Basements | Our 6 Favorite Spaces

Summary

Dear Alice | Interior Design Podcast Summary

Episode: Basements | Our 6 Favorite Spaces
Release Date: November 14, 2024
Hosts: Jessica Bennett (B) & Suzanne Hall (A)
Guest: Corey (C)

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Dear Alice, hosts Jessica Bennett and Suzanne Hall delve into the versatile world of basement designs. The conversation kicks off with warm holiday greetings and personal anecdotes, setting a friendly and relatable tone.

Notable Quote:
A (00:12): "Welcome to Dear Alice, a lifestyle approach to interior design."
B (00:22): "Hi, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice."

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Personal Stories and Family Gatherings

The hosts share heartfelt stories about family gatherings during the holidays, highlighting the importance of space and comfort in home design. Corey narrates a touching experience about a family member battling cancer, emphasizing the role of a well-designed home in bringing loved ones together.

Notable Quote:
C (01:13): "So what? I was like, dad, you know what? We never do this. Like, we either. I'm fine hosting it."

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Listener Question: Designing Basements

A listener named Megan from Denver poses a question about finishing her basement, seeking advice on space planning, choosing finishes, and selecting essential features. The hosts enthusiastically respond, sharing their expertise and showcasing their favorite basement designs.

Notable Quote:
C (07:40): "Yes, this is such a good question."

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Basements Features and Design Ideas

Jessica and Suzanne outline six favorite basement setups, providing detailed insights into each design. They emphasize the importance of defining the purpose of the basement to ensure it aligns with the homeowner's lifestyle and needs.

Notable Quote:
B (08:03): "More than anything, you need to decide how you want to live in that space or what it's going to be used for."

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Media Rooms and Theaters

A significant portion of the episode focuses on transforming basements into media rooms or theaters. The hosts discuss modern advancements in technology, such as large-screen TVs replacing traditional projectors, making media rooms more accessible and user-friendly.

Notable Quotes:
A (13:02): "I think the biggest thing for most of these basements that we have done is that there's usually some type of like, common area."
B (14:02): "It's like the IT guy has to be home if you want to watch a movie."

Highlighted Design:
Rachel Parcel's basement features an open media room with multiple seating arrangements, a glassed-in workout area, and a full kitchen, exemplifying a blend of functionality and aesthetics.

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Game Rooms and Entertainment Tables

The hosts explore the integration of game tables like pool and ping pong in basement designs. They stress the importance of space planning to accommodate these features, ensuring ample room for movement and variety of activities.

Notable Quote:
B (31:12): "Yeah. You need a lot of white space around it."

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Gym and Fitness Areas

Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the comprehensive discussion on incorporating gyms into basements. From traditional workout equipment to modern innovations like cold plunges, saunas, and golf simulators, the hosts provide a wide array of options to cater to different fitness routines.

Notable Quote:
B (34:58): "We've done a lot of basements and there's a lot of tricks that people are doing residentially today."

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Storage and Practical Uses

Beyond entertainment and fitness, basements offer valuable storage solutions. The hosts discuss practical uses such as extra storage for holiday decorations, cold storage, and even accessory apartments for potential rental income.

Notable Quote:
C (38:31): "If I were building a home right now and doing a basement, I would think about maybe like an apartment."

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Creating Memorable Spaces

Jessica and Suzanne emphasize the significance of designing basements that not only serve functional purposes but also become memorable spaces for family gatherings and personal enjoyment. They advocate for thoughtful design choices that reflect the homeowner's lifestyle and future needs.

Notable Quote:
B (43:24): "Memory points that make people remember a house, and you do certain things so that a home really shows up in a different way."

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Practical Tips and Final Advice

Wrapping up, the hosts offer practical tips such as insulating the basement ceiling to reduce noise and ensuring flexibility in space utilization. They encourage homeowners to prioritize their family's needs and future plans when designing basement spaces.

Notable Quote:
C (44:36): "I would say this too while like probably specifically to Megan too, like while the nothing has drywall on it, insulate that ceiling."

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with a reminder to join their insiders program for exclusive updates and a heartfelt thank you to listeners. Jessica and Suzanne reinforce the idea that a well-designed basement can significantly enhance the functionality and enjoyment of a home.

Notable Quote:
B (45:01): "Well, thanks for listening, you guys. I wanted to mention that if you haven't joined our insiders program, you need to."

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This episode of Dear Alice offers a comprehensive guide to basement design, blending personal stories with professional advice to inspire homeowners to create versatile and memorable basement spaces.

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Dear Alice, a lifestyle approach to interior design.

[B]

Hi, everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice.

[C]

How you guys doing?

[B]

So good.

[A]

Happy holidays.

[B]

Happy. Holidays are upon us. We're officially in an entertaining season.

[A]

I know. Halloween is behind us.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Cavities have settled.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Yeah. We're so excited.

[B]

We are so excited. Were you guys going for Thanksgiving? Like, are you staying with family? Is family staying with you? What are y'all doing?

[C]

I am trying to do something unprecedented for my family.

[B]

You're going to deep fry a turkey?

[C]

No, I've done that before, actually, sadly.

[B]

You're going to put the turkey on your head like Monica from Friends.

[A]

Do that.

[B]

I just watched that episode.

[C]

If people will come to my home. Yes, I will do that. I went. I'm going to tell a little bit of a story because there's some backstory.

[A]

Please. I love story time with Cory.

[C]

My dad's side of the family is all on the east coast, spread out everywhere, Florida to New York. And I had just recently went to a football game with my dad. We're really big Dallas Cowboy fans. We went to Cleveland, and my dad has a brother named Clint. He has cancer right now. He's doing. It was like, they. Yeah, they gave him a year to live a year ago, but he's doing really good right now. He's been doing treatment, so that's great. And my dad and his brother are really close. His brother is also a Cowboys fan. And we went to this game, and my dad didn't tell him because he was, like. Didn't want to make him, like, feel where. Because he's like, you know, doing chemo and all this stuff. And so he was just like, hey, I not going to say anything to Clint because I don't want to, like, rub it in his face type of thing. And we go to the game, had a blast. We're sitting down watching another game afterwards, and he's just like, I see my dad, like, look at his phone. Like, what the heck? And he was like, look at this message I just got from Clint. And he was like, hey, that's, like, really messed up like, that. You, like, didn't tell me that you and Corey, like, going to the game. Like, that's, like, really effed up, bro. Is exactly.

