High Style for the Lower Level

It’s a word that conjures up images of Ping-Pong tables, dart boards, bad lighting and leftover furniture. Though these ingredients may add up to some happy teenage memories, they certainly don’t match the upscale tastes of today’s custom-home clientele. Added space for entertaining, housing guests and, yes, teenage hideaways are all goals for high-end buyers, but these discriminating customers are insisting on features and finishes equal to the quality of that found elsewhere in their homes.

No longer an afterthought, these below-grade spaces now feature standard-height ceilings, ample natural light and high-quality flooring. And, in the process of polishing up their image, they’ve also lost the moniker of “basement,” for a tag that’s a tad more marketing friendly.

“We are very careful to use the term ‘lower level,’” says Ken Workman, AIA, architect with Cincinnati-based RWA Architects. “When it’s all finished out, there’s no difference in the level of finish — ‘lower level’ definitely conjures up a better image.”

A new emphasis on natural light is playing a key role in the basement’s rise to “lower-level” status. And, in a lemons-into-lemonade situation, some builders are finding greater opportunity for adding natural light in the sloped lots that formerly were considered bottom-of-the-barrel building sites. Such locations are ideal for creating walk-out lower levels, and their exposed foundation areas provide wall space for sunshine-welcoming windows and French doors.

Many functions, many forms

Though the finishes sported by today’s lower levels are far above those seen in yesterday’s basements, these areas still function, basically, as spillover space. And, whether they’re seeking a secondary family room or additional guest quarters, today’s homeowners are most interested in adaptability to future needs.

“If people live in a house long enough, their needs are going to change,” says Michael Menn, AIA, a principal with Northbrook, Ill.-based Design Construction Concepts. So, he says, today’s dedicated live-in nanny space may be something completely different 10 to 15 years from now.

Tim Cleary, P.E., general manager of Williamsburg, Va.-based Charles W. Ross, Builder (no relation to the author), says his company’s designs frequently call for a large, open gathering or entertaining space, along with a couple of rooms that could serve as bedrooms, hobby rooms or home offices. With the addition of a full bath and small kitchenette, such multifunction spaces could serve double-duty as a private guest retreat.

Media rooms and home theaters are proving to be the exception to this preference for generic space design. Designers say lower levels — especially windowless, below-grade corners — are ideal locations for enjoying today’s new electronic equipment, and many home buyers are requesting rooms created specifically for their new plasma televisions and surround-sound systems.

“The media room is a good application because there’s no light coming in,” Cleary says. “And you’re not going to be vibrating the walls the way you would above grade.” For tips on prepping a new-construction lower level for future conversion into a home theater, please see Prepping the lower level for a future media room below.

Reaching new heights

Regardless of the use homeowners find for their new lower levels, ceiling height remains a key factor contributing to their enjoyment of these now-luxurious spaces. No more ducking to avoid suspended pipes and ductwork. Instead, you’ll find ceilings just as high as in main-floor rooms.

“You want at least 8 ft.,” says Lisa Stacholy, AIA, principal of Dunwoody, Ga.-based LKS Architects, who notes that soffits may be required to accommodate air- or plumbing-distribution runs. “[But] if the main house has 9- to 10-ft. ceilings, the higher the better.”

Other designers are even more adamant regarding the need for vertical volume in lower-level design.