A newly converted basement we just finished. The clients chose Coretec 7" wide wood-look vinyl flooring. Coretec is a waterproof, interlocking PVC tile with a cork underlayment to keep out chills and noise.

New finished basement. Includes large family room with expansive wet bar, spare bedroom/workout room, 3/4 bath, linear gas fireplace.
This is an example of a large contemporary walk-out basement in Minneapolis with a home bar, grey walls, vinyl floors, a standard fireplace, a tile fireplace surround, grey floor, recessed and wallpaper.

©Finished Basement Company
This is an example of a large transitional fully buried basement in Chicago with white walls, vinyl floors, no fireplace and brown floor.

Inspiration for a large transitional look-out basement in St Louis with a home bar, grey walls, vinyl floors and brown floor.

Marshall Evan Photography
Large transitional fully buried basement in Columbus with white walls, vinyl floors, a standard fireplace, a stone fireplace surround and brown floor.

Our clients wanted a speakeasy vibe for their basement as they love to entertain. We achieved this look/feel with the dark moody paint color matched with the brick accent tile and beams. The clients have a big family, love to host and also have friends and family from out of town! The guest bedroom and bathroom was also a must for this space - they wanted their family and friends to have a beautiful and comforting stay with everything they would need! With the bathroom we did the shower with beautiful white subway tile. The fun LED mirror makes a statement with the custom vanity and fixtures that give it a pop. We installed the laundry machine and dryer in this space as well with some floating shelves. There is a booth seating and lounge area plus the seating at the bar area that gives this basement plenty of space to gather, eat, play games or cozy up! The home bar is great for any gathering and the added bedroom and bathroom make this the basement the perfect space!

A view from the upper office interior window looking out over the gaming space and into the entertainment area. A custom designed sofa/seating table adds space for four additional guests to watch sporting events on TV. Photos by Spacecrafting Photography.

Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional fully buried basement in Wilmington with grey walls, beige floor and vinyl floors.

This new basement finish is a home owners dream for entertaining! Features include: an amazing bar with black cabinetry with brushed brass hardware, rustic barn wood herringbone ceiling detail and beams, sliding barn door, plank flooring, shiplap walls, chalkboard wall with an integrated drink ledge, 2 sided fireplace with stacked stone and TV niche, and a stellar bathroom!

This 1933 Wauwatosa basement was dark, dingy and lacked functionality. The basement was unfinished with concrete walls and floors. A small office was enclosed but the rest of the space was open and cluttered. The homeowners wanted a warm, organized space for their family. A recent job change meant they needed a dedicated home office. They also wanted a place where their kids could hang out with friends. Their wish list for this basement remodel included: a home office where the couple could both work, a full bathroom, a cozy living room and a dedicated storage room. This basement renovation resulted in a warm and bright space that is used by the whole family. Highlights of this basement: - Home Office: A new office gives the couple a dedicated space for work. There’s plenty of desk space, storage cabinets, under-shelf lighting and storage for their home library. - Living Room: An old office area was expanded into a cozy living room. It’s the perfect place for their kids to hang out when they host friends and family. - Laundry Room: The new laundry room is a total upgrade. It now includes fun laminate flooring, storage cabinets and counter space for folding laundry. - Full Bathroom: A new bathroom gives the family an additional shower in the home. Highlights of the bathroom include a navy vanity, quartz counters, brass finishes, a Dreamline shower door and Kohler Choreograph wall panels. - Staircase: We spruced up the staircase leading down to the lower level with patterned vinyl flooring and a matching trim color. - Storage: We gave them a separate storage space, with custom shelving for organizing their camping gear, sports equipment and holiday decorations. CUSTOMER REVIEW “We had been talking about remodeling our basement for a long time, but decided to make it happen when my husband was offered a job working remotely. It felt like the right time for us to have a real home office where we could separate our work lives from our home lives. We wanted the area to feel open, light-filled, and modern – not an easy task for a previously dark and cold basement! One of our favorite parts was when our designer took us on a 3D computer design tour of our basement. I remember thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this could be our basement!?!’ It was so fun to see how our designer was able to take our wish list and ideas from my Pinterest board, and turn it into a practical design. We were sold after seeing the design, and were pleasantly surprised to see that Kowalske was less costly than another estimate.” – Stephanie, homeowner

The space under the basement stairs was opened up to create a niche with built-in drawers and a bench top perfectly sized for a twin mattress. A recessed bookshelf, extendable sconce, and a nearby outlet complete the mini-refuge.

