A dreary, unused basement was transformed into a light-filled family hub, adding an entire living level to an existing 2-storey suburban house.
Architect Joe Eisner’s goal was to turn a dark family basement into valuable floor area that added a whole other useable floor to the rest of the home. The project greatly increased the home’s living area without the addition of new square footage.
Eisner Design reconfigured the basement level to incorporate numerous functions, including a home office, gym, bar and lounge, guest bedroom, bathroom, storage space, and large play area
The light filled basement was created by demolishing and transforming a 38’ long concrete foundation wall into a fully glazed wall with new walkout to the backyard. Sliding glass doors open up to allow flow from inside to outside activities.
The largest area of the basement renovation is a play area that features an arts and crafts desktop area and a wrap-a-round cubicle custom storage system on an opposite wall. The cubicles were designed to be playful to encourage young children to organize their toys. The colorful yellow, blue and orange tones echo the colors in the games and toys that the built-in houses.
Plastic laminate was chosen for the desktop and cubicle finish to hold up to constant use and abuse.
The playroom bathroom carries forward the playful color palette of the larger playroom. A mosaic tile continues the gridded color scheme of the wrap-a-around corner storage unit with its combination of different colors.
The bathroom features a curved 1/2-inch-thick tempered glass shower wall fabricated in California then shipped to the site. Instead of a door the shower enclosure is defined by large ½” curved glass panel. We decided against using a door to make it less cumbersome to wash both kids and dogs.
Project Info Location – Ardsley, New York Designer – Joe Eisner
Design team – Rosanna Lee, Noah Brosowsky
Construction, Creative Renovation – Michael Amnon
Photograph – Steven Mays
