Mason, Ohio Basement Remodel

As with many remodels, the project included a few design challenges that required thoughtful solutions. Existing hardwood flooring had already been installed prior to construction, which required strategic removal and careful transitions as new elements were built. In the lower-level, structural soffits housing mechanical systems could not be removed so the design incorporated them seamlessly into the layout while maintaining the clean aesthetic of the space. In the primary bathroom the challenge was fitting the the extensive wish list into a relatively compact footprint, something the final design accomplish beautifully. The result is a cohesive renovation that delivers both comfort and style. With thoughtfully designed gathering areas, bold material selections, and they improved functionality throughout the bathrooms, the home now feels refreshed, distinctive, and perfectly suited for entertaining and everyday living.

1^st Floor Hall Bathroom: There’s a quiet confidence to this space—the kind that comes from restraint paired with a few deliberately expressive moments. The architecture sets the tone first: 10-foot ceilings give the room a natural sense of openness, and the design leans into that height rather than competing with it.

At the center, the custom floating walnut vanity introduces warmth and craftsmanship. Its natural finish allows the grain to read clearly, bringing a richness that feels both tailored and organic. That warmth is grounded by the Verona soapstone countertop, whose deep, velvety surface adds a subtle weight and contrast. The pairing of walnut and soapstone feels timeless—earthy, tactile, and quietly luxurious.

The vanity wall becomes a focal composition. A textural “Giant Leaves in Green” wallcovering adds depth and movement, catching light in a way that shifts throughout the day. Suspended above, the aged brass pendants introduce a soft glow and a sculptural presence, their warm metallic tones echoed in the Brizo Allaria fixtures in Luxe Gold. The 60-inch oval mirror stretches vertically, reinforcing the room’s height while softening the geometry with its gentle curve.

Underfoot, the 12″ x 24″ Amelia Smoke matte tile is laid parallel to the vanity, subtly elongating the space. Its restrained, linear movement provides a calm foundation that allows the more expressive materials to stand forward.

The shower is where the palette deepens. The 3″ x 12″ Terra Motta Emerald tile, installed in a vertical brick pattern, draws the eye upward, amplifying the ceiling height while introducing a rich, glossy saturation. Within this field, the Lamarca Paradiso Argento Modella mosaic creates a moment of intricacy—its geometric pattern and lighter tones offering contrast and visual relief against the darker green surround.

A 60″ x 30″ Signature Hardware soaking tub sits cleanly within the composition, its simple form allowing the surrounding materials to take focus. The glass enclosure keeps sightlines open, ensuring the tilework reads as a continuous, immersive surface.

The remaining walls, finished in Benjamin Moore Shenandoah Taupe, provide a quiet, grounding backdrop. The tone complements the walnut beautifully, allowing the vanity to feel integrated rather than isolated, while also balancing the cooler greens and greys throughout the space.

Altogether, the bathroom feels layered but disciplined—warm wood, cool stone, glossy ceramic, and soft metallics working in harmony. It’s a space that uses texture and verticality to elevate itself, achieving a sense of sophistication that feels considered rather than overdesigned.

Primary Bathroom: There’s a sense of quiet refinement to this primary bathroom—one that comes not from a single statement, but from the careful layering of tone, texture, and proportion. It feels expansive yet intimate, with each material chosen to reinforce a cohesive, understated elegance.

The custom inset maple cabinetry establishes the foundation. Finished in a soft Timber stain, it brings a gentle warmth that feels tailored and enduring. The inset construction adds precision and craftsmanship, giving the vanities and makeup area a furniture-like presence. This warmth is carried seamlessly into the Taj Mahal leathered quartzite, whose soft, honed texture and subtle movement introduce a natural richness without excess sheen. The stone reads as both refined and approachable—quietly luxurious rather than overtly dramatic.

Underfoot, the 12″ x 24″ Prestige Calacatta Gold Soft tile creates a luminous base. Its delicate veining and light tone open the room visually, while the parallel layout elongates the space and reinforces a sense of order and flow.

The shower becomes a study in contrast and texture. One wall, clad in 18″ x 48″ Wood Ridge Oak reeded tile, introduces vertical rhythm and depth. Its linear texture draws the eye upward, adding dimension while echoing the warmth of the cabinetry. Opposing it, the 12″ x 24″ Prestige Calacatta Gold Lux tile extends across the remaining walls and continues outward into the makeup area and around the window. This continuity softens transitions between zones, allowing the room to feel unified rather than segmented.

Details are handled with precision and restraint. Polished nickel Schluter trim crisply frames the tile edges and niches, providing a refined outline that aligns with the Moen Flara plumbing fixtures. The polished nickel introduces a cool clarity that balances the warmer tones of the wood and stone, preventing the palette from feeling overly warm.

At the vanity, two 24″ x 48″ mirrors in aged brass add both scale and softness. Their vertical orientation enhances the ceiling height, while the gentle curvature of their profile tempers the room’s clean lines. The aged brass finish subtly echoes the warmth of the cabinetry and quartzite, while the Rejuvenation Aged Brass cabinet hardware in champagne bronze adds a complementary, layered metallic note—intentional, but never overpowering.

Lighting is equally considered. The Arhaus Amoroso sconces in polished nickel provide a soft, diffused glow, their sculptural glass forms adding a touch of delicacy. Their placement reinforces symmetry while maintaining a light, airy presence against the Benjamin Moore Pale Oak walls—a hue that sits comfortably between warm and cool, allowing all materials to coexist without tension.

The makeup area introduces a more intimate moment within the larger composition. Framed by the same quartzite and cabinetry, it benefits from natural light at the window, with the surrounding tile continuing the visual language of the shower. The result is a seamless extension of the space—functional, yet integrated into the overall design narrative.

