When it arrived to remodeling his customers’ basement, designer Jeff Lindgren appeared to their two major passions: matches — everything from pool, and Frank Lloyd Wright.
“When they called me, the owners had only helped their daughter move into her new location for faculty, and they desired a fresh and awe-inspiring place to entertain themselves after a difficult day at work and when they had guests over,” he states. “The aim was to introduce character to their large, characterless area and also make it match their lifestyle.” Inspired by his passion for Wright and the Prairie design of the home, he devised clever solutions to heat up and specify the vast and sterile space, and to make it more functional.
Basement at a Glance
Who lives here: A few with a draining nest
Location: Minneapolis
Size: 1,415 square feet (including 2 more bedrooms and 2 bathrooms not shown below)
Before Photo
BEFORE: The basement was completed, but not to the same amount of layout as the rest of the Prairie-style home. It had turned into a hodgepodge of exercise gear, extra bag and cast-offs, and was not a cozy space where the homeowners wanted to spend some moment.
But they were rather lucky because they have a full walk-out basement with lots of access into the backyard, where there is a covered terrace, screened-in porch and hot tub, and where there will one day become a pool. They were lucky in that down the ceilings here are 9 feet high.
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AFTER: Part of unifying the basement with the other levels of the home is that this rain-chain fountain, which extends out of the upper floor all the way into the basement floor, supplying the calming sound of water.
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A huge portion of Lindgren’s solution for the layout and function of the new entertainment area is a fundamental indoor cedar pergola. It is a sculptural element that divides the vast principal space in 2 and houses all of the electronics.
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This facet is a TV lounge and pub area; the other is a game room with a billiards table. In addition to the indoor pergola, both sides share a fireplace. The pergola hides speakers and the fireplace’s exhaust flue.
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The main core of the pergola contains the entertainment center and the fireplace, which has three sides so that the owners could appreciate it from various spots.
Fireplace: Heat & Glo Pier, 36 inches
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This custom pub is on the same side of the pergola as the lounge area. Fir-wood slats around the ceiling link into the wood within the poker table, and stained cherry on the lower cupboards coordinates with the cherry utilized on millwork throughout the entire space.
The bar is black mottled makore, a wood which Lindgren also used on the custom poker table and on some of the cabinetry. The flooring is the same tile which encircles the pergola’s core, and each one of the hardware across the space is bronze, which can help unify various spaces.
All light fixtures: Hubbardton Forge
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Here’s a closer look at how the different woods and spots come together in the pub area. You can observe how Lindgren paid careful attention to every small detail in keeping with Prairie style and the Arts and Crafts movement’s philosophies.
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One other fantastic detail: The kitchen and bar area hides a 48-inch-wide secret door which may be pushed open with the touch of one finger.
“This door leads a long and dark cave-like hallway, taking you down 100 feet below the ground surface, where the owners enjoy cheese and wine as they see leprechauns dance since they count their strands of gold,” Lindgren jokes. In fact, it contributes to the mechanical space, majority bar storage and a large freezer and refrigerator.
The cupboard drawers and doors on the hidden door are totally functional. The backsplash is composed of 8- by 8-inch coloured glass tiles.
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On the opposite side of the pergola, the billiards place has lots of beautiful custom millwork, including shelves, a smaller pub and seats. The Wright-inspired linear trimming function carries through to this place, as do the materials Lindgren utilized, all unifying the entire space. Just past the ideal end of the pool table, you may observe the three-sided fireplace.
In addition to his inspiration from Wright, Lindgren also appeared to his personal favorite style, Arts and Crafts. “I incorporated a little West Coast Arts and Crafts from Greene and Greene with the exposed beams and joists I was able to make the inside pergola,” he states.
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Here’s a closer look at the small bar in the billiards area, ideal for setting down drinks and snacks while shooting pool.
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Lindgren made each square inch of the space, including all of the custom millwork, like these cabinets and the trimming. The cabinets and millwork are all cherrywood, with two different stains.
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More custom shelves, cabinets and counter area provide storage, maintaining the space uncluttered.
Here’s a plan that gives you a clear idea of how the pergola (dashed lines in the center) defines the space.
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Lindgren tucked the poker area into a more romantic corner, across from the bar area. The coved ceiling is lined with fir, just like the ceiling over the bar.
He made the custom elliptical poker table with a combination of the forests used across the basement, including cherry and block-mottled makore. It’s a a leather arm pillow and a green felt fit.
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The one-of-a-kind table also includes legs with mortise and tendon joinery.
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From the powder room, Lindgren utilized an abysmal object of walnut as the console, with a hidden steel support inside. He maintained it slightly out of the wall to permit space for the wall mirror and tile to run behind it.
Lindgren dubs the lower level’s design “Prairie design, circa now.” The space is large yet has defined comfortable spaces, serves different purposes yet is unified, and joys with surprises in the details around each corner.