[A]

I was hoping you were saying that he was at the game, too, and he didn't want to tell you.

[C]

No, no, dang it.

[A]

That was the case.

[B]

So sat down and Clint was right next to you.

[C]

What happened was. And I've recorded it on my tv. Sure enough, I go back and listen to it. Like, I'm on tv. Like.

[B]

Yeah.

[C]

You know what I mean? So he, like, saw me on TV. There are 80,000 people.

[A]

Oh, no.

[C]

They show a handful of people, and I happen to be one of them. And like, that's. Yeah. So what? I was like, dad, you know what? We never do this. Like, we either. I'm fine hosting it. And I know I'm breaking our, like, evergreen rule here, but we do record these a little bit earlier so I'm not super late in the game. I am trying to get all of my dad's family either here and we host it or maybe, like, we'll fly out there and rent a. Like, I'll rent a home. That's, like, neutral location. Yeah. So we can all be together. The Cowboys play on Thanksgiving every year. So that's. Yeah. That's what I'm trying to work out now.

[B]

So you're gonna watch it on TV and I'll just.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. And then you'll carry Clint on your shoulders and scream at the TV and.

[A]

Get the hats and everything. Like.

[C]

Yeah. It'll finger. Which we have never done. Like, I. It's always like, that'll be so memorable. It will.

[B]

That'll be really fun.

[C]

So hopefully it happens.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Gosh.

[C]

What about you guys?

[B]

I'm not gonna tell you now. Ours are dumb.

[A]

Don't worry about it. Some turkey in the basement? No. Probably just be at my mom's.

[C]

Cool.

[A]

No. Yeah, my mom's like. Like, let's see. My dad turned 80.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Crazy there. Yeah. No, he'll be 80 next year. He turned 79, but my mom is 79, so I'm like. I feel like. Yeah, we'll probably be at my mom's house.

[C]

Cool.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Rose house is awesome, by the way. The neighborhood is amazing. Like, so it just.

[B]

It looks like a holiday movie.

[C]

It really does.

[B]

A set from a holiday movie. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. And like, she. Yeah. Even make it, like, yeah, the food's better. Her turkey's better than everyone else's. I'm sorry, everyone.

[B]

Just like, yeah, sorry to your mother in law who's listening right now.

[C]

Fall through. That's where we'll be then.

[A]

Come on. Bring CL on over.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

It's delightful. Yeah. I love. I love Thanksgiving.

[B]

I do, too.

[A]

I love food. We don't have to, like, give gifts yet.

[B]

I kind of love Thanksgiving and Fourth of July. They're just easy holidays. And it's just about togetherness and you get all the feelings. And we will eat on my grandma's dishes and I only see them at that time of the year. Yeah. And I just. All of the recipes from all the years and the traditions and it just feels. And the smells.

[C]

Oh, there's not too much pressure.

[B]

You wake up in Thanksgiving morning, you can start, you can smell the turkey bit cooking already.

[A]

Something that you make, um, you know, Jess has got the green bean.

[B]

We always make this pretzel jell o salad. It's really good. Yeah. You know the one, you guys, it's pretzels. You break it up on the bottom of the pan, you pour hot butter on it. You bake that. And then we pull it out of the oven and it's hot. Then you put the cream cheese layer on, which is like cream cheese and sugar. Basically.

[C]

I have never had this.

[B]

And then it gets all melty into the pretzel layer.

[A]

She makes a little.

[B]

And then you put that in the fridge for a little bit while you mix up the jello mixture. And then you put that on top and it's raspber, but you put all these fresh raspberries in it. So this fruit, it's like a dessert, basically. It's like salty but sweet, but cream cheesy.

[C]

And that sounds like it's really all.

[B]

You want for dessert, but it's like considered a salad.

[A]

I do. I'm just like. I get a small plate that's not going to make. Mixed with all the other stuff just for that. While you're serving yourself your main course. Oh, good. It's so good.

[B]

So good.

[A]

I love that. Where are you going to be?

[B]

I'm going to probably be at my mom's house in Richfield. And I'm so grateful because when we moved out, when I moved out to go to college, they were building this new house and we're like. That doesn't make any sense that they're building this. What seemed like the biggest house in the world to me at the time compared to. I think I was raised in a home that was 3,500 square feet or.

[C]

Maybe how many shared a room again?

[B]

Four. Four brothers shared one bedroom.

[C]

Man. When they got. Because they were. They were still living at home when you moved out, so.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[C]

So they were. They probably were like taking over the girls room.

[B]

Yeah. And then the girls had. The girls shared a room. But at one point we had like cousins come to live with us and whatnot. So then there would be like four girls in that room. So we all, like are half grown, moved out and my parents decided to build this home and it was. It's 8,000 square feet. So it's like way bigger than what we grew up in and plenty of room. And I just have to say I'm so grateful they did because now when we go home for the holidays, there's room for all of of us and our spouses and our families. And they have this massive, great basement with this big workout area and everybody likes to wake up and work out together and get sweaty and tease each other and yeah, it's super fun. And then there's like enough bathrooms and enough bedrooms and big enough closets for the play impact to fit in.

[C]

And it's probably like pretty central because you have like a brother who lives.

[B]

In Vegas and yeah, it's great. So yeah, it's going to be, it's really great. It's super accommodating and I just think this time of year, you know, you kind of want to be together as family. I know some of us have to go and stay in hotels or whatever, but we just were thinking about that because we had a listener write in.

[C]

Yeah, we got a listener question from Megan. Don't have the last name in front of me, so, so sorry. But thanks for the question she asked. I'm a design obsessed homeowner in Denver, planning to finish my basement in the next couple of years. An episode on basements would be amazing. Space planning, choosing finishes, features to include, etc.

