Following three decades of living in their new home, this Georgia family had an upgrade: The toddlers had grown into lively kiddos, and they all wanted for more room for family fun and fun.

They contacted builder John Willis Homes to revive the house, and he brought in Jeff Thomas to plan the space and design the inside. The natural beauty of the home’s yard instantly inspired Thomas to create a design which connected with the outside, literally and stylistically.

Basement at a Glance
Who lives here: A few with a 5-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son
Location: Atlanta
Size: About 2,000 square feet

John Willis Homes

The center of the new fantasy basement is a cozy living room and fully equipped bar; the room now opens out to the lawn. New steel beams added structural support, which makes the wide-open space potential.

“The first time I saw the home, I was struck by how amazing their backyard was,” Thomas says. “It really inspired me to present them with a resort-style design for the space that brought the outdoors in and mixed the spaces.”

John Willis Homes

The basement living room outside is extended by A terrace. Thomas thought carefully about how to link the two spaces with substances too. He used the same rock that’s on the outside of the home through the basement, on the bar, around a fireplace and also in a wall of built-ins.

Folding glass doorways: NanaWall

John Willis Homes

Pool table: Treviso in Espresso, Brunswick Billiards

John Willis Homes

The room is filled with fun activities for adults and kids; Thomas planned room for a shuffleboard game and a pool table.

John Willis Homes

A massive wine cellar was a big-ticket thing on the couple’s wish list. The room retains 1,000 bottles in an assortment of racks which break up the room with horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.

Glass doors offer you a view of the wine cellar from the primary living area. Thomas chose black walnut timber accents and rock to match the landscape and complement the substances in the remaining portion of the basement. “The terrace floor has been used in the wine cellar to place the continuity of their exterior and interior finishes,” Thomas says.

John Willis Homes

“We added an additional natural finish of wood on the walls,” he states. “We then used crisp, clean paint finishes and furnishings for comparison.”

The media room is a cozy, enclosed space, improved by ceiling runner beams. The family loves many movie nights in front of the projection display.

John Willis Homes

Georgia’s mild climate allows the family to enjoy the new outdoor space nearly year-round. Thus far they’ve used their new basement and terrace to sponsor birthday and game-day parties, al fresco dinners, backyard cocktail parties and wine tastings — not to mention enjoying it for everyday movie viewing and relaxing in the backyard.

Have a fantastic basement redo? We’d really like to see a picture!

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As seasons change, we often have the urge to create big, sweeping changes in our houses, but if you are looking to make your home feel different without emptying your bank accounts, think small to achieve big. Truly, the devil is in the details: a dab of paint here or a dab of colour there might seem too simple, but it can transform a space without a tremendous financial commitment or fierce DIY talent.

Tamar Schechner/Nest Pretty Things Inc

High-Octane Doors

Paint generally is the easiest, quickest and cheapest complete makeover alternative. However, if painting an entire room is out of the question, think small: Paint a door or part of a single. In this layout, the crops, bright painting and pink door provide plenty of eye candy, but I believe the dark blue treatment on the interior of the door casing makes the largest (small) statement.

Watch doors

Mark Dodge Design

Talk about unexpected: I love the freshness the orange door brings into this chocolate brown bedroom. If going ultrabold on a door looks daunting, try painting just the edge for a sudden jolt of colour.

Brennan + Company Architects

A rolling barn door is a surefire conversation starter all on its own, but paint it orange and you have got yourself a showstopper. Add fitting accessories and you are the talk of the town! In case a barn door isn’t in the stars for you, do not worry! A boldly painted door, regardless of the design, will work wonders.

Tracery Interiors

Borders and Outlines

Whether you are trying to revive an older slice or revamp a new slice, you can not lose with a coating of paint or 2. Offer your new-to-you bit of furniture a standout complete by painting the framework or panels in a contrasting color.

Gaspar’s Structure

While it does not just fall into the quick-fixes category, a mirrored tile edge does create a splash. This might have been just another white subway-tile bathroom, but the outline round the shower and the edge on the floor provide the space dimension and polish.

Tracery Interiors

Add a cut or edge to curtains for an easy revamp. If you are not adept with a sewing machine, a local tailor can certainly do the task without a lot of expense.

