Houzz Quiz: What Should You Do With a Basement?

Tamara Bickley Design

1. Pick a weekend activity.

Doing arts and crafts

Working on my car or motorcycle

Reading a book

Grabbing a pint of beer with my mates

Playing a sport

Gambling

Sleeping

Wine tasting

Woodworking

Trying a new fine-dining restaurant

Cooking a big meal

Playing music

Watching movies

Ashton Woods

2. Pick a decorating style.

Traditional

Minimalist

Transitional

Hollywood glam

Mediterranean

Industrial

Modern

Rustic

Family friendly

Craftsman

Andrew Snow Photography

3. Pick a fond childhood memory.

Camping

Playing video games

Playing with Legos

Visiting Grandma’s house

Celebrating birthdays at fancy restaurants

Baking

Practicing an instrument

Going to the movies

Traveling

w.b. builders

4. Pick a smell.

Fresh linen

Sawdust

New car

Sautéing garlic and butter

Pure oxygen

Popcorn

Lucy Call

5. Pick a drink.

Wine

Gin and tonic

Martini

Lemonade

Beer

Iced tea

Hot toddy

Jennifer Bishop Design

6. Pick a birthday celebration destination.

Vegas, baby

Lake house

The city

A cabin in the woods

An arcade

The bar with my pals

High-end shops

A concert

A five-star restaurant

LDa Architecture & Interiors

7. Pick a song.

“Head Like a Hole” — Nine Inch Nails

“Blank Space” — Taylor Swift

“Firework” — Katy Perry

“Everything Is Awesome” — Tegan and Sara

“Penny Lane” — The Beatles

“Street Fighting Man” — The Rolling Stones

Riach Architects

8. Pick a dream job.

Winery owner

Bed and breakfast owner

Artist

Writer

Restaurateur

Toy tester

World champion poker player

Musician

Actor

B&B owner

You should make your basement a … Mediterranean wine cellar!

Mediterranean wine cellar: Why buy an expensive plane ticket to Europe when you can just descend a flight of stairs to your basement? This Michigan homeowner added a ceramic tile floor with a stone look, a French- country-style dining table and chairs, and Venetian plaster wall treatments. Oh, and of course there’s an area for wine tastings.

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M.J. Whelan Construction

You should make your basement a … Bunkhouse!

Bunkhouse: Imagine a cozy space where your kids or grandkids can have the ultimate camp-like sleepover. Here designer William Peace created just such a multigenerational space inside a custom Montana ski home, one where twin boys, friends and grandchildren can hang out and sleep in four rustic bunk beds.

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Peace Design

You should make your basement a … Industrial hangout!

Industrial hangout: Hanging wires, structural beams and low ceilings gave architect Ryan Duebber a challenge when trying to turn this Cincinnati basement into something the family could actually use. But Duebber took the rawness of the space and ran with it, creating an industrial area with black painted rafters, ductwork and beams, and walls clad in corrugated galvanized metal.

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Ryan Duebber Architect, LLC

You should make your basement a … Craft club!

Craft club: If craft projects are overtaking your home, just dig down. That’s what interior designer Justine Sterling did when she turned her family’s dank basement into an art studio for her two kids. There’s now room for games, painting, playing with Play-Doh and more at a crafts table, while supplies hang nearby from buckets on a rod. So get crafting!

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Justine Sterling Design

You should make your basement a … Lodge!

Lodge: Retreat to a subterranean log cabin–style space, just as this Wisconsin homeowner does. When the devoted muskie fisherman needed a place for his trophies and photo and fishing gear, his wife lovingly suggested he take over the basement in true log cabin fashion. Designer Melissa Bovee used pine half logs, copper rust slate and comfortable furnishings to reel in a design to fulfill the big request.

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Brillo Home Improvements

You should make your basement a … Lego lounge!

Lego lounge: Everything is awesome — when you combine Lego blocks and hard alcohol! Seattle architect Jeffrey Pelletier has amassed a collection of Lego pieces that now tops 250,000. Needing a place to store all of these pieces, he tricked out his 1902 foursquare basement as a place in which to tinker but also to entertain friends without disturbing his sleeping son two stories up.

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Board and Vellum

You should make your basement a … London pub!

London pub: For many, the pub is a home away from home. But for the owner of this upstate New York home, “away” wasn’t good enough. He tapped architect James Crisp and contractor Jim Muncey to transform his basement into a traditional London pub big enough for 50 people. Guinness-colored wood clads the entire space, which has a full bar, multiple seating areas and even a fireplace — just like a real London pub. “This is what I’d call a very sophisticated man cave,” says Crisp.

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Crisp Architects

You should make your basement a … Cottage!

Cottage: Fancy a cozy guest cottage but don’t have the space for an add-on? Take this Maryland homeowner’s cue and give your basement some cottage charm. Working with Case Design/Remodeling, she added ceramic tile that looks like stone to support comfortable furnishings like two cushy floral-print chairs on a classic striped area rug.

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Case Design/Remodeling, Inc.

You should make your basement a … Poker playland!

Poker playland: If you love taking risks and always pick a casino for a fun weekend or night out with friends, then you deserve something like what designers Curtis Popp and Dustin Littrell did in this Sacramento, California, basement. A bright blue card table surrounded by cushy chairs gets plenty of action, while a multiarmed light fixture keeps everyone awake and the cards visible.

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Popp Littrell Architecture + Interiors

You should make your basement a … Lair of luxury!

Lair of luxury: Who says a basement has to be dank, dark or even man cave–y? Looking for a place to put their LeRoy Neiman paintings, these homeowners enlisted the help of Eric Ross Interiors to totally turn their unfinished basement into something as colorful and luxurious as a pricey expressionist piece of art. A polished billiards area has a porcelain-tile-wrapped see-through fireplace that connects to a pub room. There’s also a media room, a dining area, an exercise room and more — all covered floor to ceiling in high-end finishes.

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Eric Ross Interiors, LLC

You should make your basement a … Rock star room!

Rock star room: When you want to get loud, just head underground. That’s what the two teenage boys who use this space do. They’ve got an amped-up basement in their Toronto home with drums, guitars, bongos and more. Plus, there’s a separate gaming area with an 80-inch TV and a surround-sound system. Rock on!

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Biondi Decor

You should make your basement a … Chef’s kitchen!

Chef’s kitchen: Sometimes one kitchen just won’t cut it. Especially when you’ve got three teenagers and a thriving cake business. That was the situation for Andrea and Adam Freeman in their suburban London home. So they went subterranean, building out a second kitchen with a double-wide island, a gas range with a cast iron griddle and lots of LED lighting. Not to mention a TV-watching area for kicking back after binging on homemade cakes.

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Casey & Fox

You should make your basement a … Movie theater!

Movie theater: If your family really loves entertaining, then a movie theater with a stage is for you. In this Philadelphia space, a stage hosts family band concerts. There’s also an adjoining bar, and of course a projector screen for movie nights.

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Media Rooms Inc

You should make your basement a … Gamer’s paradise!

Gamer’s paradise: Basements are great because you can take liberty with the style and purpose of the space in a way you might not in the more public areas of your home. For example, you probably wouldn’t put a pool table smack dab in the middle of your living room. But in a basement? Bring it on! And this California basement has it all: pool table, dartboard, shuffleboard table, suspended train set and cool decor, like a surfboard light fixture and a skateboard display. Game on!

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