[B]

Yes, this is such a good question.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

We live in the west where we do a lot of basements in homes. It's cheap square footage, am I right, Corey?

[C]

Yeah. I mean, cheaper. Yes.

[B]

Yeah, I guess it depends on what you're going to do in the basement.

[C]

You can like activate for three years ago it was like if your footprint was around 1500 to 2000 square feet, it'd be like an extra $15,000 just to excavate. And you know, so you're $15,000, you're getting an extra 1500 square feet. Pretty awesome. Yeah, you'll have to finish it and everything from there, but.

[B]

Or even if you choose not to finish it, then you've got a lot of cold storage or storage for all that Christmas stuff or whatever you need to. And then you can finish it when you're ready, which is a lot, which, which is what a lot of normal people do because they're like, I'm going to just capture the space right now and then I'll go back and we'll figure out what we want to do. Which is probably what this question is from Megan because she, she Said that she's. I'm going to be finishing her basement in the next couple of years. So she's like, okay, what do I do? Right? Like, what's the thing to do in basements? And we have done a lot of basements and there's a lot of tricks that people are doing residentially today. And we just wanted to go through. Gosh. We have a list of six things that we've done in basements that have been successful. I think they look beautiful. We're going to be showing you photos of those spaces and so you can how some of those turned out. And then Megan, you can decide if any of these will scratch that itch for you. More than anything, you need to decide how you want to live in that space or what it's going to be used for. I have a little personal note in that. When we lived in our house on Alice Lane, we finished, you know, the main part of the home and then had the unfinished basement and we went back to finish it a few years later. We finished it, but we never actually went down there because it wasn't a part of the rhythm of our day to day life. We'd be like, oh, yeah, that's right. We have that family room down there. But why would we go down there? Because there's this one up here. There was a guest room down there and so the guests could use it. And we did have workout equipment down there and we had to remind ourselves that we could go work out. But it's, you know, it's like you have to break rhythm to remember to go down there. And so having a purpose or a cause to really want to get that done, which maybe is, I'm going to be hosting Thanksgiving in 2025. I want to get that done, have my people stay with me and just start entertaining more and being more hospitable. Or maybe you guys have hobbies or maybe your kids are. They're going to be teenagers and they want their own lair and they want to be able to entertain. Do you want to be able to have that football team come over and whatever? But I think if you kind of think about how you want this to play out for your family, you'll be able to finish the basement in the best way to accommodate what you want. You don't just have to put a movie theater down there because people put movie theaters in their basement. That probably goes without saying, but I just thought I'd set the table on that.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

Yeah. So anyway, we thought it'd be A good idea to get into a full episode on basements. I don't know if we've ever done one. So.

[C]

No, I mean, we. Yeah, we've talked about basements here and there, like, throughout episodes, but never. I don't know how we, like, missed that.

[A]

Like.

[C]

Yeah, never an entire episode.

[B]

Yeah. So thanks to Megan. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

If you guys have any ideas for upcoming episodes, always feel free to send those to Dear Alice at Alice Lane home. Com. We would love to hear any of your ideas or help answer those questions on a. On an episode.

[A]

I was going to say for Megan, like, this is a really fun question for like, this day and age right now, because as we've done this for 16, whatever, how many years we've been doing this, there's been different trends of different things that have, like, hit the bills for that very moment. Like this last year, cold plunge and saunas. Like, everybody had, like, everyone had a cold plunge in sauna. And so you're just like. And if you didn't, like, you were like, not cool anyway, so. But like, would you do a cold plunge and sauna in yours? As far as, like, personally?

[B]

No, I would not.

[A]

Okay. So again, just like the purse. There's a lot of different options that we're going to go through, and you can kind of just figure out what's the best thing for you. But we've seen enough of these. I go around to be like, all right, let's. Let's lay it all out here. And then like, yeah, just the world is your.

[C]

I kind of think of a basement. I currently don't have one, but that's kind of what Mari and I have thought, like, we're missing.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

And it's. It's because we've been living in our home and it's like, these are the things we wish we had. And like, that's what I feel like a basement is. It's like the bonus areas. Yeah, yeah, the bonus areas.

[A]

So totally. Okay, well, let's get into it. I think the biggest thing for most of these basements that we have done is that there's usually some type of like, common area. Like, and we're calling it more of like a media room or a media area that can serve a lot of different functions. It can be for. You can actually have like a large, like, versus, like a theater. Like, that's where you're going to have, like your large screen tv. That's where, like, people are going to go and be around each other. Your game tables will likely be in that same media area. So again, it's like it's the great room for the basement.

[C]

Yes.

[A]

I think is like a really good starting point to like figure out how much square footage do you want. Allot to that and then figure out all your other functions in the other rooms. Right.

[B]

So I think another great thing about finishing basements today is with technology. We have seen TVs get so big that you don't have to do a theater.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Because the screens are so large. So we've seen those names get changed on floor plans from architects from theaters to media rooms. And then they're just installing the biggest TV they can get their hands on. Or if you're like. If you're like Corey and you love vinyl and old record players, then maybe, maybe the projector and the screen is really romantic to you and you still want that. So determine how you want to watch that tv. But I think for some women, if they're home with the kids and they don't know how to use the projector and the whole thing might be a big process. I don't know. At least for me that seems really intimidating. I would rather turn on a TV for my kids and have them watch Scooby Doo or whatever they're going to watch down there.

[C]

Any movie. Like any movie theater, like home movie theater that I've gone to. There's always like, this is like, isn't working. How do we connect the projector to this? Because there's no sound coming out. And then. Yeah. It was like, hey, go flip the breaker. Like I'm. No. Nope, no sound yet.

[A]

Plug in the router. It's not connected.

[C]

Yeah, exactly. There's always something.

[B]

It's like the IT guy has to be home if you want to watch a movie.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So the media room just seems so much easier. And like the kids could probably help themselves down there.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

So I do think that's one nice new advancement that we've seen and just I would say the last couple years.

