Create a Wow Space with These Finished Basement Ideas

It’s time to put that basement to good use. 

2020 has been quite a year, but at the very least, it has given all of us here at AV Design Consultants some time to work on projects we’ve had laying around the house. And that got us thinking: 2020 has probably led to a lot of our customers trying to finish up projects around the house, too ... and they could probably use some ideas to really bring out the best in their home projects and renovations.

If you are going to be stuck at home, you might as well have fun, right? Right! So, this week on the blog we are going to look at different ways you can really add value to your home – specifically your finished basement – by creating what we like to call a “wow” space. A space that, when your friends and family walk into it, they just can’t help but say “wow!” A space that makes full use of today’s smart-home technologies to let you easily access and use it. That kind of space. 

Of course, how you chose to really build out that space is up to you, so we wanted to present some different technology-based ideas that could really help transform your basement from a space nobody wants to spend time in, to an area you look forward to using. 

Hole in Won 

Chances are you haven’t stepped foot on the green recently, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up on golfing. Residential golf simulators can bring the excitement of each swing and stroke right to your home. 

Even better, if you really want to bring the ambiance and experience of golfing to your basement, you could also have a virtual skylight installed. A virtual skylight mimics the feel of natural daylight and can even show clouds passing overhead, really bringing that outdoor feeling indoors. Combined with the rest of your smart home lighting system, you’ll be able to control and manage the lighting and environment however you want. And, with it conveniently located right in your basement, you could easily dip downstairs to play nine holes in between work meetings, helping the kids with their homework, or just to blow off some steam on the weekends. 

Hollywood @ Home

The green isn’t the only recreational activity you and your family have been missing this year. How long has it been since you’ve been out to an actual movie theater?

Well, that doesn’t really matter. We’re going to bring the movie theater to you. Just think about it: Walking down the stairs and hitting one switch on the wall. Floor lights on the steps dimly turn on, guiding your way to your comfortable and relaxing custom theater seating. The projector screen extends from the ceiling, as does the projector itself – all automatically done from that single button you pressed. 

Once seated, you can easily use voice commands or your phone to pick your favorite movie, adjust the volume, and dim the lights. And if you really want to knock your visitors’ socks off, you can even set up a popcorn machine in the corner to turn on at the same time as everything else. Maybe even a candy counter -- this is your home movie theater, after all, you might as well roll out the red carpet. ---I'm a paragraph inside a content block. These woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep.---

Of course, this level of sophistication and automation isn’t something that you can just throw together – it’s best left to experts like our team here. Give us a call at 479-365-2201 today and one of our experts would be glad to talk you through all the home-theater options available.

A Sportin’ Good Time 

A golfing area, a movie theater, what other renovation ideas could we possible have? How about a sports bar ... right in your basement?

A cold pint poured right from the tap on your very own bar. Multiple TVs set up throughout the area, set to watch multiple games at the same time. A pool table in the corner, for anybody who is brave enough to try to win against your pool (shark) skills. And of course, a state-of-the-art automation system that brings everything together and makes it easy to use and control. 

This could be a system that carefully illuminates the serving area of the bar with strong spot lighting that can be turned on and off with a simple voice command. Or it could be smart climate control that makes sure your basement retreat is always the perfect temperature. Smart technology can be the difference between a space you actually enjoy going downstairs to use, and an area that just takes up space that you never actually end up using. 

That’s not all smart tech can do for your home sports bar, either. Using video tilling software, you can even set up individual TVs to display multiple channels at once, giving you even more options as to how many games you can watch at the same time. One display could have four different basketball games on, while another has replays of the latest football games playing. The sky is really the limit – it’s your home bar, so you set the rules.  

All of these aren’t just ideas or dreams, either – these are common applications of current smart-home technology in many finished basements. And no matter how you want to transform your basement, we’re the best place in town for all your technology needs! Give us a call at 479-365-2201 today and we’d be glad to go over all of our various smart-home solutions and explain how we can help you put together a plan to really get some use out of that basement.