Design & Decor
The Rise of the Lower Level
Form meets function in these entertaining spaces
BY
Kimberly Stern
PHOTOGRAPHY
Beau Vaughn Photography

Make no mistake about it. The once-lowly lower level has been elevated to a room of importance in today’s home. It’s a gathering place for adults and kids alike, sometimes stylish, often trendy and always surprising, especially when creative homeowners use the lower level as a blank canvas for their recreational and leisure fantasies. 

A room once dismissed as a last resort for parties, the lower level has climbed to rock-star status with ensemble features like highly accessorized bars, sophisticated wine cellars, trendy game rooms and state-of-the-art home theaters. Kansas City homeowners have been riding the wave of gussying up their lower levels, and the rule is that there are no rules when designing a room that often becomes the primary living room.

The designers and contractors who worked with these savvy homeowners weren’t content to coast on a repetitive signature style; instead, they transcended tradition to deliver the oh-so-unexpected in lower-level living.

The Overall Living Space


Photos by Beau Vaughn Photography
The lower level is a quintessential synergy of form meets function, according to designer Shawn McCune, owner of Kitchen Design Gallery, who takes clients’ ideas to new heights with his out-of-the-box vision. Shawn worked with Falcon Ridge Estates’ homeowners Greg and Ronda Zillner for a stunning lower level design that incorporates a decidedly high-tech look. 

Ronda Zillner’s marching orders to McCune: a lower level that is funky and durable. She and her son, Zack, were eating one day at Chipotle when the corrugated roofing that’s part of the restaurant’s interior architecture instilled a jolt of inspiration. “From there, Shawn went crazy,” she says.

“Since the lower level would be used by the Zillners’ two teenage children, we wanted materials that were rugged, yet refined and fun,” Shawn says. As with lower level rooms, there are structural posts to deal with, so Shawn took an ingenious approach and sheathed them in aluminum punctuated by customized rivets. The result? What’s typically a utilitarian part of a lower level suddenly became asymmetrical art that is the focal part of a bar and island, especially after Shawn brushed the surface.

He also paid special attention to the ceiling above the island. “Ceilings are always an opportunity to create drama in a room, and it makes sense in a lower-level setting,” he says. A dropped soffit in an amoeba-like shape allowed Shawn to install indirect lighting above the island. The island itself accommodates up to eight people for playing games or eating, Greg says.

The half-circle bar was constructed from concrete and is the perfect maintenance-free surface for the Zillners’ active kids and their legions of friends. A mini-kitchen is behind the bar allows Zach and sister, Chelsea, to prepare snacks, and includes a refrigerator, freezer drawer, dishwasher and microwave.

The fireplace is perhaps the lower level’s biggest conversation piece. Shawn incorporated the theme of durability with a fireplace that looks like an aluminum starburst with rivets. “Aluminum doesn’t transfer heat like metal, so this was the perfect solution,” he says. 

Alaire McCune, interior designer at Kitchen Design Gallery, designed the artsy starburst and also completed the space with a wall-mounted big-screen television, leather sofa, multi-use pool table and ultra-hip lighting.

The Zillners are thrilled with the results of their lower level. “The kids have fun, and the room endures all of the traffic, including to and from the hot tub and pool,” Ronda says. In fact, she says laughing, the adults like to spend time in the room, too. “This lower level doesn’t have age boundaries.”

The Bar

Photo by James Maidhof
Ron Sobanek, owner of HISCO Design/Build, has seen the lower level emerge as a central entertainment area of the home. “People want it to be a place for pre-teen kids to hang out in or a place for adults to enjoy cocktails and a game on the large-screen television,” he notes. “It’s a room that has something for everyone in the family.”

Ron also says homeowners are cognizant of maintaining the caliber of their lower level to be in sync with the home’s main level. When he started working with Tim Abbott and his partner, Bernardo, on their lower-level redesign, the criteria was upscale for everything from materials to finishes to furnishings. The sleek, gorgeous bar is the centerpiece of this lower level and boasts cherry cabinetry and granite countertops.

“When we moved into this house, the finished lower level had an unattractive, builder-grade oak bar,” Tim recalls. “Since we entertain often, we wanted a bar with a fully equipped kitchen and a subtle European style.” He says Ron fulfilled their vision perfectly, and then some.

Many homeowners coincide a main-level kitchen remodel with a lower-level overhaul and relocate major appliances, which Tim and Bernardo did. “Sometimes the bar area becomes a secondary kitchen for homeowners, allowing them to have extra cooking space for large parties or holidays,” Ron observes. 