[A]

Yeah. And I think when I think about like how you guys use your family, uses your parents basement is. And like we've done other siblings of your homes and we've kind of mastered it after this same kind of thing is that like you guys all want to be together, but you don't want to be in a dark room, you know, so you want to be watching something like just have that noise. You're watching the game, you're watching whatever. But then like some people are just like working out, lifting weights back here. Some people are over here at this like card table playing nerds. I don't know. You know. And like, there's just lots of different things we can still be together. There's a kitchenette close by so you can have snacks. So it kind of like brings everything together.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like in one little space.

[B]

And depending on the size of your basement, I think that is like the one thing to make sure that you accomplish. Right.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Is like this multipurpose room. I'm just kidding. Remember what they called it? That. But yeah. But really a space that will allow you to do all the things you want to do. And the togetherness continues. Yeah. You all know how much I love gift giving. And it is our season for gifting. Our partner, Cozy Earth is about the coziest thing that you can give. I'm going to tell you about two products that I'm obsessed with right now. Number one is their cuddle blanket. And number two is the pajama set on the cuddle blanket. It is their bestseller for a reason. It's always in high demand and it has irresistible pile and softness and warmth. I put mine at the foot of my bed. So if I want to watch a movie, I don't necessarily have to get into all my covers. I can just pull this thing on top of me and it is absolutely irresistible. My puppy wants to get involved. My kids want to join me. It's a magnet for people and it's beautiful. That's the cuddle blanket. It's an amazing gift. The next thing I would say is the women's stretch knit long sleeve bamboo pajama set. Guys, you got to get these for your girlfriends or for your mom or your sister in law or whoever you love. Because we all know the holidays are best spent lounging at home being comfortable. And these are beautiful. I love the fit, I love the feel. I love the way they drape. And we all know that the holidays are just designed for cherished moments of relaxation, ensuring that you feel cozy all week long. You don't even want to wear clothes. You're just going to want to wear these to open the door, to hang out, to eat every meal. And they are beautiful. On I have to tell you, the weave of the fabric doesn't peel. They're guaranteed for 10 years. And the ultimate ingredient for luxurious sleep is softness. And you're going to get that in the pajamas and you're going to get it with that cuddle blanket. So if you want to wrap your loved ones in luxury, do it with cozy earth. Just visit cozy earth.com forward slash. Dear Alice, use my exclusive code. Code for 40% off, guys. It's the biggest discount they do code is Dear Alice to give the gift of luxury this holiday season. Again, that's cozy earth.com Dear Alice. And you're going to get a post purchase survey and say that you heard about Cozy Earth from the Dear Alice podcast.

[A]

And like usually in media rooms, like where that's going on, we actually recently it's not built yet, but we have the plans actually sitting right in front of me. We were just kind of space planning figure out what we wanted this basement to be. And again, they have kind of this theater room like carved out, you know, and it does have tiers, but it didn't get closed off. We kept it open to the game area so people could be playing pool. Game is still on. So it's still. It kind of is this hybrid of both, right? You still get whatever TV experience you're looking for, be it the large TV or the projector, but then you also have, you know, this cool fireplace and then you have a pool table and a ping pong table. And it's just like party barge. It's a party zone in that area, you know, to just like whether you like need to lay down with the baby or whether I want to like play some billiards, you know, like you have everything, which is really, really fun. And I, and I think like, if I were gonna like finish out my basement the way I want to, I think I would do something like that just so like everybody could be a part of everything.

[B]

Totally.

[A]

So I love the media room. I think that's really great. We have a few different examples. I would say Rachel Parcel's basement is the most recent basement that we've installed. And I feel like her media room is kind of open. She does have a designated theater, but her media room I still would like classify as just like where the TV is. You have the gym, like it's all glassed in. So you can just go down there and just do that. But it's still open to everything, so you can see everybody, which is so, so great. There was multiple seating like arrangements in there where we had like an. Actually you have the sofa. The family room area. You have this family room area with this. I want to say it was like they're like a 90 inch TV. It was, it was big anyway. So you have like a really comfortable sectional that like you can sit down, have a conversation, watch something. And directly behind it you have this other area that has like, four club chairs for just, like, a really great conversation. And you can see there's also, like, a workout area that's glassed in. So I really liked how they did this. So, like, your treadmill is not, like, next to your swivels, you know? Yeah, I like that.

[B]

The separation just felt really, like, chic and hotel. Like, I loved it. I do, too.

[A]

Yeah. So you could still be working, but you could, like, see what's happening on tv. You could see your kids, like, running in and out, but you don't have to hear them. Yeah, beautiful. So, yeah, you have a lot of these, like, just common areas to just gather, but still have the designated, like, function of each of these, which is great. Also included was a full kitchen.

[B]

You can. Full kitchen. I mean, we should be happy with the kitchenette, but we have ourselves a full working kitchen. Backsplash island, if you can. I know it's nicer than most of our kitchens at home.

[C]

Definitely is nicer than mine.

[B]

Beautiful.

[A]

But it's so, so pretty. And, like, again, this is where, like, super bowl, like, they can host so many people down here. So, yeah, kitchenette would be great. Full kitchen, better. Do you. Do you.

[B]

Yeah. Game table in another pocket down there.

[A]

But, yeah, still open, so you can still hear.

[B]

This is the request of the husband, which I think, you know, this is sort of a dream space. So getting what he wants to do or how he'll use the space, how the kids would use the space, like, really considering it, because that square footage could be anything. And I think it should be an experience down there. So color school is so much fun.

[C]

It really is. Especially because it's not like everyone's just.

[A]

Is a novice.

[C]

Yeah, everyone's just, like, you know, okay. At it. There's no one bringing their own cue. And you know what I mean? Chalk and chalk. Yeah, it's just.

[A]

I know.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Game like, Three Facts in a lie. Whatever. Anyway, that's, like, one of mine that I always put in there. I'm like. I took three semesters of billiards. Actual fact. For real.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You're good at it. It's a talent.

[A]

I was good at it. It was a funny sport.

[C]

That's amazing, guys.

