Bonus Room Design

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Designing The Bonus Room

Image Courtesy of Case Design & Remodeling

Having a bonus room in our homes is becoming pretty normal. Picking a use for the extra space tends to skew towards the lifestyles of the occupants. Witness the ever growing number of home offices, poker rooms, and gift wrapping spaces.

Home gyms have become increasingly popular as way to stay in shape without having to make the trek to the fitness center. Privacy and convenience can be achieved in the basement, or bonus room. Here's a page that give you the basics to laying out your very own, home-based, work-out space.

Media rooms and home movie theaters are another popular option. What's the difference? "Home theaters" usually feature the special tiered seating you see in real theaters, surround-sound systems and projection style screens. "Media rooms" can be created with a flat screen and a comfy couch.

The popularity of home bars should never be underestimated. Basements seem to be the logical place to install a cool, dark bar in the house. Set it up for watching sports, playing darts, pinball, or shooting pool. The best part is uyou get to decide what time last call is and you won't have to worry about driving home, because you'll already be there.

Many left over spaces are totally taken over men, which results in a variety of renditions of the cave or "man space." Think cigars, games of chance, televisions, and liquid refreshments.

Even the garage can be turned into something special besides a place to put the car or a jumbo-size storage shed. Flooring, shelving, paint and storage options will help you organize the last frontier of home design.

Everybody's idea of a bonus is different. Here's a story of a massive home makeover project that started off as a search for designing and building the perfect mud room.

Image Courtesy of Landis Construction

Here's a quick story of a basement-based bonus space that became a bar, a billards room and an entertainment center.The first step was to eliminate the interior walls that were jamming up the flow. Support beams were moved behind walls as the space was opened up to new possibilities. But changing the look was centered on the black and chrome pool table.

Using the art-deco inspired pool table as the jumping off point, the basement makeover spilled over into the downstairs bathroom. Existing fixtures were removed and replaced by a sink with exposed chrome legs, low profile toilet, and chrome-framed shower enclosure. Glass tile in a 1” x 1” mosaic completed the transformation and was also used for a backsplash behind the wet bar and the serving area to tie the rooms together.

The homeowners already owned a wine cooler and used it in the main room as a focal point. Oak cabinets were added to warm the space up and to provide storage for party supplies. Bar stools serve as ad hoc seating.

Since the room is on the lower level the designer also looked for ways to expand the feeling of spaciousness by using large-sized ceramic tiles on the floor. Stereo equipment was stashed in a custom-made cabinet below the flat screen TV and a black marble mantle connects the fireplace with the entertainment center. The basement also holds a laundry room, mechanical room, and an extra bedroom.

Whatever your idea of fun is, use some spare space to configure the interior design of a bonus room that reflects your own unique point of view.

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