2019 NARI Capital CotY Grand Award Winner, Basement Over $100,000

An author/Sci-fi movie script writer and his art collector spouse have purchased their home in prominent attached homes neighborhood of Fairfax, VA.

This home has a builder-grade finished basement that did not fit into their lifestyle and how they envisioned their main entertainment area would look like.

The existing space was blab and boring. Beige walls and carpets, and white bookcases that have sat around the unbalanced fireplace walls were all contributing to their dislike of this basement.

With his Irish inheritance, he envisioned an Irish-looking pub for a portion of the basement with lots of seating space. This space was currently occupied by a pool table and bare walls. Through digging the concrete slab, we have provided plumbing and electrical wirings to the new bar area. Copper tile ceiling panels, embedded LED lighting and background lighting have made this bar area pop up. Our designers have worked closely with clients to deliver the “old pub” look just like what he has in mind. Dark cherry cabinets, exquisite rain forest quartzite counter top, and hammered copper sink, all were down to the wires of the “Cheers” stage bar set up.

The leather stools and brass foot rails over the distressed wide plank wood-looking porcelain tile brought even more reality to this new setting.

Cherry wainscoting surrounding the entirety of basement creates a seamless connection to the bar area.

Opposite the bar space, we have filled up full walls and a couple of middle columns with a rustic look stone veneer. This has set a mode for secluded bar seating area.

A partition wall was removed, creating more open space of basement into some unused, unfinished part of the old basement.

She wanted to display some of her prized art around the basement with well-lit wall sconces.

The old fireplace wall was gutted and the new fireplace got centered into this wall wrapped in Ledgestone and an AV built INS.

A new Archway has defined the foyer entry area with bench/banquette area from main entertaining space. The railing was redone with wrought iron spindles and cherry stain handrail in order to continue the color theme.

The old bathroom was gutted and revamped into an adjacent unfinished space, creating larger yet much eclectic theme for this new bath.

The walk-in shower surrounded with tumbled marble and custom-made hammered copper vessel sink over a distressed ebony vanity are just to name a few of this unique bathroom.

A tray ceiling with embedded rope has set off this warm and uplifting gathering space even more inviting.

Now more than ever, this well-connected couple enjoys throwing parties and showing off their secluded yet very uplifting basement to their friends and family.

This is what the client wrote about this project:

As eight-year empty nesters, my wife and I decided that it was time to upgrade our 12-year-old builder-grade finished basement to a space we could be proud of and that would become a focal point for entertaining. I told the design team that I wanted a pub room with class, describing my wishes as “Irish pub meets Ritz Carlton lounge.”

The results were amazing. Dark wood paneling leads to a stone archway which in turn leads to a fabulous dark wood, granite-topped bar with a copper farmer’s sink, dishwasher, ice maker and microwave oven. A hammered copper ceiling adorns the overhead space.

A field stone wall defines the area for an old-English poker table, and beyond that lies the 15-foot stacked stone fireplace wall that is flanked by two black floor-to-ceiling shelving units. The ceramic floor throughout gives the look and feel of an Old Country pub, a look that is augmented by drink rails along the back wall. A stone pillar marks the beginning of the seating area, which itself is defined by a trayed ceiling that provides indirect lighting.

Every good pub needs a gorgeous restroom, so we gutted the builder’s-grade existing bath and replaced the tub with a curbless stone shower with pebbled floor. A copper sink and fixtures replaced the tired old ceramic washbowl.

We furnished the space with red leather sofas, tapestry-upholstered chairs, and wood with black leather bar stools. We could not be more pleased.