Gym – Get those abs moving baby! A home gym provides the family with an easy to access work-out room. It can be an uncomfortable experience visiting a public gym especially if unfit or overweight and so a basement fitness area is a great alternative. It’s also more likely to get the family keeping fit as travelling to a faraway gym can easily end up as a good enough excuse just to quit a fitness regime altogether.

Games Room – Men love to get away from the hectic schedule of work and a weekend with the wife by relaxing in a room with a snooker table, arcade machine or dart board. In fact, the basement is the perfect place to hold card games with friends as well as other table based games like chess and backgammon. With the addition of a television and video games console, it might be difficult for the women of the family to get the men out of the basement at all.

Bar – A home bar will likely be an addition which will go well with the above games room. For skilled carpenters, putting together a bar with matching shelving and stools shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Bars for the home can be bought online and come in a variety of styles, sizes and materials. A major plus of a basement bar is the natural sound-proofing the ground surrounding it provides. This allows for parties and mini-discos to go one for longer and to be a lot more vibrant without disturbing the neighbors.

Movie Theatre – Movies are a big source of entertainment for families right across the world. Everyone has a favourite film and a fond memory of going to the cinema as a child. A small movie theatre in the basement is a wonderful way to bring the magic of the cinema into the home. Going to the movies can be expensive and waiting for the right movie to come along inconvenient but with a home movie theatre, any film can be watched at any time by friends and family in an intimate setting. Again, this can be combined with a home bar area as well as with a games room.

Wine Cellar – For devoted wine connoisseurs, finding a good place to store their expensive wine collection can be a hassle. However, if there’s a basement with nothing much in it, then this is a perfect environment for wine bottles. Wine needs a storage area which is not prone to wild temperature changes and which is dry. With proper ventilation, damp-proofing and climate control systems, a home basement will provide the perfect spot for bottles, even barrels, of wine.

Meditation Retreat – Buddhism and related Eastern philosophies are an increasingly popular practice amongst many Westerners. Meditation rooms are therefore a much sought after type of interior in some homes and the basement is an ideal location for one. Qualities of this area of the house which are conducive to meditation practice include quietness, solitude, privacy and a sense of earthliness. (See also: Wooden Buddha Statues).

Model Makers Heaven – There are thousands upon thousands of model making enthusiasts across the United States who love to build model railways, historic battlefield scenes and model towns and villages. Understandably, lack of space is an issue which affects most model makers but with a newly refurbished basement, the dream of building a mini-New York or recreating the famous Battle of Gettysburg will become a reality. Model railways makers will have more than enough space to fit a number of tables into most basement interiors and have plenty of access space to spare.

When deciding upon the new use for your neglected basement, consider how the whole family can benefit from the space. The lowest level of the house, whilst often thought of as a rather spooky place, thanks to horror movies, can in fact become the most welcoming and cosy setting in the entire home. Just because it might not have windows, doesn’t mean it can’t become a light filled and attractive interior with the use of ambient lighting, mirrors, art work and decorative touches.

The square where the house is situated was originally built in the 1840′s but part of it then collapsed twenty years later when a tunnel being dug beneath the site gave way. Their side was rebuilt, first being used as industrial space, then as a series of squalid bed-sits which it remained for a number of decades. More recently, the house was repaired and given a new façade in keeping with the rest of the square.

Antoni Burakowski and his partner moved into the house four years ago. At that time it had no electricity, bathrooms or details from the original period. It was basically an empty shell. That said, the proportions and structure were in relatively good shape and provided a backdrop from which to work on. Luckily, the pair were not under any time restraints and worked on the house with care and consideration.

Many people in Britain jokes about the influx of Polish immigrants over the last decade, especially Polish builders and plumbers. This recent tradition was carried on when Burakowski’s elderly Polish father, a builder of 87, came over to help with the refurbishment. Most of the plastered walls were left as they were without added paint, so they would match the interior style Antoni wanted. The floorboards were however stripped.

The pair are fascinated by the history of the location and have preserved as much of the original building and decor as possible. An example is in the entrance hall where a large brick wall is visible. This is part of the original structure from the 1840′s that survived the tunnel collapse.

Antoni and his partner have also taken unwanted items from around England to add to their home. These include the doors with a fanlight seen in the hallway which come from an old Yorkshire wool factory. Beside these is a bamboo side table which originates from the 1920s and was used in Stanley Kubrick’s film Eyes Wide Shut.

Knowing where to find quality second hand items for the home is an important aspect of decorating interiors. Owing to Burakowski’s design connections this has been easier for him than most. In the bathroom the tiles on the wall are made by the company that supplies the tiling for the walls on the London Underground railway. The yellow bath and the green basin, made in the 1930s and 1950s respectively, are from an old sanitary-ware maker and were originally used as display examples.

