans for the basement. It was just a matter of finding the right time.
“We knew we wanted to do something cool with it,” says Melanie.
When the pandemic sent them – and everyone else – home last spring, they knew the time was ripe to finally finish the basement, bringing to fruition their plans to install a golf simulator, a wall for their bourbon collection and more.
The Andersons worked with Griffey Remodeling – having previously worked with Griffey for a bathroom remodel at their old house in Muirfield – to effect the overhaul of their basement. The project kicked off in May 2020 and was finished by early September.
In total, the basement has three zones: the bar area and kitchen, the living area including a bathroom and bedroom, and the recreational area with the golf simulator as well as fitness equipment. The entire house is walkout, with French doors off the back of the house providing a seamless transition from the indoors to the outdoors, and the new basement space fits perfectly into the flow, Melanie says.
When the house was built, the Andersons, who are very interested in home design, put most of their effort into the main two floors of the house. Even though they didn’t finish the basement at the time, they laid the groundwork for it – literally.
Knowing they were going to install a golf simulator eventually, they figured out where they wanted it to be and had that section dug deeper than the rest of the basement. They also roughed in some plumbing and drew up preliminary plans for the bathroom and bar locations.
The Andersons are avid golfers, so a place to play and practice at home was a top priority. The high-end simulator they got is loaded with a substantial number of real-world golf courses, which is great for the couple, as it gives them a chance to practice courses they intend to visit someday.
“We’re trying to hit a golf course in all of the 50 states,” Melanie says. (They’re up to 32 so far, in case you’re wondering)
Though the simulator’s primary use is golf, it does have other modes for the entertainment of guests, including lacrosse, basketball, a home run derby and – we’re not making this up – zombie dodgeball. The entire recreational area is behind a multi-panel glass wall. A barn door with overlaid grids can close off the area to keep the sound in.
“As you walk down the stairs, you immediately see that glass wall that encloses the whole fitness and golf space,” Melanie says.
At the back end of the golf simulator room are cabinets for equipment, and it’s also set up with bar seating, so if a foursome is playing, those not up on the simulator can sit. A wall-mounted TV fills out the space.
The couple also wanted to use the basement area for their ever-growing bourbon collection. Glass-front cabinets in the bar area, built by Miller Cabinet Company, allow them to show off the acquisitions they’re most proud of, with pullout cabinets below for less memorable liquors.
“Our collection was taking over the pantry upstairs,” Melanie says.
Not too far from the bourbon display is a massive wine rack, enclosed entirely in glass with soft backlighting. It’s mounted on reclaimed wood between a floating bench and the edge of the countertop.
Strike that, actually: The wine rack isn’t really between those two things, per se. A keen eye will notice that the edges of both are inside the glass encasing the rack – a neat feature that tends to resonate when guests eventually notice it.
For now, the living area is serving as a work space for Shawn; Melanie was working from home before COVID-19 hit, so she already had a home office. The combination of the bar – which has a full-sized refrigerator as well as other kitchen comforts – with the bedroom and bathroom means the entire basement could be turned into an in-law suite, Melanie says.
The house, which Melanie describes as having something of a Hamptons or beach house vibe, is designed with a lot of whites, creams and natural woods. The newly finished basement’s colors are more in the black and gold area, with a lot of white wood.
The house won local and regional Contractor of the Year awards from the National Association of the Remodeling Industry for basement projects over $250,000.
Garth Bishop is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenecolumbus.com.
