Basement
A bespoke staircase was chosen to link the new floor of the house with the ground floor. “It’s called a dragon’s back because from the side the profile looks like one,” says Taylor. “The idea was to put something beautiful there, and make a feature of it.” The gaps between the risers allow light through the room, while the clear glass balustrades let the staircase’s shape stand out. “It was about adding a sense of air and space, as well as theatre,” says Taylor. The staircase is oak-clad to introduce a warm, natural material into the scheme.
Try the unexpected In a utility room, or an area of the house that isn’t used as often as a living room or kitchen, you can be a little braver with colour and introduce a juicy shade like the zingy orange shown here. Set against fresh white walls and contrasting with the light turquoise cabinets in the room beyond, the orange makes the scheme feel lighthearted and fun.
Give your basement room breathing space The idea of letting the interior space flow out with a terrace also works when the interior is below ground level and a terrace is excavated. Again, the room, here a basement room, is given a much greater sense of space by the level exterior terrace, which allows the interior space to flow out and make a basement much less basement-y.
Make the most of levels When you add a basement for additional living space, there is a danger that it can feel rather cut off. Careful design to make the most of the different levels can be a wonderful device, as can be seen with several of the previous images and also with this example. Here, a lower-ground floor, which is not entirely below ground, has been created and extended to use as a kitchen/dining/living space. It opens out onto a terrace at the same level, with steps leading up to the garden. On the floor above, the original living space opens onto the roof of the lower level, which acts as a balcony and has steps down to the garden.
When a little privacy is required along with a room partition, glass can do a great ‘you-see-me, you-see-me-not’ job. In this room, it’s there to separate a bathroom from the large bedroom and while it conceals the wash space, it still allows light through. It’s worth considering how obscure you want to make a glass partition. Sandblasting allows control over the level of opacity, and what’s called frosted will be translucent but opaque. Window film is an option for a DIY revamp of a partition from see-through to concealing.
Set off the staircase When a flight of stairs is part of an open-plan room it can become a striking feature. Here, surrounding it with glass that includes cross-struts adds to its sculptural value and draws the eye to the cantilevered steps. The glass partition also works to create a natural spot for the L-shaped sofa in a long room, leaving those seated and those using the staircase with a feeling that their spaces are separate. Adding rugs – such as the textured design here – can also help to zone large, open spaces. This one links the seating area and modern fireplace.
3 Opt for an external lightwell With this bedroom, orientated in a similar way, a different approach has been used. Here, an external lightwell, large enough to provide space for outdoor seating, has been added, with full-height glazing to create the impression that this room isn’t really below ground.
2 Let daylight flood down The same technique has been used here but on a smaller scale. Again, there was no opportunity to add windows at a standard height, so the daylight comes down from above and is ‘bounced’ off the plain white wall to illuminate the space. The subtle lighting and simple grey décor give this bedroom an understated yet stylish feel.
This image of the same house at ground-floor level shows how the basement is open from above and creates a ‘gallery’ effect from the hallway. One of the benefits of this arrangement is that one gets ‘multiple reading of the spaces’: that is, you can see the same space more than once from different viewpoints within the house. This is a classic technique for creating the impression of a larger property.
Add light… 1 Create a void Generally, however, people like to have as much natural light as possible and are looking to create additional sleeping, living or kitchen spaces when they extend their houses with a basement. All such spaces benefit from daylight and, in many cases, the art of good basement design is all about letting in the natural light. In this house, where Planning Permission prevented any external lightwell at the front, the solution was to create a void in the ground floor, giving a wonderful double-height space to the basement living room and allowing daylight to pour down from above.
The couple have a passion for wine and asked Cowen to design them a wine cellar. A glass door leads from the media room into an airtight space with enough storage for 1,000 bottles. “We designed a cooling system and insulated the walls,” says Cowen. “A joiner worked with the owners to design wine boxes of the exact measurements for the type of wine that was to be stored.”
urn one room into two If you’re lucky enough to have a large bedroom, maximise its potential with a room divider. This one may be part of a large room, but that room must work hard as kitchen, living area and sleep space, so this useful shelving unit not only does its job as a divider, but also doubles up as a storage space. In a large bedroom that doesn’t need to multi-task, you could create the sense of a suite by having a seating area like this, or alternatively make use of the space by turning it into a walk-in wardrobe.
Installing a bar was a great way to give purpose and identity to the large, open-plan basement. “My dad and one of my other brothers make Cognac in France,” says Mauran. “I always knew a bar area was necessary! We use it when we have parties with friends, which always end up with dancing.” Again, Mauran designed this piece, which was made by her brother in India and shipped over.
“Originally, the basement was going to be two rooms, but when we decided to keep it as one big space I then had to work out how to tell different stories within that one large, 60 square metre area,” says Mauran. The basement stairs softly divide the sunken sofa pit from a space in which to sit and read. There’s also a bar here (see next image).
The basement space is flooded with natural light during the day, with artificial light not needed until after dark. “That’s quite rare in a basement,” says Mauran. “The skylights, glass balustrades and open steps were all crucial in making the basement feel so bright.” There are three rooflights in total over the ground floor rooms: two above the kitchen and this one above the stairs.
Mauran often designs basements for clients and creating light, beautiful spaces has become one of her specialities. Here, in her own home, the huge basement floor is accessed by stairs in the centre of the property. Typically, stairs go down from the entrance. “It means you have all the stairs stacked above each other,” says Mauran. “I don’t like this arrangement. I wanted my basement to feel part of the rest of the house and to get as much light as possible. So the access is from the middle of the ground floor.”
It was important to the family that the kitchen cabinetry was attractive to look at, as it’s part of an open living space. Another must-have? “We wanted an island to gather around at family events and parties,” says Taylor. Simple lines and the avoidance of any fussy detail were also essential for the sche
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