Nothing will upgrade your hosting abilities more than finishing your basement for entertaining. Having a dedicated space for your guests will take your get-togethers to the next level, and a finished basement can do double duty as a place for you and your family to spend time together as well. The Zaengle family in Collegeville, PA, was looking for exactly that: an update from a basement that was oriented more towards parties into something better for entertaining as a family. Here’s how their project turned out, and some good ideas you might be able to take away and use for your own basement update!

This project was begun in March 2021 and ended in May, with the only challenges being supply chain delays due to the pandemic. The main tasks were to knock out a wall to enlarge the space, add new flooring, closets, custom bookcases, and a hidden projector and screen. Recessed lighting was added, an accent wall with a hidden door, a fireplace, and a new bar sink. The transformation was incredible, and the space is now perfect for everything from family game night to a kid’s sleepover to a Super Bowl party. The family has been thrilled with the results. 

The Zaengles added some excellent features to their basement that make it so versatile and usable. These are some of our favorites!

Plenty of Storage

The custom built-in bookshelves in the basement are fantastically neat and spacious, and they pack in lots of useful storage. The shelves could be stuffed with books or packed with board games and puzzles for an awesome family game night, and the cabinets used to store blankets for a movie night.

A Bar Area with a Sink

This bar is one of the highlights of the whole basement, and is part of what makes the space feel so perfectly engineered for entertaining. The well placed sink and shelves make the space highly functional, letting you easily play mixologist for your friends, and the TV makes this little corner the perfect area to kick back and watch the game. This could also be a great spot to set up snacks for a kids sleepover. A sundae or popcorn bar would go over big!

Well-Placed TVs

From video games and sports to movies and season premieres, gathering around a TV with your friends and family is always a good time. This entertaining basement has two, strategically placed in areas where people will naturally congregate. If you wanted, you could even have both of them on at once– perhaps with the one by the bar playing something for the adults and the one situated by the couches running a cartoon for the kids. 

Comfortable Carpeting 

The addition of a carpeted area to the flooring in this basement adds to the family-friendly quality of the space. While hardwood floors throughout would also have been beautiful, if definitely would have diminished the comfortable, cozy quality of the sofa area. With the carpet and the luxurious sectional helping to visually divide the space off from the rest of the basement, this makes a great designated area for kids to hang out during a party, or for the family to spend time together on a regular night.

A “Sometimes” Movie Theater

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of really cool additions to a house? It’s a safe bet that one of the top things on the list is a home cinema. There’s just something so appealing about the big-screen magic of a movie theater right in your own home. Sadly, many people just don’t have the space to dedicate to a room like this, so for the Zaengle basement project, a clever work-around was included. A hidden projector and screen allow this room to be transformed into a home cinema at a moments notice, but when the screening is over, the projector can be turned off and the screen retracted to turn the room right back into its original form.

The Zaengle family’s basement turned out absolutely great, and hopefully you’ve gotten some ideas from taking a look at it that you might want to incorporate into your own finished basement! If you’re planning a project similar to this or any other renovation, Eagle Construction can help you! Contact us today to get started.