[B]

You all just played Three Facts and a Lie with Suho.

[A]

So when I see a pool table, I'm like, yeah, shoot, I want a pool table. It's so much fun.

[B]

So much fun.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

I love that.

[A]

All right. Okay, Next on our thing is we talked.

[B]

Should we talk more about more theaters that we've done? Because we have that really great one.

[A]

Beautiful ones. Let's talk about theaters. I will. Okay. And I think everybody, like, if you were a theater person, you are a theater person. If you are not, you are not. Like another three Chasm.

[B]

Another three Facts and a lie. Suzanne hall is a theater person. I think you've heard me. I give her so much crap. She has the movie from the movie megaplex tumblers that she takes, which are how many?

[C]

Like 64 ounce ones.

[B]

So much you're gonna wet your pants before you get through a. You're gonna have to leave the theater.

[C]

I get refills.

[A]

Every time you go get a refill.

[B]

While you're at the movie.

[A]

100. I do.

[C]

Do you have a. Do you have a reusable popcorn? Yeah, of course.

[A]

And the kids know when we go to a movie, like one, like. Go get the supplies. Everybody go get the tumblers.

[B]

How many tumblers do you have? Pray tell.

[A]

I. So many. I have enough for you and Adam to come and like, also enjoy a refillable drink.

[B]

Is it purple by chance? Is it purple? They're black.

[A]

No. So you've got.

[B]

Yeah. So do you get the lids too, or do you have to. Okay.

[A]

And reason being.

[B]

Yeah, tell us.

[A]

I. Every time I met it. Every time I go to the theater now, I send them pictures of just like the tumbler next to my two year old, which is like his. The size of his torso. Like, it is literally like, it's so big. But this hard plastic tumbler with a big giant lid, it can't spill. Can you imagine him? Any of my children?

[B]

Do your kids need a refill or is the one huge tumbler enough pop for them?

[C]

Oh, yeah. You guys. You guys pat each one. Everyone has their own.

[A]

Everyone has their own.

[C]

Okay. That's awesome.

[A]

Yeah, we're just. This is all in abundance. Abundance.

[B]

I just wanted. I just wanted everybody listening to the theater, you guys, because it's so fun.

[A]

I love going to the movies. Like, raise your hand if you're listening to this. And you love going to the movies. Raise your hands if you have a megaplex tumbler.

[C]

I'm gonna. And then when you build that out and you do that and I'm gonna.

[A]

Go to a matinee.

[C]

We need to do that actually. Yeah.

[A]

I've been doing it forever. Tumblers for you.

[B]

If you watch a movie in your basement.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Do you get all of the accoutrements and do you just fill up your own tumbler at home in your sink or do you don't.

[A]

I don't do anything.

[B]

You just watch a movie. You pop popcorn in the microwave.

[A]

Nolan is. He's 100, my son. He's just. Yeah, he wants, like, get the popcorn, put it in the popcorn bowl like me. He's just like, mom, like, we need to melt. It's so inconvenient when you're, like, not being served in a movie theater. He's just like, no, we need to melt butter. I need, like, just a little pinch of salt, like, extra salt, you know, and just like, he's like, we should have hot cocoa. Do you want hot cocoa or do you want cider?

[C]

Like, he's gonna be amazing host.

[B]

So fun.

[A]

Yeah, it's so fun to, like, do these things.

[B]

I love it.

[A]

Anyway, so anyway, at the Tumblr because. Because before it said tumblers, there was a lot of spells and a lot of Sprite all over mama's lap. So the tumbler became necessary.

[B]

I gotcha.

[A]

Yeah. I'm like the matinee. I'm gonna bring Louie with me, too. Just so you can, like, feel that energy.

[B]

I can't wait.

[C]

Now you can't live without it.

[A]

I can't.

[C]

The Tumblr. Yeah.

[A]

You guys, if you're gonna do the movies, do it. So sorry for that long tangent, but.

[B]

It'S important all to say, if you guys were with Suzanne on that journey, just a theater person, and you deserve to have a theater.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Otherwise you might just want a media room, just like a family room with a monster tv, to have the friends come over and watch the super bowl or turn on a movie for the kids and they have a semi experience, or you can be fully, fully enveloped in the theater experience. And you know if you need one and you know if you don't. And so we're going to show you some theaters that we've done that we think are great. Speaking of Rach Parcel, while we're in.

[C]

That pocket, that one is great.

[B]

We're going to show you just a few images of how that one turned out. The theme here was kind of like art deco, French deco, because she's got a real beautiful European home. Well, I'm just gonna. So we've got some really beautiful sort of fret work on the walls. Finish work.

[A]

The finished work. And that was outlined in the gold. Just to kind of trace that. Because when you go into a theater, you're gonna have it be again, that color drench. Right. You're gonna have some saturation. I just like that same color happening on the walls as to the ceiling. Talking to the same tones as in the floor. And you want it to be deep and dark, just like for the actual viewing pleasures. Right. And so, yeah, and hers, like, we had like, she loves the antelope from Stark, that carpet. So we did that in a darker color than what we did upstairs. So that was a no brainer for her. We have the interesting fret work and it just became theatrical again. You think about going to the movie when theater started to come on the scene. This is what it was as far as just some of those motifs and like geometry. Like, that's what it felt like.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So anyway, just being a little dramatic. I think that that's what's fun about a theater, if you're into it, is you can be a little bit more theat electrical.

[C]

It's supposed to be.

[A]

It's supposed to be.

[B]

It should be an experience.

[A]

It should be an experience. It doesn't mean that you have to like, you know, if. If printing pictures of your favorite movies and laminating those up in a frame and putting those on your walls. I feel like that's what everybody did at the very beginning of theaters. And it became super kitschy and anyway, just don't do that. I would say just don't do that. But I'm gonna do something more interesting.

[C]

If I ever have a theater room, I'm gonna do that. Except I'm gonna Photoshop in my face on all of the things I like it. Yeah, that's what I'm gonna do.

[B]

Totally cool idea, Corey.

