Basement Remodels
The lower level reimagined as a true part of the home, lounges, bars, wellness and guest suites, finished to the same standard as the floors above.
A basement is too often the room the rest of the house forgets. At Martire Custom Homes, the lower level is reconsidered as a destination in its own right, a lounge, a bar, a wellness retreat, a media room or a private guest suite, drawn with the same care and structural rigour as the main floors. Shaped by Courtenay Martire from the pre-construction phase onward, these spaces are designed not as an afterthought below grade but as a continuation of the home's character, carried all the way down.
A floor designed, not finished
The difference between a finished basement and a designed one is decided long before the drywall goes up. Working in the pre-architect and pre-construction phase, we read how a household actually wants to use this floor, to gather and entertain, to train and unwind, to host family who stay for weeks at a time, and let that shape the plan from the ground up.
Low ceilings, daylight, egress, mechanical runs and moisture are not obstacles to be hidden but conditions to be designed with. We plan where light is borrowed and where it is layered, how ceiling height is won back, how a wine room, a gym or a screening space is given the proportions it needs. Because Courtenay carries the artistic direction across the whole project, the lower level is never an isolated build, it speaks the same language as the rooms above it.
Lounges, bars, wellness, media and guest suites
A lower level can hold the home's most generous gestures. A panelled lounge with a proper bar and a glazed wine display. A wellness suite with a gym, sauna or spa bath. A media room tuned for sound and shadow. A self-contained guest suite with its own bedroom, bath and kitchenette, finished so a visitor feels as cared for as the principals upstairs.
Each of these is composed rather than assembled. Custom joinery and millwork, considered lighting plans, stone, drapery, textiles and bespoke cabinetry are drawn together so the room reads as intentional, warm and quietly luxurious, never like a basement made the best of.
Finished to the standard of the floors above
The mark of a Martire lower level is that it does not announce itself as a basement. Materials are selected slab by slab and sample by sample; joinery is designed to the millimetre and built by long-standing artisan partners; lighting is planned in layers so a windowless room still feels alive at any hour. The detailing that defines the main floors, the cabinetry proportions, the finishes, the transitions, is carried down the stairs without compromise.
Most often this work sits within a wider renovation, addition or custom home, where the lower level can be planned with the structure rather than retrofitted into it. That is where the design-led, principal-led approach pays its fullest dividend.
A complete, considered scope.
Engaged as your design lead, Martire carries the work across disciplines so nothing falls between trades.
- Lower-level spatial planning and layout
- Lounges, bars and wine rooms
- Wellness suites, gyms and spa baths
- Media and screening rooms
- Self-contained guest suites
- Custom millwork, joinery and cabinetry
- Layered lighting plans for below-grade rooms
- Full artistic direction and project oversight
Good to know.
Do you take on a basement as a stand-alone project?
Most often our lower levels are designed within a wider renovation, addition or custom home, where they can be planned alongside the architecture rather than retrofitted beneath it. We will consider a stand-alone lower level where the scope is substantial and design-led, or where it forms part of a project already in our care. This lets us give the space the depth of attention it deserves, rather than simply finishing it.
Can a basement really feel like the rest of the home?
Yes, when it is designed rather than finished. The difference lives in the decisions made before construction: how daylight is borrowed and layered, how ceiling height is recovered, how mechanicals and moisture are resolved out of sight. With those in hand, the same materials, joinery and lighting that define the main floors can be carried down, so the lower level reads as a true part of the home rather than a space made the best of.
When is the best time to bring Martire in?
As early as possible, ideally in the pre-architect or pre-construction phase. Many of the most consequential decisions on a lower level are made before the build begins, in how light, egress, ceiling height and mechanical runs are planned. Engaging early lets Courtenay either select and work alongside your architect or help shape the plans directly, carrying one vision from the first sketch through to the final styling.
What kinds of spaces work best below grade?
Lounges, bars and wine rooms, wellness suites with gyms or spa baths, media and screening rooms, and self-contained guest suites all sit beautifully on a lower level. The right mix is drawn from how your household actually lives and entertains, and composed so the floor has its own purpose and character rather than a row of leftover rooms.
If your home has a lower level waiting to become something more, we would be glad to hear what you imagine for it.