Basement of the Week: Gaming and Jamming Near Toronto

This basement was designed with two teenage boys in mind — one a musician, and the other a gamer. Although the basement was previously finished, interior designer Paula Biondi gave it a complete overhaul, keeping only the existing stone tile floor and kitchen cabinets, and redoing everything else. The room is now a hangout space the boys can enjoy with their friends, and a secondary entertainment area for when the parents host extended family.

Here’s how Biondi made it contemporary, comfortable and cool enough to pass muster with a couple of teens.

Basement at a Glance
Who lives here: A family with 2 teenage boys
Location: Outside Toronto
Size: About 1,500 square feet (139 square meters)

Photography by Stephani Buchman Photography

Due to soffits and typical older basement construction elements, the ceilings were only around 8 feet high. Biondi scaled everything to pleasing proportions — including the new fireplace, which is sheathed in 12- by 32-inch tiles.

A comfortable seating area takes advantage of the fireplace and the large TV screen for gaming across from it. “The armchairs swivel, so the adults turn them to face each other for conversation, and the teenagers turn them toward the giant TV,” Biondi says. The sofa is a sleeper, so the boys’ friends can stay overnight.

The shelves provide symmetry and storage space for the boys’ games and DVDs.

Tandem Sofa: CB2; chairs: Urban Barn; shelves: Ikea; Ember Coffee Table: CB2


A grass cloth wall covering warms the room with color and texture. The boys were outgrowing their upstairs homework area, so an extra desk gives them additional study space.

Wall covering: Glam Grass Collection in Geneva Grey, Phillip Jeffries; desk: CB2


“I had to plan the gaming area around the biggest TV they could fit down here,” Biondi says. Somewhere between 76 and 80 inches, it is paired with gaming chairs, making the area a full gaming setup.

Biondi jokes that she and one of the homeowners marveled over the reclaimed wood shelves (at left) on the day they were installed, but because the TV was installed on the same day, no one else was paying much attention to them.

Shelves: Crate & Barrel; media cabinet: Ikea


A separate room contains the music area and a home gym. A divider blocks the view of the gym equipment and helps muffle the sound from the drums. Because of the soffits Biondi had to work around, she used a mobile partition to separate the music room from the kitchen (to the right). It doesn’t contain the sound, but it muffles it and blocks the view.

The Abbey Road poster came from the bedroom of the son who’s a musician. Two Bertoia Diamond chairs provide room for jam sessions and for him to work with his guitar teacher. “As soon as I saw the drum set, those chairs were the first ones I thought of,” Biondi says.


Once Biondi and her clients determined that the accent color would be yellow, one of the homeowners found the artwork in the dining area. Just out of view, the basement kitchen includes a stove, dishwasher, sink, refrigerator and recessed wine refrigerator. There is also a full bathroom down here.

The basement has given the boys their own space to pursue their hobbies, hang out with their friends and make a lot of noise without disrupting the rest of the house.

Table: CB2; chairs: Urban Barn; bar stools: Arteriors

More: Basement of the Week: For the Love of Sports and Games

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