Tim Souza
Inspiration for a small beach style walk-out basement in Philadelphia with beige walls, vinyl floors and brown floor.

We started with a blank slate on this basement project where our only obstacles were exposed steel support columns, existing plumbing risers from the concrete slab, and dropped soffits concealing ductwork on the ceiling. It had the advantage of tall ceilings, an existing egress window, and a sliding door leading to a newly constructed patio. This family of five loves the beach and frequents summer beach resorts in the Northeast. Bringing that aesthetic home to enjoy all year long was the inspiration for the décor, as well as creating a family-friendly space for entertaining. Wish list items included room for a billiard table, wet bar, game table, family room, guest bedroom, full bathroom, space for a treadmill and closed storage. The existing structural elements helped to define how best to organize the basement. For instance, we knew we wanted to connect the bar area and billiards table with the patio in order to create an indoor/outdoor entertaining space. It made sense to use the egress window for the guest bedroom for both safety and natural light. The bedroom also would be adjacent to the plumbing risers for easy access to the new bathroom. Since the primary focus of the family room would be for TV viewing, natural light did not need to filter into that space. We made sure to hide the columns inside of newly constructed walls and dropped additional soffits where needed to make the ceiling mechanicals feel less random. In addition to the beach vibe, the homeowner has valuable sports memorabilia that was to be prominently displayed including two seats from the original Yankee stadium. For a coastal feel, shiplap is used on two walls of the family room area. In the bathroom shiplap is used again in a more creative way using wood grain white porcelain tile as the horizontal shiplap “wood”. We connected the tile horizontally with vertical white grout joints and mimicked the horizontal shadow line with dark grey grout. At first glance it looks like we wrapped the shower with real wood shiplap. Materials including a blue and white patterned floor, blue penny tiles and a natural wood vanity checked the list for that seaside feel. A large reclaimed wood door on an exposed sliding barn track separates the family room from the game room where reclaimed beams are punctuated with cable lighting. Cabinetry and a beverage refrigerator are tucked behind the rolling bar cabinet (that doubles as a Blackjack table!). A TV and upright video arcade machine round-out the entertainment in the room. Bar stools, two rotating club chairs, and large square poufs along with the Yankee Stadium seats provide fun places to sit while having a drink, watching billiards or a game on the TV. Signed baseballs can be found behind the bar, adjacent to the billiard table, and on specially designed display shelves next to the poker table in the family room. Thoughtful touches like the surfboards, signage, photographs and accessories make a visitor feel like they are on vacation at a well-appointed beach resort without being cliché.

Design ideas for a large traditional fully buried basement in New York with grey walls, vinyl floors and grey floor.

Large transitional walk-out basement in DC Metro with grey walls and vinyl floors.

Hollywood Haven: A place to gather, entertain, and enjoy the classics on the big screen. This formally unfinished basement has been transformed into a cozy, upscale, family-friendly space with cutting edge technology. This basement also features a secret bookcase door!

Design ideas for a large country walk-out basement in Chicago with beige walls, vinyl floors and brown floor.

A modern finished basement with lots of storage. A full bedroom with an egress window. A full bathroom with a standing shower, and a beautiful accent wainscoting wall. A fiberglass surround shower with great functionality to keep the basement bathroom looking clean and bright.

This house had a tricky layout with the entry to the home on the first floor and the kitchen and most bedrooms upstairs. We whitewashed the fireplace, added two bedrooms and used gorgeous luxury vinyl plank to help the space seamlessly transition between entryway and basement