Altogether, the room feels composed and enduring. Warm woods, soft stone, luminous tile, and layered metals work in quiet harmony, creating a bathroom that is less about contrast and more about continuity. It’s a space that prioritizes balance and material integrity—refined, comfortable, and thoughtfully resolved.

Lower Level: This lower level reads as a refined retreat—designed for gathering, but with a deliberate sense of mood and material depth that sets it apart from the lighter, more open spaces above.

The wet bar establishes that tone immediately. The maple cabinetry in a Mudslide stain brings a rich, grounding warmth, elevated by its clean, tailored lines. Paired with the American Soapstone leathered granite, the palette leans into depth and texture—the countertop’s matte surface absorbing light rather than reflecting it, creating a quiet, sophisticated presence. The Astoria Flute herringbone backsplash in the French 75 colorway introduces movement and precision; its linear pattern catches the under-cabinet lighting, adding a subtle rhythm without overwhelming the composition. The Brizo Litze faucet and Blanco composite sink in Truffle maintain the tonal continuity, while the mixed champagne and matte black Alno hardware adds a refined contrast that feels intentional rather than decorative.

Across the room, the “Giant Leaves in Grey” wallcovering softens the space with scale and texture. Its organic pattern introduces movement while staying within a restrained, tonal palette. Flanked by Ian K. Fowler Calvino sconces in aged iron and hand-rubbed antique brass, the wall becomes both a visual anchor and a transition point—bridging the bar area to the larger living spaces.

The media wall is where the design deepens. Custom cabinetry, stained to match the bar, grounds the room and introduces a sense of permanence. The German antique glass in the upper cabinets, softly illuminated, adds a layer of depth and quiet shimmer. Opposite, the expansive seating counter behind the sofa—topped in the same leathered soapstone—reinforces material continuity while subtly defining the space.

The custom 17-foot beam and floating shelves bring architectural structure to the wall. Integrated puck lighting highlights curated objects, adding warmth and dimension. Behind the screen, the Versace Butterfly Barocco wallcovering in charcoal introduces a more dramatic, textural backdrop—rich but controlled—framed by Arhaus Udaya sconces that add a sculptural glow.

The palette throughout is carefully calibrated. Benjamin Moore Collingwood keeps the walls soft and neutral, while Iron Mountain—used on the tray ceiling and architectural accents—adds contrast and depth, drawing the eye upward and defining the media zone without closing it in.

In the fireplace seating area, the space shifts again—becoming more intimate and conversational. The 60-inch linear electric fireplace is set within large-format 24”x48” Aesthetica Arabesco Orob matte tile, whose bold veining introduces movement while maintaining a refined, cohesive palette. The vertical stack installation enhances the sense of height, while the custom-stained mantel ties directly back to the media beam, creating continuity across the room.

Seating is arranged to encourage gathering—soft, sculptural chairs and a warm, layered rug grounding the space—while the Dainolite chandelier above introduces a modern, almost sculptural element that balances the richness of the surrounding materials. The existing French doors, painted in Iron Mountain, frame the space with contrast and anchor the perimeter.

Altogether, the lower level feels immersive and intentional. It carries forward the home’s attention to detail and material integrity, but shifts into a deeper, more atmospheric expression—where layered textures, rich finishes, and thoughtful lighting create a space designed equally for entertaining and retreat.

Lower Level Bathroom: There’s an immediacy to this space once you see it—a confident interplay of contrast and texture that feels both grounded and intentional. It carries forward the material language of the lower level, but expresses it with a slightly sharper edge. At the center, the floating walnut vanity immediately anchors the room. Its natural finish reveals a rich, expressive grain that brings warmth and depth against the cooler, darker backdrop. Paired with the American Soapstone leathered granite, the composition feels tactile and substantial—the countertop’s matte, almost velvety surface softening the overall palette while reinforcing the lower level’s more intimate tone.

What defines the room most clearly is the wall treatment. The 2.5″ x 10″ Pukka Smoke gloss tile stretches across both the shower plumbing wall and the vanity wall, creating a continuous, enveloping surface. Installed in a horizontal brick pattern, it introduces a strong linear rhythm, while its tonal variation and glossy finish catch and diffuse light, adding movement without breaking the monochromatic feel. This continuity between wet and dry zones gives the room a cohesive, architectural clarity.

The shower itself introduces contrast through scale and softness. The Reves de Rex tile, carried from the floor into the shower walls in a gloss finish, brings a luminous, stone-like quality with gentle veining and warmth. Set against the darker Pukka Smoke wall, the juxtaposition feels deliberate—light against dark, smooth against textured—creating a layered, balanced composition. The glass enclosure preserves these sightlines, allowing both materials to read fully without interruption.

Plumbing fixtures from the Pfister Winter Park collection in polished nickel add a crisp, reflective counterpoint. Their clean profiles stand out subtly against the darker tile, while coordinating seamlessly with the Hudson Valley Lefferts sconces. These elongated fixtures introduce verticality and a soft glow, their sculptural glass forms adding lightness against the richly textured wall.

At the vanity, the Everleigh mirror in black provides a quiet frame—grounding the composition and tying into the matte black Top Knobs hardware. The mix of finishes—polished nickel and matte black—feels intentional and layered, adding depth without competing for attention.

The surrounding walls in Sherwin Williams Dovetail wrap the space in a moody, mid-tone grey, bridging the darker tile and the warmer stone. The result is a palette that feels cohesive and immersive—neither stark nor overly heavy.

Altogether, this bathroom feels both refined and confident. It builds on the material continuity of the lower level—walnut, soapstone, layered metals—but introduces stronger contrast and a more defined graphic quality. It’s a space where texture, tone, and repetition do the work, creating a room that feels composed, modern, and quietly striking.