In seeing it now it’s hard to believe that this basement room was a dark and damp dungeon, and not usable for anything except as a repository for old furniture, many tools and appliances that wouldn’t fit in the tiny kitchen upstairs, and an ancient stereo system with the owner’s extensive collection of records. He loves his music but this space was not hospitable in any way to leisurely sit and enjoy it. The desire to have a welcoming space for himself and to entertain guests with music was the catalyst for this renovation.

The first step was to cure the dampness. It turned out that the original gutter and ceramic drain system had been infiltrated by tree roots and the rain was backwashing and leaking through the stone foundation walls into the basement. Problem found and solved. The next step was to repoint and seal the beautiful stone walls to be the shimmering backdrop for new built-in cabinetry to house all of his extra kitchen tools, and more importantly, provide a functional residence for his new audio/visual surround sound system and his precious albums.

To add supreme comfort to this subterranean cave, radiant heat was laid under the wood-look porcelain tile floor. And for his art collection, a minimal profile track lighting system disappears while creating dramatic accents.

With the addition of colorful and comfortable furnishings this lower level room has been transformed into his favorite room in the house.