In the past, terms like “dark,” “dingy” and “damp” were as firmly affixed to basements as were washer-dryer combos and sump pumps. But the concept of lower level as dungeon has gone the way of the coal-fired furnace. Thanks to higher-level thinking about lower-level living, things are looking up downstairs.
Home buyers increasingly view subterranean spaces as places to gather, to play, to entertain. America’s home builders are granting their clients’ wishes with finished basements showcasing family rooms, children’s play areas, video game arcades, billiards halls, home theaters, wine rooms, golf driving ranges, pools and saunas, gift wrapping rooms and even antique car showplaces.
Indeed, there’s been a flip-flopping of functions in many homes, said Mark Hickman, president of Hinsdale-based custom home builder Hickman Homes.
For much of the history of American homes, the basement was a place for dreary chores like washing, drying and folding laundry. Upstairs was the place for happy times: family gatherings, entertainment, parties and relaxing.
These days, many new homes are designed with a laundry room on the second floor. “You want that upstairs, where you can access it easily,” Hickman said. “And basements aren’t used as everyday household cleaning spaces as they were before. Today, they are an extension of the living areas upstairs.”
Other builders agree. “Almost every home we build, we finish the lower level,” said Dean Snow, general manager of Harris Builders. “In the area we build in, Barrington, it’s very standard to have finished lower levels.”
Charles Page, founder and architect with Charles Page Builders LLC in Winnetka, says 10 or 15 years ago, about 50 percent of homes his company designed and built included a recreation room in a small part of the basement. Today, by contrast, “people are finishing most of the space on the lower level,” he said “They’ve just discovered it can be a very nice space, and very livable.”
One of the biggest changes is witnessed in the level of finish down under. No longer are basements the place where builders go cheap. Lower levels are being designed and built with the same quality and detail found upstairs in the kitchen, master bath and library-home office. “It’s right up there with the high-end, specific detailing that home buyers want,” Hickman said.
There are very few amenities today’s buyers want on their lower level that home builders can’t deliver. Commonly seen in today’s finished basements are wide open areas for informal gatherings and entertaining, Snow said. “Before it was more segmented,” he added. “But today, people want things more open, so when you have a large group over, even though different activities are going on, people are together. It’s that bigger, open, more casual area.”
As a place for informal family get-togethers and parties, such spaces can be equipped with all the accoutrements necessary to feel comfortable and engaged, from fireplaces to home entertainment centers. “A lot of people use it as the fun room, with a pool table and big-screen TV,” said Mark Thomas, president of Geneva’s Shodeen Residential, currently building in Mill Creek in Geneva. “A wet bar goes great with that.”
Another thoughtful, upscale and increasingly popular addition is the wine room. Generally adjacent to the bar, wine rooms often feature tasting rooms and see-through glass partitions serving up views of vintages on hand, Snow said.
Many buyers of both custom and production homes now view their lower levels as ideal places for home theaters. How many features of a real theater are incorporated is up to the individual tastes and budgets of the homeowner. Some go as far as including custom seating, popcorn popper-dispensers and full-size movie posters. Added Page: “We’ve even done theaters with stages where children can put on plays, some with curtains that open and close.”
At higher price points, lower-level pools and saunas are not uncommon. “Keep in mind these are family or cocktail pools,” Snow said. “They’re smaller pools, not a 20-by-40-foot lap pool, not super deep, but generally in an interesting shape, and ideal for casual family enjoyment.”
In many finished basements, the lower level serves as game and activity area. But we’re not talking only about the ping pong or pool tables of yesteryear. Video game arcades, gyms and workout rooms, basketball and indoor hockey courts and even golf-driving ranges are now part of the space.
Finished basements can also be places for homeowners to show off their hobbies or passions. “One of the more unusual basements we did was in a large house on a ravine,” Page said, remembering a home with a sloping back yard that allowed for the building of a driveway down to the rear basement level. “We created a 10-space garage or display area for his antique cars,” he said.
At least one builder working in both areas believes city and suburban buyers differ in their approaches to finished lower levels. “In the city, many want to use that lower level as a bedroom,” said Jeff Benach, executive vice president of Chicago’s Lexington Homes, with new home developments in Des Plaines, Wheeling and Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood. “In the suburbs, we’re finding the typical use is for a home theater or a retreat for the man of the house.”
Foresight is required to ensure lower levels meet intended ends. “In the design phase, you have to keep in mind what features are going to be placed in that basement,” Page said. “You have to build the structure that supports the rest of the house around what you want to do in the basement.”
That means, first of all, digging foundations deeper to accommodate today’s 10-foot basement ceiling heights, or even deeper if, say, a golf driving range is to be included. In sloping home sites, it may mean a bank of two- or three-foot-high windows to add an extra measure of natural light.
To guarantee the basement never becomes the dank dungeon of the past, extraordinary precautions are undertaken to prevent dampness and water problems. “That’s done through double-glass waterproofing on the exterior of the basement walls,” Page said. “And we put in a membrane on the basement foundation that prevents water leaking where the foundation wall meets the footing. In addition to drain tile on the exterior of the footing, we also put a line of drain tile on the interior of the footing, and drain tile fingers extending all the way across the basement floor. In most homes, we have two sump pumps, plus a battery-powered pump in the case of electrical outage.”
If a pool is to be part of the lower level, it’s essential to bring in highly experienced pool contractors, Snow added. “There are very specific treatments that you need to adhere to in an indoor pool to make sure the chlorinated atmosphere and moisture [from the pool area] are encapsulated.”
In any case, it’s a fair bet basements will continue their evolution away from the drab and dismal subterranean dwellings of the past.
“The trend is for buyer-specific space, whether for hobbies, crafts, entertaining or sports activities,” Snow said. “On the other floors, these homes are still traditional, with family rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and the like . …. It’s the lower level that people make unique.”