Vendome Press

Pop-Outs and Cutouts

I adore the way the window knobs and casing match the cupboard interiors here. Plants or leafy green vegetables on the counter bring the appearance full circle.

David Lauer Photography

The cutouts, painted in a bright turquoise, lend an exciting uniqueness to that which might have been a simple, seen-a-million-times midcentury-style installation.

Rethink Design Studio

Color Modes

when semipermanent alterations just aren’t an option, accessories are the very best buddy. The yellowish vanity, chair, stool and shower fittings infuse this otherwise all-white bathroom using a glowing brightness, while the shower curtain gives it a sophisticated, tailored finish.

Watch more yellowish, gray and white rooms

Rethink Design Studio

A white and black plot always gains from a little unexpected color. If you scour earnings, then it is possible to find accessories such as throw blankets and throw pillows for next to nothing. That means big changes seasonally or according to your own disposition won’t be a costly undertaking.

Rethink Design Studio

Snappy Hardware

That is a lovely bedroom for many reasons, but I especially love the special hardware on the side tables. Hinges, knobs and pulls are like jewelry for furniture. Use them sparingly for a subtle but lasting impact.

Vanessa De Vargas

Standout hardware, as seen on this vanity, will require a bit of furniture from dull to incredible with a twist of the screwdriver. Check out Anthropologie for easy-to-find fun pieces or E.R. Butler for family heirlooms to be.

Shop hardware options

Dailinger Designs

Make the Ordinary Extraordinary

It does not have to be fancy to be fabulous. This pedestrian cleat is inexpensively dressed up by a cleverly used rope for a tieback for the drape.

Watch other ways to use rope as a decorative accent

Tracery Interiors

Sometimes all it takes is something simple, if fleeting. The foliage’s shock of leafy green spruces up this entire vignette. When money is an object, a new flower or 2 can work wonders.

More:
Choose an Unexpected Color For The Trim

13 Ways to Paint an Interior Door

The Ideal Hardware: Jewelry for Your Home

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In the South where I dwell, among the most recent house building styles continues to be the inclusion of the 2-story great room. Traditionally seen in old houses, a room that was great lies in the middle of your home and usually serves several features. It is usually open to the rest of your home including halls and the kitchen on the top level.

A room that’s as broad as it’s tall can be daunting from a decorating point of view. How to handle this kind of project for anyone unfamiliar, this ideabook supplies examples of rooms that are excellent as well as guidance and thoughts on the best way to turn this kind of big canvas

Harrell Remodeling, Inc.

Drapery options: When selecting window coverings for windows with large molding, contemplate an in mounted treatment. These roman blinds give you the home-owner wants while still enabling one to take pleasure in the trim to the solitude.

Scott Cornelius Architect

Arched windows: it’d be legal to protect these arched wood-clad windows. The abundance of the woodgrain maintains the classic appeal of the house.

Blount Architectural and Home Design

Window dressing: Dressing the low half of the window puts more emphasis on chamber’s furnishings and closeness of the the room.

Erika Ward – Erika Ward Interiors

Research the 5th wall: Paint ceilings a darker shade to generate a more personal environment in a big room. Coffered panels painted espresso brownish visually lowers the ceilings and concurrently becomes a secondary focus.

Rick Hoge

Custom furnishings: As they say, “go large at residence” — or is that “go large, or go house?” Either method, big rooms were created to adapt oversize furniture. To get this appearance commission a custom furniture business to fit the grade of your furniture to the caliber of your custombuilt house.

David Landy ASID CID NY State

Grand chandelier: T-Ake your greatroom to new heights with ceiling with trim as well as a cathedral-dimensions chandelier.

in place of curtain, the home-owner selected for mechanical protections for a streamlined appearance along with light get a handle on.

Jennifer Lang Models, Inc.

Interior balconies: Contemporary Romanticism totally describes the fashion of the great room. Open to the lobby, I really like the 360degree views in the 2nd floor together with assistance from the Juliette balconies that are classic. Completely operational, these attractiveness trump any outdoor balconies that are faux observed on creating facades.

Elliott Kaufman

Grand windows: our mother earth showcases her colours against steel-framed windows in this minimalistic, mono-chromatic greatroom.

K2 Layout Team, Inc.

Spectacular contents: Behold the lavish interpretation of an island hut. The three fans almost vanish against a handcrafted grid of mahogany beams highlighted by sea grass.