Sleek maple cabinetry and concrete counters provide space for the art collection and lend a contemporary feel.   After photos by Maxwell MacKenzie

Jonas Carnemark, head of the Bethesda, Md.-based design/build firm Carnemark Systems & Design, was able to give his clients everything they were looking for and then some, transforming the 1,347-square-foot below-grade space from ordinary to extraordinary during the six-month project. In addition to the original guest room, full bath and game area, their new basement includes an exhibition vestibule designed to showcase the husband's treasured collection of Australian art, a family computer center, spectacular home theater and even a 1,500-bottle, climate-controlled wine cellar.

The use of upscale materials such as maple cabinetry, bamboo flooring and custom concrete countertops gives the lower level's former run-of-the-mill appearance a modern, Scandinavian-inspired style that the homeowners plan to gradually integrate into their main living areas upstairs as well.

"This project was all about re-addressing the configuration of space in the basement to improve the flow and make better use of what was already there," says Carnemark, who is both a certified remodeler and a certified kitchen designer.

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Carnemark says the most challenging element of this project was the improvement of the transition between levels. "It was very important to the homeowners that we create a more sensible flow from the upper floor to the lower one so that it felt like they were moving from one finished space to the next. We accomplished this by re-working the stairs to give the entry to the basement a more gracious feel."

The new staircase to the basement is wider and provides more headroom than its predecessor. Modern cable detailing accents the maple handrail. In the new computer center, Jonas Carnemark came up with a clever solution to concealing wall-mounted meters without restricting access to them: a moveable wall above the built-in desk.

Another big change was the conversion of the basement's former play room into a sleek home theater with a full wall of cabinetry and display shelving that frames a niche for a 50-inch plasma television. Originally, a vertical support column bisected the opening between the game area and the future home theater. Carnemark removed the single, ill-positioned bearing point and replaced it with two columns that were then incorporated into new walls designed to define the transition between the rooms. "We used a temporary wall to provide structural support while we excavated and poured footings for the new posts," he says.

While it looks rounded, the cabinet wall in the new home theater is not. The perception of a radius wall is actually an optical illusion, the remodeler says. A curved plinth was constructed to serve as the base for the conventional square cabinet components that were stepped back along the perimeter of the elevated platform.

In addition to addressing flow of space, room function and storage requirements for this project, Carnemark says he kept in mind his client's strong desire to have a place to display artwork. The new lobby at the base of the staircase features built-in, library-style shelves with flat wall space above them. He also made sure the walls in other sections of the basement would accommodate oversized paintings, including a 12- by 7-foot piece that hangs in the home theater.

A custom-built pedestal in the new home theater gives the illustion that the media wall curves.

Says Carnemark: "Rationalizing the way these necessary elements come together ultimately gives the entire space a much better and more finished look."