Parents finishing basements as rec rooms generally are guided by one principle: Make them as indestructible as possible. Sean Carter’s client wasn’t one of them.
As a single father whose only child was headed to college, the man was focused on turning the lower level of his 1939 Rocky River Tudor into a place where he could entertain his friends in comfort and style. Carter, an interior designer at Sapphire Pear in Rocky River, was charged with transforming the space into a series of clean-lined venues decorated in the neutral palette his client had chosen for the rest of the house, yet distinguished by an eclectic mix of colorful art and accessories.
“The client … wanted a blend of lots of different styles, from modern to Scandinavian to Moroccan to very classic,” he says.
Courtesy Scott Pease
Carter’s first nod to the house’s existing decor was flooring the lower level in the same white oak. He then added picture-frame molding to the just-installed drywall and painted the rooms Sherwin-Williams White Heron.
One of the few remaining architectural amenities was a corner of stained-oak bookcases. Carter made them the focal point of a handsome library lounge by extending them to the ceiling with picture-frame panels and trim, painting them Sherwin-Williams Peppercorn, and papering the backs in a metallic-gold chevron print. The colors are repeated in the chandelier, a spidery arrangement of adjustable-length pendants.
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Courtesy Scott Pease
Seating is provided by a charcoal leather-cushioned window seat, complete with charcoal velvet channeled back, that Carter added over the built-ins and a pair of cognac velvet swivel chairs stationed atop a cream and charcoal patterned rug. The Ruggable-brand machine-washable selection was a rare concession to durability.
“The homeowner has three dogs,” Carter explains. “They have lots of accidents.”
To achieve a sense of cohesiveness, Carter used the same rug in the adjoining bar, where two camel boucle club chairs face a gray boucle bench-style sofa in front of a fireplace. The client had the Dark Emperador marble fireplace surround custom-made in Italy.
Contractors installed the actual wet bar in a 5-foot-deep alcove created from unused space in a neighboring utility room. The quartzite-topped walnut cabinetry houses an ice machine and pullout trash receptacle behind brass-inlaid doors as well as two beverage coolers. A counter-to-ceiling backsplash of handmade turquoise tile adds a punch of color. But Carter sees the waterjet mosaic tile laid on the alcove floor as the true eye-catcher. He explains that the manufacturer, Artistic Tile, used a waterjet to cut black and white marble into geometric shapes, then assembled them into patterns.
“It was the perfect project to use it,” he says.
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Courtesy Scott Pease
Three steps lead from the library lounge to the theater room. Carter hung light-gray linen-look draperies lined in black over the walls to conceal upper windows while leaving them accessible. Walnut columns were added to break up the curtained lengths and provide a place to hang torch-like frosted-glass wall sconces. An art hanger and custom framer suspended black-wood-framed originals and reproductions from the ceiling with fishing wire.
A charcoal mohair sectional and two cube-like Arabescato marble coffee tables replaced the usual theater seats in front of the 55-inch Samsung TV to double the room’s function.
“Sometimes it’s just a spot where everyone hangs out and puts their cocktails on the coffee tables,” he says. “Sometimes they play cards. Sometimes they just chat.”
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