Done In A Day

Rec Room Revival: Like many homeowners, Greg and Patty Powers ignored their lower level. Until now.

The Problem: A basement in a state of chaos.

The Goal: To make it a warm, inviting place for children and friends to congregate, watch TV and play games, and to make the basement suitable for conducting business.

Patty Powers' approach to her basement was to pretend it wasn't there. "I haven't been down there in years," she says. "I didn't want to deal with it."

What lurked below was the kids' computer, a TV room with scattered video games, an air hockey table and her husband's office. The walls were partially paneled, the floor was chipped-and-cracked tile, the ceiling consisted of dirty and water-damaged tiles. The effect? Politely put, not desirable.

Marilyn Vollet, a designer from Edwin Pepper Interiors, rode to the rescue. After meeting with Powers, she left instructions: 1. Paint all the walls and paneling with Ivoire, by Sherwin Williams. 2. Remove existing chipped tile and put down carpet squares. 3. Replace any dirty and water-stained ceiling tiles. 4. De-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter. 5. Hang blinds on the windows.

The entire Powers clan chipped in. Patty painted. Greg and eldest daughter Margaret, 17, tackled the ceiling. Margaret and youngest daughter K.K., 13, removed the tile floor and laid the carpet squares. Joe, 15, patched nail holes, helped de-clutter and hauled things out. The sixth Powers, Greg Jr., came in from the University of Missouri-Columbia and helped take out the old tile

Then the big day arrived. The Edwin Pepper trucks pulled up, Vollet and a crew descended, and the Powers' basement underwent a most radical renovation.

The goal: To create a cozy, inviting place for the kids to hang out, with plenty of seating and a place for son Greg to stay when home from college.

The problems: Dated furniture, a lot of clutter, no comfortable seating.

The solution: First, Vollet picked a color palette of rust, teal, turquoise and orange. "I wanted to go with something that was fun, warm and kind of hip, because it is primarily a kids' space," she says.

The furniture was mostly by Milling Road. "I brought in two armless chairs and pushed them together like a sofa," Vollet says. "It gave us ample seating for two and it was easy to get down the stairs. It also can be moved around."

An unfinished closet shell used to store clothes was cleaned out and reclaimed. Vollet had a drapery made and installed on a traverse rod. Inside, she added shelving for DVDs, VHS tapes, games (including video games) and puzzles. "So all the clutter goes away," she says. Vollet also added a small-scale recliner and another upholstered chair ("also lightweight enough that it can be shifted around," she explains). A leather-upholstered bench became the coffee table. "It can become a coffee table by putting a tray on it with drinks," she says. "Or people can put their feet up on it, or it can be used as another piece of seating."

By the air hockey table, Vollet added a console table with two poufs (small ottomans), yet more seating.

On the accessory front, she added baskets, warm lighting and plenty of throw pillows made out of Arc-Com, a commercial-grade fabric that is durable and cleanable.

The Activity Zone

The goal: To make the space presentable enough for Greg to bring clients in to discuss their insurance business.

The problems: No place to sit, the kids' computer was on a computer stand that was starting to fall apart, not nice enough for company.

The solution: Vollet tweaked the color palette by keeping the red and turquoise but adding plenty of black. The furniture was more tailored and formal than in the activity zone. But the most dramatic thing she did was to hang a curtain, separating Greg's office from the rest of the room. "It gives him privacy and lets him keep his office messy if he wants, but it doesn't affect anyone else," Vollet says. Then she used that curtain as a backdrop for a furniture grouping.

Aside from the sofa and chairs (with matching red end tables and non-matching lamps), Vollet brought in a table and chairs. The table appears to be card-table size but has leaves folded beneath so it can be expanded for larger business meetings or left as is, as a place for the kids to do their homework.

Immediately next to the steps is the kids' computer corner. It was uninviting. The Powers tossed the computer stand, and Vollet came in with "an open desk and open chair to keep it from looking so dark and blocked in." Then she hung a large mirror that reflected the other side of the room, as well as the windows. "That helps bring some lightness to that corner and opens it up a little bit," she says.

On top of a black Milling Road dresser, Vollet stacked some of the Powers' books as well as a group of old family photos. "I love it when people can take the things that mean the most to them and use them in a way that they are really aesthetically wonderful to look at, and it's a good emotional family moment to have all this on the walls," Vollet says. "I think sometimes people underrate what they can do with it all."

Bottom Line: What Would It Cost? All items (unless otherwise specified) through Edwin Pepper Interiors

ACTIVITY ZONE

Milling Road: Entertainment center $3,432

Leather bench $1,062

Sideboard $2,458

Scalloped mirror $782

Stacking cubes, 2 @ $165 each $330

Angled trunk $511

Henredon armless chairs, 2 @ $941 each $1,882

Wood chair with teal fabric $855

Hancock and Moore leather recliner $2,238

Accessories

Area rug from Rug World $2,250

Pool table print from W. King Ambler $350

Pouf ottomans, 2 @ $395 each $790

Basket lamp $424

Heidi Sherman photos, 4 @ $599 each $2,396

Iron candlestick $416

Pair of English bulldog statues $291

Faux water lily arrangement $178

Handcrafted pottery dish $42

Basket with lid $187

Round basket $83

Ceramic plant vase $375

Faux palm tree $204

Paintings, 2 @ $2,435 each $4,870

Black-and-white vase $456

Black-and-white wide vase $100

Throw pillows, 5 @ $150 each $750

Traverse drapery for closet $300

TOTAL $28,012

WORK-STUDY ZONE

Milling Road: Sofa $3,465

Chair ($1,371) and ottoman ($757) $2,128

Desk $1,716

Desk chair $585

Black chest $1,159

Century Furniture: Game table $2,290

Chairs, 4 @ $992 each $3,968

Hickory White console table $1,611

Hickory White book table $945

Hickory Chair red side tables, 2 @ $405 each $810

Miscellaneous

Original landscape painting $1,200

Faux narcissus $78

Antique box $695

Folk art horse $94

Ralph Lauren helmet lamp $488

Turquoise lamp $363

Tall black vase $124

Louis XVI turquoise urn $1,736

Rectangular faux plants, 3 @ $27 each $81

Large mirror from W. King Ambler $999

Architectural prints @ $699 each from W. King Ambler $2,796

Horn lamp $1,050

Abstract art $506

Rug from Rug World $2,450

Throw pillow $165

Traverse drapery room divider $1,122

TOTAL $35,575

Grand Total: $63,587

Editor's note: We were stunned, too. Designer Marilyn Vollet wanted it to be clear that "similar results can be achieved at all different budget levels." Clearly, this shows what can be done if you pull out all the stops, including spending more than $12,000 on artwork alone.