[A]

I know. I think the fun thing about Rachel's though is. And this is interesting as well, is that there's some theaters where you have like all the recliners and you have like. Some people are like, I want the cup for like the theater. And like, I want to recline and all these things. And usually there will be like one row with like two, three, four of those in most theaters. But a lot of times we're just like. People just want a mega, like extra long limousine of a sofa to just like lounge on and puppy pile with their people and cuddle with a blanket and.

[C]

Yeah, cuddling.

[A]

And I think it's just so lovely. Like, that's how I'd want. That's how I'd want a theater.

[C]

That's fabric on that.

[B]

Isn't that pretty?

[A]

So beautiful.

[B]

This is another dark theater that we've done. This has been done. This is French probably decade. Yeah, yeah. This was 10 years ago, but really chic. Just big long sofas, big ottomans to put your feet up. But you can really put a lot of little bumps or big bums, whatever size bums on that sofa.

[A]

Bums.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

I love this theater.

[B]

Really.

[A]

So beautiful.

[B]

Another theater. This one is so special. We just barely showed this a few months ago on our Instagram. I love this theater the most, I feel like, because the directive.

[A]

The directive from our client, which is like a dear friend of ours, and she's just like, I just want it to be fun. The whole. The whole basement was kind of like fashioned after Shibuya Crossing and just like her in Japan.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Tokyo. And. And she was just like in the theater. I just want to be happy. I don't want anyone getting pregnant in there, you know, like, don't make it too serious, you know, so this door open in there.

[B]

I see you.

[A]

So change the light bulbs coming down. But yeah, here we did do, like on. And this is again, kind of the formula for most theaters where we have like, she had a big long sofa at the back. She had recliners. Because some, like, men, they don't like. And men. Some women too, they don't like to, like, sit next to each other. They rather have their own chair. And so that's where like the. These, like the recliners come in. So you know who you are. So you sit there and then you just have like the love sacks and things for like the kids to just like lounge on and flop.

[C]

Jump. Yeah, jump from one tier to the next.

[A]

Exactly. So it's just kind of like there's a seat for everybody in a good theater, I think.

[B]

Yeah, agreed. And go. Big personality or really sophisticated, but make it interesting.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

This was one more theater. Barbie Dream.

[A]

Yeah, Barbie Dream House in the basement. Which hers was. Hers was a fun basement in general just because of, like, the different. She had the lounge. She had a really fabulous kitchenette and. But she had this theater that she just wanted it to be really cozy. So we had like, again, the sofas with the. Kind of becomes like these. Everyone gets a chase when you have those big ottomans. So again, just a big place to puppy pile with your people.

[C]

It looks like most of these are probably underneath a garage or something like that.

[B]

Enclosed, really quiet. Yeah.

[A]

No windows, of course.

[C]

Are you. Have you ever done one with windows? And how are you, like, treating that? Just like blackout drinks.

[A]

We did do one in Oliver's Lane, our Dallas project, and that was like on a second level. And so there was one window, but we had blackouts.

[C]

Okay.

[A]

Shades that went down and we floated like some floating shelves. In front of it for like theater snacks and things. But yeah, there's ways to treat it. So if you're a pure. I know. But if you're a purist and you don't want any glare, like for sure don't do windows. But if it's an afterthought and it's a space you're converting, then yeah, just blackouts, it's great. But theaters are so fun if you love a theater.

[B]

So.

[A]

Okay, awesome.

[B]

Next is the game room or the entertainment table.

[A]

Oh, gosh.

[B]

I think games, game slash entertainment table.

[A]

I know. I will say this kind of goes back to the billiard. This is one from our, one of our portfolio projects. Just trying to remember the fruit house.

[B]

Heights lounge.

[A]

Heights lounge. Thank you. Anyway, this was again, they had like a lounge and then they wanted a pool table and they wanted a dining table, but also for kind of like playing table games, puzzles, poker, whatever it is. So kind of again, how to satisfy all these things. But like, if you love these games and if you think like you're teenagers, if you're building this for like them, like figure out if they want a ping pong table, if they want a shuffleboard table, if they want a pool table, you know, because that's what the stuff we're asking our clients, a space plan for these games. So anyway, I think it's, it's so much fun because like rarely are you going to put a pool table in your library upstairs. You're not putting those things on the primary living spaces. Like it's going down in these bonus areas. So again, if you have the space, just figure out what you want. Because even with pool tables you have to have a. Like depending on the size of the pool table, you have to have a 6, 6 foot diameter to like pull down the queue.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, so really you have to make sure you have the space for it. But it's fun if you do. And if you don't have that room, you just have to like pull ping pong tables. You just have to have it on like one and the other. Anyway, so depending on the table.

[B]

Yeah. You need a lot of white space around it. Yeah.

[C]

Where are you going for pool tables? Ping pong tables. So, so do you, do you have any like, resource? I'm sorry, I. This is, this is not on the.

[A]

This is improv.

[C]

Yeah, it's improv.

[A]

Okay. I think. Yeah, we've gone to a few different places. We're just always trying to find something. Honestly. We found them on Etsy. We found them on first dibs, we found them like, I think like some of the more prestigious ones like we found in. In some crazy places.

[B]

Yeah. Everyone that I've ever seen, so much money, so much pool tables, limited edition ones in Alpine, that great big 40, 000 square foot home, like everything had to be special, unique, pinstriped, like you can throw down. We did. I feel like in coastal contemporary, there's a really good looking one with a leather net that's perforated with square holes.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

And that was really beautiful. I'm trying to remember. That's been a decade.

[A]

When you go to market, there's usually like crossover between like dining tables that we can kind of.

[B]

I do feel like if you're going to do it, and y'all are a lot of you are designers that listen or you love design, like make it really special.

[C]

Get one that's unique, green felty.

[B]

Yeah. No, you're not going to get this at the sports store down the. At Shields.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[B]

Or, I don't know, you double as.

[A]

The pool table and the ping pong table and just flip the top.

[B]

Oh, well, I'm like, you don't want one that folds up and, you know, and wheels out.

[C]

They never last anyway. They always start like playing around the world.

