The Subterraneans

BY LISA SKOLNIK
Photography by Barry Rustin
Published AUGUST 2006

Yet most marvelous of all, they can do all of these things without ever leaving “the room,” which meanders across approximately 3,000 square feet underground.  Yes, it’s a basement.  But as Bender and many of you may have already discovered, these once-lowly spaces are being elevated to new, almost stately prominence in our homes.

As Honore Frumentino, a realtor with Koening & Strey in Deerfield, puts it, “Buyers want them.  And when you get to a certain price point, they expect them.  So builders are finishing them off to help their homes sell faster.”

But Frumentino isn’t talking about the standard-issue finished basements of years gone by, with nice enough (but hardly luxe) floors and walls and pleasant (yet terribly practical) furnishings. “These are packed with pretty wonderful amenities,” she explains.  “I’ve seen game rooms, home theaters, spas, wine cellars, granite wet bars – the things that have happened to this space are unbelievable! We’re turning the basement into our own personal retreats.”

We’re also changing its very name and decorative demeanor.  “Now we call them lower levels,” Frumentino laughs.  And they sport “custom millwork, luxurious paneling, plush carpeting, high-end furnishings, high-tech audio-visual systems and state-of-the-art appliances that add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars,” points out Chicago interior designer John Cannon of Cannon Frank.

Why are basements such a big deal?

Some of the reasons are obvious. “People are looking to expand the functionality and living space of their homes without actually adding on,” explains Cannon.  Basements are a natural for this purpose.

In older homes, where basements are often unfinished, it’s space you already own.  This makes it a freebie since you don’t have to add anything to gain more room – though once you improve it, your property taxes may increase.  Unfinished basements are not considered part of the overall square footage of a house; finished basements sometimes are added to this figure. “When an assessor sees a nicely finished basement, he may bump your property value up a bit,” notes Chicago architect John Eifler. This will lead to higher taxes and a hefty price tag, but on the other hand, additions increase your home’s square footage, providing a wealth of options.

In new homes, it’s also space you already own – but more likely that not, it’s already finished. This is especially true on the North Shore, “where virtually every community has implemented stricter FARs,” Frumentino says.  Savvy homeowners will recognize this acronym, which refers to the floor area ratio allowed on a specific lot.

“People would tear down little homes and replace them with huge ones that crowded the lot.  And at the same time, all these prime lots are getting smaller because they are often sub-divided – especially if they’re near the lake,” she adds.  “That led municipalities to implement these restrictions, which made basements even more desirable because people really want and need the additional space and amenities it can hold.”

Bender is a perfect case in point.  When she and her husband built an addition with a foot-print of 700 square feet on the back of their 1920’s home, they maximized the project and garnered an additional 700 square feet by including a finished basement.

So with basements becoming de rigueur, why not use them as efficiently and effectively as possible?  Play to their strengths.  “The basement is the perfect place for so many activities,” says Loyce Clark, principal in the Northbrook firm The Concept Group.

One of the most obvious is a media center or home theater, since you need a darker space for this activity.  But subterranean spaces can also be outfitted to accommodate a home gym that sports huge pieces of exercise equipment, a guest or babysitter’s bedroom, a kids’ playroom, a homework center, a full-fledged spa, soundproof practice rooms for burgeoning musicians (especially drummers) and more.  These days, “the possibilities are limited only by our imaginations,” notes Clark.

For one suburban family, Cannon recently completed a basement that has a 30-by-40-foot room devoted entirely to a model train display, the computerized control systems needed to run it. And the 5,000-square-foot space also contains game, media, lounge and exercise rooms, a real home theater, a steam shower, sauna and wet room and a spectacular aquarium. Another North Shore client requested (and got) a golf tee along with those now-standard features (namely home theater, game room, exercise room and kid’s craft room). “It’s a new property, so the ceiling heights are 10 feet,” notes Cannon.

In fact, the most common change to hit this subterranean space comes at its upper edge: Ceilings have risen from an average of 7 to 8 feet in the 1960s or 1970s to today’s highs of 9 to 11 feet.  “Putting greens and exercise rooms are pretty hard to do if your ceilings aren’t high enough,” points our Cannon.

However, these new ceiling heights require work.  The taller the ceiling, the deeper you have to dig, and it becomes more of a challenge to make a space watertight and accessible.  The former “is an issue whenever you go below grade. Basements have to be sealed and include a water-removal system, which is why people have sump pumps,” explains Eifler.  The later is stipulated by new building codes that require basements to now have a second means of egress (the first being the stairway to the main level). “You have to build a door or an operable window that allows you to get out of there, and the lower you go, the harder this is to do,” he points out.

But for most, the benefits outweigh the risks and picky code requirements, since the basement brings much more to the lifestyle equation than mere amenities.

First, it is indispensable if you have children or are determined to foster family togetherness. “When your kids are little, you throw them down in the basement playroom. But when they become teens, you want them to stick around so you know where they are. This is the perfect place to do it because you can keep them close at hand but still have some privacy yourself,” notes Bender, though she does admit that the older your children get, the more challenging it is to keep them down below. “You have to make sure the space is comfortable and has things in it they want to do.”

Second, doing your basement is a good financial investment. You get to enjoy it and recoup most of your costs if you ever decide to sell your property. According to Remodeling Magazine’s Cost vs. Value Report, which looks at the average costs in each area of the country to build a basement that features a 20-by-30-foot finished area to use for leisurely pursuits, a 5-by-8-foot full bathroom and an unfinished 12-square-foot auxiliary room for mechanical, the average basement remodel costs $59,194 to build in Chicago and can expect to pull in $56,747 at resale. The 96 percent cost recovery is up this year from 86.5 percent in 2004, significantly greater than the 2005 Midwest average recovered cost of 73 percent, and still greater than the 2005 national recovered cost of 90.1 percent. “It’s popular project – especially in newer homes, where basements are converted into special rooms more often that spare bedrooms,” says Sal Alfano, editorial director for the publication.

None of this is a surprise to design professionals, who are seeing an increase in their business down below – especially in the budgets people are allocating to this project. “Twenty years ago, it was a few bean bag chairs, indoor-outdoor carpet and grandma’s rattan furniture. Today, everything is customized and anything goes – antique light fixtures, coffered ceilings, hand-painted murals, upholstered walls, terrazzo floors and more,” says Cannon.  But you may want to draw the limit when it comes to the floors: “Everyone I know has had a flood down there at least once, so be prepared. It’s not the place for expensive carpeting or wood floors,” warns Clark.

Given the flash floods that hit the Chicago area every summer, we’ll second Clark’s opinion and add our own in light of our first basement flood last summer: Make sure anything you put on that floor can survive a good water-logging or is easy to move or lift. Ironically, many flooring materials are durable enough to make it; Cannon knowingly points out that terrazzo is and indoor/outdoor material, and the carpets he uses in basements are handsome but virtually indestructible solution-dyed nylon. So when it comes to what’s underfoot when you’re underground, just be sure its lasting power is as good as its looks.

RESOURCES: Design: Missie Bender Design (originally through Susan Fredman & Associates).