The sitting room is also filled with remarkable collections, many of which are located in display cabinets from the Oxford-based Ashmolean museum. These collections include Clarice Cliff ceramics, Brentleigh Ware and beautifully colourful Murano vases. On a nearby Danish teak sideboard stand lamps from Los Angeles and vases from Hungary. A curly gilded metal table with matching chairs, made in the 1940′s, is also present.

More tiles from the London Underground firm can be found in the basement kitchen. Here Antoni has painted unused floorboards a variety of bright colors and created storage units out of them. A huge Georgian dresser stands nearby on which is a large collection of 1940s Beryl Ware china. This amazing collection of china was acquired from a Women’s Institute in the North of England.

One might notice in the dining room, some cream wooden panelled walls. These are in fact the above dresser’s back panels which have been used to adorn the walls. In the foreground are four Eames DSR fibreglass chairs which surround an old refectory table dating back all the way to the 1890′s. In the corner of the same room is a wonderfully bulky 1820′s corner cupboard from Sweden. Antoni Burakowski and his partner stripped the white gloss a previous owner had covered it with, to reveal the original look. Inside is a collection of glass jugs.

These are just a few of the rooms in the fascinating home of Antoni Burakowski who is one half of the famous London fashion duo Antoni and Alison.

The most important rule to abide by is the local building code applicable in your area. These are usually pretty much the same nationwide but there can be variations. Most building codes in the United States require the height of any room to be 7 1/2 feet over 50% of the living area. This means if the highest point in your attic space is 6 feet, then you might face difficulties in developing it much further.

Lighting will be one of the most important interior design considerations for a remodeled attic. If you can get planning permission and have the means and structural ability to install a window or skylight, then this will be perfect. Otherwise a lot of artificial lighting will be needed and whilst this will be more than adequate for a bedroom, it will mean the attic won’t be such an attractive interior to be used for long periods of time during the day. Natural light really is better if you’re going to convert the attic into a playroom or study area and is indeed, much more healthier for your emotional well-being.

Heating in the attic will be required for the colder months of the year. As mentioned in an earlier post (winterizing your home), it will be wise to install a thermostat which will keep the interior at a temperature above freezing so as to avoid damage to pipes, furniture and precious items. Think about running new ducts and check the state of the existing insulation. Replace if necessary.

Another heat-related aspect to take into account is the temperature the attic could reach during the summer months when the sun is blazing down upon the roof. Correct ventilation, fans and protective layers can all help keep the temperature down in this situation.

The floor material might need to be changed or strengthened depending on the type of room that will be created. For example, if the attic is to be changed into a bedroom, then heavy furniture pieces such as beds, chests and wardrobes will need to be carried by a strong and sturdy floor, as well as the extra human traffic.

One of the most difficult and possibly most expensive alterations to the attic will be the creation of an access route. In many cases, the attic is reached via a ladder, which won’t be suitable unless you’re a tree-house crazed child. If there is an existing stairway then you’re in luck but if not, then one will need to be created. This could be a problem depending on the interior architecture of your home.

When all the above considerations have been taken into account and the attic has been transformed into a study, playroom, bedroom or even a meditation room, then the only thing left to do is decorate. This is the fun part and one you can find inspiration for by reading through the posts on this blog.

There are many reasons to re-decorate a home, one of these being reconstruction after a fire. Thankfully this is a very rare reason. However, this was the case with an old market building in the Min Buri district of Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. The local area deteriorated after the major fire which occurred in the late 1990′s. Slums began to develop and business people moved out.

Then came along the Norwegian non-profit organisation, Tyin Tegnestue. This group consisted of five architectural students from Norway who sought to pursue humanitarian ends through architecture. Over a few years, Tyin Tegnestue managed to garner the support and funding from over 60 companies and private payers to help improve the lives of communities affected by poverty across Thailand.

Last year, the project pictured in this post, was completed. Out of the burnt out ruins of the old market came a modern library and a meeting point for the local community. Locals and tourists alike congregate to socialise, read books and generally relax in a warm and attractive interior environment.

The designers tried as best they could to keep their designs in line with the fundamental identity of the area. Materials for construction were gathered from the local region, which would appeal to the locals and also keep costs down. A nearby carpentry carried out most of the woodworking. Since it has opened, the library has been a spring board for regeneration of the surrounding area. Businesses have returned and new people have set up home nearby.

Tyin Tegnestue hope that their refurbishment of the old market will spur on the locals to do the same elsewhere. By using materials that are abundant and cheap, the Norwegians are hopeful that the people of Min Buri will act on their own initiative from within the resources available to them.

Like with these Thai townsfolk, images in magazines, on the net and on television can act as a catalyst for your own interior design endeavours. It’s always fun to take inspiration from bits and pieces we see around us and try and fit them in to our own décor schemes at home. Hopefully these wonderful pictures above will give you something to chew on.

H/T: AT Casa