10 Years of Beautiful Basements!

It’s no wonder the basement is such a classic horror movie trope. Movies like “The Conjuring”, “Cabin in the Woods” and “The Babadook” (amongst others) have this setting in common. It’s easy to see why.   The basement is often cold and dark, full of creaks and groans that give us chills and make us shout, “Don’t go down there!” at the T.V. when watching scary movies. In many households, the basement gets overlooked, and is not used for much more than storing furniture that didn’t quite make the cut in other rooms of the home or for stockpiling toys you’ll eventually get around to getting rid of. One day.

While it might be hard to finally say goodbye to your faded mustard-yellow couch and that television from the ‘90s you never actually use, it’s time to stop treating your basement as a miscellaneous storage unit and start seeing it as an opportunity to make the most out of your home AND increase it’s value. Not sure what to do with your basement? Thankfully, you don’t have to look too far for interior design and basement remodeling professionals in Northern Virginia – our team at Synergy Design & Construction is right here in Reston and we are here to help! We’ve been partnering with Reston-area homeowners to transform their basements into beautiful, functional spaces for the past ten years.  With so many projects under our belt, we’ve seen a thing or two when it comes to basement remodeling. Here’s a few of our favs.

Cohesive Aesthetic

In the past, the tendency was to treat the basement as a separate section of the house, not possessing any clear purpose or design. Over the last ten years, however, it has become increasingly common for homeowners to incorporate the basement into the rest of their home’s design by carrying the same aesthetic throughout.  Continuity is important for future home-buyers, too. Nothing says “Welcome” more than a basement that doesn’t feel, well, like a basement!

Giving the basement a clear and necessary purpose that meets your family’s needs should be high on your list.  The basement can be a perfect space for a guest bedroom, for example. It gives your guests a feeling of privacy and their own space to relax in without worrying about bumping into you in the middle of the night in your best Christmas PJs – in April.  Don’t need the extra space for your inlaws? Then maybe a home gym, study or game room is more up your alley. We took this approach in this basement remodel in Leesburg by creating a gameroom that doubled as an extra bedroom complete with an under stair bed nook for the grandkids. The rest of the basement was completely remodeled and we created a billiards/bar area as well as an area for a large-screen TV  and comfy seating.

Open Concept …or not?

Basement design trends in the past ten years have followed the open concept trend on the main level of the home.  This is a great way to create the feeling of a bright and airy space, even one that doesn’t get much natural light.  If your basement is currently unfinished, it provides a blank slate for an open floor plan, so this popular design might be perfect for you. If you like to throw a good party, open concept is also ideal so guests can play pool and watch the big game or a movie at the same time.  We achieved this goal in the design of this basement remodel in Ashburn. The open floorplan creatively incorporates space for a bar and seating, pool area, gas fireplace and theatre room.

If you are not keen on a completely open concept for your space, great design can easily create the feeling of separate rooms where none exist. Spaces can be kept distinct from one another using different ceiling heights, peninsulas and varied paint colors.

Walk-Out Basement

If you are one of the lucky ones, your basement already has a walk-out. This automatically increases your home’s value from a resale perspective – walk-out basements (or rooms with egress windows) are included in the square footage calculations of your home. If not, and you want to create a walk-out, it can be a challenging (but not impossible) task. It’s important for it to be done right and requires additional expertise and guidance to complete. If it is possible from a structural perspective and your budget allows for it, we say this is a great way to add value to your home. With a growing trend for young professionals moving back in post-college, multi-generational families living together or simply a room needed for an au-pair, walk-out basements that provide a separate entrance will always be “in”.

In this walk-out basement remodel in Great Falls, we maximized the feeling of space through the efficient use of the square footage of the home. In our design, we reworked the layout and were able to incorporate a bar with seating, a theatre room AND three game tables (pool, foosball and poker) within a modest floorplan.

Home Theatre or Media Room? You Decide!

This “trend” is one that has been around for a number of years.  It is still a popular choice for homeowners who want the movie auditorium experience without the stranger to their left who keeps sending text messages during the movie!  The staying power of this design can be explained by the increasingly easy access to the latest movies and TV shows on-demand. Make your basement binge-watch worthy! In this transitional design for a basement remodel in Ashburn, the media room makes use of 2 shallow steps to create “stadium” seating. The beautiful tray ceiling is functional (used for the screen projector) but also conceals ductwork!  

Synergy Design & Construction: Happy to Provide Basement Remodeling in Northern Virginia

If “basement remodel” is the next must-do item on your home renovation list, make sure you have the right remodeling professionals for the job. Our experts have the design and construction knowledge, training and skills to complete even the most challenging basement remodel in Northern Virginia.  We’re always happy to chat and help you find the right partner – even if it’s not us. Give us a call on 703 766 6333 or send us a message and start a conversation!