“The great big open basement was a wonderful place for our kids to play,” Sarah McLaren says of the lower level of the home she and her husband, Dan, bought in Country Club Hills in 2013. The makeover came later, in 2021, once their two children were teenagers.
Out went the playroom in favor of a more adult-centric fun zone, complete with a game room, wet bar, billiards table (which doubles as a ping-pong table, thanks to a handy topper) and TV lounge, plus an expanded home gym where Dan often spars with a heavy bag. The mood is clubby and sophisticated, like a secret hideout.
Heeding her clients’ penchant for edgy patterns, Arlington interior designer Erin Tripodi used wallpaper to distinguish the various spaces. A hallway lined with Andy Warhol selfies (a print called “Selfie Flash” from flavorpaper.com) is reminiscent of “flamboyant bathrooms in New York restaurants,” Tripodi says, bringing an element of surprise to a vestibule that might otherwise be overlooked.
The gym is accented with a tiger print wallcovering by Aimee Wilder. “Dan loves to box,” she says, and “the paper fit the eye-of-the-tiger theme perfectly.” In the game room (not pictured), a graphic array of colorful cassette tapes forms the backdrop behind an air hockey table.
Semi-gloss gray paint (Benjamin Moore’s Kendall Charcoal) serves as a unifying element throughout, while enabling the various wallcoverings to stand out. Tripodi chose brass and wood accents for warmth. “Basements usually are bland,” she says. Not this one.
“It makes us happy every time we go down there. We feel transported completely,” Sarah says. “All the wallpapers are conversation pieces—especially the Warhol paper.”
Kids’ reactions to it are especially funny, she adds, having recently overheard her 13-year-old son’s friend asking, “Who’s that weird guy?’”
What goes around comes around. “Kids today are always taking selfies,” she quips, and Polaroids are cool again. Warhol was clearly ahead of his time.
Project Credits:
Interior Design
Erin Tripodi Design
Contractor
Brothers Painters, Beltsville, MD