How to Design a Club in the Basement

A bar can be the focal point of a basement club.

Imagine attending an unforgettable party in the comfort of your own home -- every weekend. And think how at ease you'd feel knowing exactly where your teenager is, and who they're with, when they're "hanging out."

Turning a basement into your own private club can provide years of joyful memories for family and friends.

A club in the basement can provide a stimulating setting for dance parties; a relaxed, pub-style atmosphere for toasting friends' health and sharing lively conversation; or a private, quiet place for a romantic evening at home.

Things You'll Need

• Bar
• Lighting fixtures
• Flooring
• Sound system
• Bathroom fixtures

Instructions

1. Install a bar, preferably a wet bar with a small refrigerator. Basements are ideal locations for fully stocked bars since the bar's weight is no issue in a ground floor room. Even if your family and friends are teetotalers, a bar provides a place to serve soft drinks and snacks efficiently during large gatherings.

2. Purchase and set up lighting fixtures suited to the type of basement club you desire. Use a dimmer switch to control the basement's main light fixture and vary lighting ambiance. Create intimacy and warmth with hanging lights directly over a small table or a lamp next to plush couches in conversation areas. Plan ahead for spots to hang different types of atmospheric lighting such as party lanterns, strobe lights or string lights.

3. Designate a dance floor/performance area. The area does not have to be large but it should have a hard surface. Install a wood, laminate or terrazzo floor in that area if necessary. The hard surface will encourage dancing and provide a "stage" area for friends and family members inclined to provide musical, comedy or storytelling entertainment in your basement club.

4. Locate a sound system and speakers near the dance floor/performance area. Make sure speakers are positioned to provide background music in the basement club's bar and conversation areas when needed.

5. Build a small bathroom in your basement club, if possible. A bathroom will provide guests with easily accessible comfort and enhance the basement club experience. According to Bob Vila, adding a basement bathroom can be a plumbing challenge. Waste removal is harder without the assistance of gravity that exists in upstairs bathrooms. Upflushing toilets and sewage ejector systems can solve the problem. If it's impossible to build a bathroom in your basement club, make sure guests have convenient access to an upstairs bathroom.

References

• Bob Vila: Basement Remodeling Ideas: Overcoming Obstacles
• Bob Vila: Creating Lighting Schemes
• Bob Vila: Basement Bathrooms

Resources

• Basement Remodeler: Bringing The Bars To Your Basement
• Dancehub: Your Choices For DIY Home Dance Floor
• Flooring and Carpets: Terrazzo Flooring
• "Introductory Guide to High-Performance Audio Systems: Stereo - Surround Sound - Home Theater;" Robert Harley; 2007