[B]

You want one that is just like a permanent insulation. Permanent insulation. It's good looking and you're proud of it.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

Oh, you're going to find some really, really special ones.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This one, again, this is from our Heights lounge as well, but again, same kind of formula where we had like the individual recliners in the back row. This one had a mega sectional two. And it was just so fun, but it was open. You see how this is like that entrance to this kitchen right here?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

We're going to show both these on the, on the.

[C]

That's awesome though, because you're like, hey, no food down here. You know what I mean? Yeah.

[A]

You still tear down. So it's kind of the same thing as like that new plan that we're working on too, where it's still a theater, which I actually really. I could, I could be down for that as a theater lover, like having that but still having FOMO that I'm missing out on. What's happening.

[B]

Yeah, she gets fomo. She wants every sleep.

[A]

Because I don't like to miss out on things.

[C]

Also at every, like super bowl party though, there's like the people that actually want to watch the game and the people that kind of want to like, do this Stuff. But then see all the women. Yeah.

[B]

We don't want to watch the game. Yeah, I want to. I want to watch the commercials.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And be like, hey, funny commercial. Or, you know, just go to touchdown, you know, and then there for the food. Exactly. So, yeah.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, yeah.

[B]

Super bowl is just like a big party. Remember this last one, like, Cascade was playing and like, it was. The whole thing was just super fun. Even girls that don't care about football.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

I loved the Super Bowl.

[C]

Awesome.

[A]

Guys. Kendrick Lamar is doing this.

[C]

I know. I. I just heard that this last weekend.

[A]

Watched a doc on him yesterday. Because I'm like, I don't know enough about this guy. And I need to prep myself.

[B]

I love.

[A]

For the festivities for House.

[C]

I don't know who's playing, but you got like four. Yeah. A few months. You're going to. You're going to be good.

[B]

Other things you can do in a basement are the gym or the workout room. Right. Yes. We talked about that. About how cold plunge sauna, massage rooms is another ask that we've had from clients. I do think so. People are into fitness and health and you've got all sorts of things. You've got. What's that new machine with the resistance, the pulleys, the tonal. You've got that. I know. Lululemon has a mirror that we've asked to have incorporated. You've got a series of machines. You know, a cage with waves and stuff.

[A]

Just like space.

[B]

The peloton bikes. Yeah. There's so growers. Yeah. And I have to say there are some of the best looking exercise mats I've ever seen in my life that look like terrazzo. They're made from recycled Nike shoes.

[A]

They're amazing.

[B]

I was looking in the design center.

[A]

Okay. No.

[B]

Who makes them? We got to tell the people, if.

[A]

You'Re doing a gym clip on them, we're going to put a picture of them right now because, like, they're so.

[B]

I've never seen a better looking. And I feel like one of the things when you're doing.

[A]

Say yes to them yet, though, I think. Really?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I have these guys.

[B]

Will this audience. Will.

[A]

I have one in Boston where they're doing like the really small one, which will be really rad, but it's just. It's a higher price point. But if you're. If you're into workout.

[B]

Megan, Megan, you got to do. You got to do these. If you're doing a workout room. Yeah.

[A]

They're so cool.

[B]

Think how fun. Because we always Start from the ground up, work out. If you had this ground, imagine what that gym could look like. Yeah. It be so fun.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

Good times. The sports court. This has been a.

[A]

Welcome to Utah. Welcome to wild wild West.

[B]

Yes. This is a second basement below the basement, generally in a sports court, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Because you have to have. You have to have it super high for basketball.

[C]

Yeah. I think.

[B]

I don't know why they're so crazy how. But it's legitimately like a second, like a second like 12 foot underneath the basement.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

So you've got a 24 foot.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It's tall.

[C]

It's like around 24.

[B]

And if you're from Utah or not, you can clown on us. There's always an observation window from the first basement so that you can watch the basketball happening down there. And usually it's full of kids outdoors, scooters, jeeps and. Yeah. So that in the winter they can ride around and have a good time and get crazy down there or you know, get there when you're a high school kid that you can practice and get good at it.

[A]

Climbing walls. There's foam pits, there's bowling alleys. There's so many things with these.

[B]

Like extra for the skateboarder.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[C]

I've seen a couple in some homes, so.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

So again, you want to be extra.

[B]

You could do a net for pickleball.

[A]

Pickleball.

[C]

For pickleball.

[B]

That'd be fun.

[C]

Golf simul, just.

[B]

Oh yeah, we are doing that a lot.

[A]

Like just kind of creating these. Like we're doing one here in Orem for a remodel and he wants like his whole office to be like sharing a wall with a golf simulator so he can have like business people there. And like again, especially like during the winter where they can't go golfing necessarily, they can just come and swing some, you know, in the basement. So anyway, so yeah, we're doing a lot of golf simulators right now.

[B]

Yeah. Speaking of sharing a wall, we have a girlfriend that just finished a home and they have. Her husband's office is downstairs and it shares a glass wall with like a 25 car garage. So he can be working and looking at all of his horses out there.

[C]

That's cool.

[B]

In the, in the garage. So if you're, if you're a car collector, that could be a lot of fun too, to be able to get extra, extra room for your collection.

[C]

Bat cave down there.

[A]

100%. The entrance is a bat cave.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. It's like Batman. Yeah. Wild.

[C]

That was my dream when I was 6.

[B]

Or if you're normal like the rest of us, guest rooms for downstairs so your guests can be on another level. I know one of the things my folks like about having all of this extra space for us kids to come home is that there's furnaces and cooling on different levels and they really only have to turn on the heat or AC on those levels when we come home.

[A]

That's nice.

[B]

So yeah, so they really just have to heat and cool the main level where they are. Um, so that's a thing too.

[C]

I'll say this as like a 5B.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

If I were building a home right now and doing a basement, I would think about maybe like an apartment. Something with its own entrance, you know, if not a full kitchen, you know, maybe in between a kitchenette and a kitchen. I'm just kind of thinking to the future of like, you know, like right now, like rents are insane. I know a lot of people who are like living in their parents basements because of that reason. So it's like, yeah, that might be nice to have. And then in the meantime, maybe you rent it out. Honestly, in my Orem home we had a basement with its own like. Yeah, it's a. It was an accessory apartment and my best friend's dad lived there and it was. I loved it. It was awesome.