The bar is one that channels adult flair and appeal, with chic seating, lighting and a plasma television. There are glass shelves with sparkling glassware, illuminated by track lighting.  The lower level also features a pool table and dart board, another large-screen television and comfortable seating, but the focal point is the bar, where Tim’s and Bernardo’s guests are just as comfortable sipping martinis or drinking beer and throwing darts.

Ron is designing the couple’s outdoor living space — which includes a kitchen — but Tim anticipates the existing lower-level bar will receive a workout, too, with spillover from parties.  “This is a diverse part of our living space, adapting to elegant parties or family dinners,” Tim says.

The Wine Cellar

Photo by Bob Greenspan
Luxurious specialty rooms, like picture-perfect wine cellars, are being carved into lower levels for discerning homeowners. Kevin and Judy Transue, owners of CHC Creative Remodeling, enjoy working with clients eager to showcase their love of wine in something more than a place with shelves for bottles. “We take imagination-rich visions and bring them to life,” Kevin says.

Lake Quivira residents Bob and Ann Gustafson enlisted the Transues to transform their obstacle-ridden basement into a world-class wine cellar. “The 1940s-era space was laden with issues from years of modifications,” Kevin says. In fact, the space was so uninviting that the Gustafsons never used an adjoining bathroom, which was as dark and foreboding as an unlit cave.

“It was an unbelievable tangle of unused gas, water and electric service lines in the existing ceiling that created chaos with lines still in use; the best way to isolate and correct the problem was to simply eliminate everything and start fresh,” Kevin says. In the finished space, none remain in view, having been rerouted through utility rooms or hidden in the soffits.

However, the basement had one benefit that prompted the homeowners to think wine. “The walls are thick and provide the constant temperature necessary for a wine cellar,” Bob says.

The Transues took cues from Napa Valley and Italian vineyards to design a spectacular wine cellar, complete with custom oak-plank cabinets; a rustic, open-joist ceiling; natural slate tile flooring; and a hand-hewn oak serving table. Six racks hold hundreds of bottles of wine that the couple collects, and a cooler stocks some of their personal favorites. “The only thing missing in this cellar is a California address,” Kevin says.

The Gustafsons now enjoy hosting fundraisers and small dinner parties in their wine cellar. “We usually start the evening with guests in the cellar, even if we’re going out,” Bob says. “We enjoy our roles as hosts and servers in this incredible space we once deemed as ‘unusable.’”

The Home Theater

Photos by James Maidhof
Dedicated media rooms are becoming popular with homeowners who want to transform their lower level into a modern, bona fide entertainment environment. Randy Ross, owner of Ross Technologies, says the well-chosen home theater is a double winner. “It not only enhances the homeowner’s lifestyle, it also helps increase the home’s value,” he stresses.

When Dr. Richard and Hilary Snow hired Randy to bring an 18-year dream to reality in their Mills Farm home, the movie buff couple knew they wanted a decked-out room to host guests.  “We envisioned a genuine theatre environment for our friends, including a ticket counter, concession stand and even an on-screen movie trailer welcoming people,” Hilary says. 

Randy created a plush, 12-seat movie theatre, replete with risers, recliners, sconce lighting on the side walls and a professional sound system. “One of the trends in today’s home theaters is to replicate a movie house experience for a mini-escape,” Randy says. A certified member of both the Home Acoustics Alliance and the Imaging Science Foundation, he is qualified to set up and calibrate the audio, determine the appropriate “field of view,” evaluate and treat the room’s acoustics and ensure that every television in the house displays correctly for optimal video performance. 

“I often see three mistakes made when a home theatre is designed: People buy too big of a screen for the room, there’s too much light in the room, and people sit too close to the screen,” Randy notes. He consults with clients retrofitting their lower level with a home theater, in addition to working with architects and builders during the construction phase of a home to ensure the right system for the space is being installed. “I like to fit a theatre system to accomplish all of the homeowner’s goals, not just their budget,” he says.

The Snow’s high-tech theater features a small LCD touch-screen keypad throughout the house so they can access movies and music in any room and on any television. “The equipment is on one giant rack, hidden in the theater, and stores everything,” Randy points out. 

The Snows are just beginning to enjoy the luxury of a posh dedicated home movie theater. “We plan on having movie-theme parties, where guests come dressed as their favorite character,” Hilary says. “And Richard will have the concession stand filled with everyone’s favorite movie treats.”