In the Midwest and the Northeast, basements hold a special place of imagination in the minds of homeowners contemplating remodeling. For residents of other parts of the United States where homes are built on slab, this can be difficult to comprehend. Most basements are dark, functional and unattractive. But they have evolved into family retreats, places for hobbies and recreation. And with today’s huge audio/video systems, it has also become an ideal place to watch sports and movies. Indeed unfinished basements provide a tabula rasa — a blank slate — upon which homeowners can fill sought-after lifestyle voids.

Such was the case with a couple in Malvern, Pa., with three young children. Their basement dream space was actually five dream spaces. They wanted a bar, a game room, an exercise room, a children’s play room and a bathroom changing room. And somewhere in the mix they wanted to build display cases for a collection of swords won in college fencing competitions. Oh yes, and they did not want a lot of separate rooms. Instead, they wanted the entire 1,817-sq.-ft. space to be as open as possible. The design task fell to Jeff Brinton and architect and principal at Gardner/Fox, a design-build remodeling firm in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Roughly U-shaped, the large basement of this 10-year-old home had the added advantage of being open along the rear portion. Thus, natural light was available from existing sliding glass doors that open onto a yard. In future years, the family plans to build a pool/deck/patio combination, so a major consideration for planning the space was how to best complement the yard.

“One part of the solution was to build a changing room with lockers and benches on one side of the ‘U,’ ” says Brinton. “It was designed to be easily accessible from the backyard. So, when they complete the pool in the backyard, their kids and guests can just stay in the basement level instead of going upstairs.”

This pool-facing part of the basement was designed with 9-ft. doors and large paddle fans as well as tile throughout — so it would be OK to walk around in dripping-wet bathing suits. It is a place where people can come in from the sun temporarily, or where they can shower and change before coming into the rest of the finished basement with all of its other uses — primarily relaxing, playing games and watching TV. Except for the exercise space located on the opposite end of the “U,” the rest of the basement floor is covered in hardwood floors — a special engineered walnut that can be installed over concrete. And, true to the customer’s wishes, almost the entire space is open, without seeming wide open. This effect, says Brinton, is achieved by designing various focal points to anchor each functional space.