[B]

That's cool.

[C]

His name's Rick Mormon. I called him the rm. I was like, rm. I just like. Yeah. And he like loved Grady and it was. Yeah, it was honestly like a magical time in our lives and he was a part of it and so that's cool. I loved doing that. I don't know if I would like love a stranger being there. That might be someone's thing, but it was great.

[A]

Extra income.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. And that you're not using it. Yeah. And it was like, hey, Rick, like, we're out of town, like, this is happening. Yeah, exactly. And that was always really nice.

[B]

It's like having a fairy godmother.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

It's amazing.

[C]

Yeah, I agree.

[A]

We flattered the tomatoes.

[B]

We, our builder talked, talked us into finishing all the space underneath our garage. So underneath this cement slab, it's a three car garage. Underneath that. We have a basement down there that we left unfinished, but finished the rest of the basement and we plumbed it for an additional kitchen and bathroom and family room. And then we have a guest bedroom that could tie into that and we could wall it off. So if we did need a child to come live with us with their family or Whatever. Or if the future owners of our home, if we ever sell it, want to do that, they've got that option. And I do feel like for some reason my neighborhood's very popular for having married kids live under their parents homes. And it's a really nice option while they're trying to launch into a first job or something like that. And it's just a really nice flex space. So I'm glad we did it. I mean, it's been 10 years and that mostly is full of Christmas and really embarrassing home decor. But I'm glad I. My furniture graveyard. Yeah. Yeah. So if anybody wants to come over and shop that, I'd love for it to be emptied out at some point. We'll. We'll open.

[C]

We should do an online.

[B]

Oh, no, we don't want to spend that much time. We just come over, live and just pillage the place.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. But I do think it's nice to have a little bit of storage, you know. So you have an awesome storage room down there. So yeah, I would say make sure and leave space for, for that if you don't have a good place for your Christmas tree or. I don't know, there's always something that you need.

[A]

It's like the backstock of just like wanting to have like extra food. Like, you know, winter. Like we can just stock. We just get extra stuff every time we go to the grocery store. And you just put it down in the.

[B]

Susan's is so organized. I feel jealous of her storage.

[C]

When you go to a lot of.

[A]

Costco shelves just lined up.

[C]

Exactly. Like when you go to Costco, it's like, where do I store 96 rolls of toilet paper?

[B]

Okay. Yeah. No, truly, we don't. Nobody has a hall closet that big.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So I think storage is a really great idea. Yeah.

[A]

Less.

[B]

Yes. Well, guys, those are, that's all of, those are all of the things that we've done in basements. I think you have to figure out what works for you. Is there any other space planning ideas that we needed to make sure and say.

[A]

I will say again, I'm just like staring at this one. This was a very large footprint of a house. And so as I look, we did several different space plans. Plans of just different ways that she could utilize the space. And she's like, well, we should put a bunk room. We should do a bunk room down there, you know, like for all the, for all the children, you know. And so we drew it up and like signed everything. And then I was just like, you know what I'm like, I think you'd be better, like, allotted to use that space for an exercise room and the sauna and the cold plunge. I just think it would be like, she's trying to sell this house.

[B]

Also, she's building an amazing spec home for. It'll probably be, like, a $9 million spec home, and it's in a really prestigious area, and we think probably a jazz basketball player will buy it when she's done.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And we're like, of course an athlete's gonna buy this. He's gonna want. Yeah.

[A]

He doesn't need a bunk room.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But it was interesting to, like, watch how the space of just, like, the bunk bath and the bunk room was reallocated to be the gym and the sauna, cold plunge. And, like, everything actually, like, worked out really beautiful when we did the transition. So, again, just the flexibility of knowing that, you know, also, like, cold storage versus, like, wines. No wine room or wine cellar. Like, we do those a lot in most homes. And, like, obviously, the basement's a great space to put that if.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

If you're a wine collector, you know, and you want a tasting room, I think that's a beautiful thing, depending on how you live and how you want to entertain. So I think that that was really great. Again, guest room. This. This basement, I think, has, like, everything.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You could ever wish for. Has that kind of media room open to a theater, the kitchenette, the bar, everything. So just kind of, what are your habits? What does your future life look like with the basement and just like, figure out those zones and then see. Just prioritize what's the most important thing.

[B]

Yeah. And I think we've built with a builder in Dallas a couple of times, and he talks a lot about memory points that make people remember a house, and you do certain things so that a home really shows up in a different way in people's minds when they're comparing it to another home. And so I think this is important in design. But I also think if you're building these spaces to be memorable and to have memories with your family that you have, that you create this space that's fun, that is going to bring the family together, and you can make memories which will be memory points, you know, so really think about what your lifestyle is, what your kids are going to love, what's going to make them, what's going to draw them home and draw them in. As you guys are getting into these holiday months, you'll kind of see how people sleep and where they go and how they migrate. And it might also inform some of your decisions on how you want to use a basement when you're going to be finishing.

[C]

I would say, I would say this too while like probably specifically to Megan too, like while the nothing has drywall on it, insulate that ceiling. Especially if you're going to do like a media room or you know, people are going to be like yelling and. Yeah. Or if it's going to be an accessory apartment, do that. You're such great person you're renting to Will. Thank you and yeah, you will do. Then you don't have to hear them.

[B]

You know, especially above that kitchen. It's so loud.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

The hardwood floors or whatever, clicking back and forth.

[C]

Yeah, exactly.

[B]

That's great advice. Yeah, thanks for throwing that in. Awesome. Well, thanks for listening, you guys. I wanted to mention that if you haven't joined our insiders program, you need to. It's completely free and it's the first place we announce all of the new products, all the earliest drops. You're also going to get early access to our sales and so much more. And you can sign up on our website at alice lane home.com so make sure and do that and we'll catch you next time. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.