Houzz TV: Kristen Bell Treats Her Sister to a Bright New Basement
Watch how the actor from Frozen uses Houzz to find a designer, buy products and then surprise her sister with a remodelled basement
Mitchell Parker
8 March 2017
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
“A little sister always looks up to her big sister, no matter what age you are,” says actor Kristen Bell. Recently, the former Veronica Mars star and voice of Anna in the Disney hit Frozen decided to show her appreciation for her big sis Sara by surprising her and her family with a full-on basement remodel. “She’s honestly in my eyes a superwoman,” Bell says.
“After” photos by Mars Photo and Design
Basement at a Glance
Who lives here: Sara, Tom and their four kids
Location: Detroit
Size: 95 square meters
Designer: Melissa Kennedy of Meadowlark Design+Build
Watch now: See Kristen Bell surprise her sister with a dream basement remodel
Sara moved into her Detroit house 12 years ago with her husband, Tom. At the time, the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house suited the couple just fine. But after four kids, it had gotten a little tight. They were “busting out of the windows of this house,” Bell says.
Basement at a Glance
Who lives here: Sara, Tom and their four kids
Location: Detroit
Size: 95 square meters
Designer: Melissa Kennedy of Meadowlark Design+Build
Watch now: See Kristen Bell surprise her sister with a dream basement remodel
Sara moved into her Detroit house 12 years ago with her husband, Tom. At the time, the three-bedroom, one-bathroom house suited the couple just fine. But after four kids, it had gotten a little tight. They were “busting out of the windows of this house,” Bell says.
BEFORE: Bell decided to focus her attention on the basement, which was a hodgepodge of unfinished and finished spaces that had been somewhat remodelled over the years. The layout was inefficient and not very inviting. “Sara hasn’t had the time to reimagine it for the kids,” Bell says. “I wanted to figure out a way to maximise the house and make the basement a place everyone would gravitate toward.”
Watch now: Don’t miss Kristen Bell surprising her sister
Watch now: Don’t miss Kristen Bell surprising her sister
AFTER: Since Bell lives more than 2,000 miles away in Los Angeles, she used Houzz to transform the space. The renovation is part of My Houzz, a video series documenting public figures as they surprise a close family member with a home renovation. The pilot episode of My Houzz featured Ashton Kutcher, who is an executive producer of the series.
Bell looked at Houzz profiles of design professionals in the Detroit area and found Melissa Kennedy of Meadowlark Design+Build. She liked that Kennedy’s firm handles both the design and the building sides of construction.
She also loved the style of the projects on Meadowlark’s Houzz profile and felt confident in Kennedy’s abilities based on all the positive reviews she read there. “I knew she was the one to trust with this project,” Bell says. Bell and Kennedy also bought almost all the new furnishings and accessories from the Houzz Shop.
Kennedy and the construction team gutted the basement, removing walls to create a more open layout. The style Kennedy and Bell decided on is what Kennedy calls “simplified traditional.” “Warm colours, warm textures, nothing too cool, comfortable furniture, nothing too froufrou or overly ornate,” she says.
Kennedy removed the drop ceiling and painted the exposed rafters a light colour to help brighten the space. “That extra 8 inches really helps increase your perspective,” she says. The floors are refinished concrete.
Bell looked at Houzz profiles of design professionals in the Detroit area and found Melissa Kennedy of Meadowlark Design+Build. She liked that Kennedy’s firm handles both the design and the building sides of construction.
She also loved the style of the projects on Meadowlark’s Houzz profile and felt confident in Kennedy’s abilities based on all the positive reviews she read there. “I knew she was the one to trust with this project,” Bell says. Bell and Kennedy also bought almost all the new furnishings and accessories from the Houzz Shop.
Kennedy and the construction team gutted the basement, removing walls to create a more open layout. The style Kennedy and Bell decided on is what Kennedy calls “simplified traditional.” “Warm colours, warm textures, nothing too cool, comfortable furniture, nothing too froufrou or overly ornate,” she says.
Kennedy removed the drop ceiling and painted the exposed rafters a light colour to help brighten the space. “That extra 8 inches really helps increase your perspective,” she says. The floors are refinished concrete.
To make up for the lack of natural light, Kennedy introduced layers of lighting. She also selected 3,000 Kelvin temperature bulbs to replace fluorescent ones. “We didn’t want to go too warm. We went a little bit cooler to simulate natural light,” she says.
BEFORE: The living space occupied about 50 percent of the basement. The other half was dedicated to an unfinished space containing a laundry area and storage for things like tools. There was a peek-through cut-out, pictured, in the wall between the living room and the office, but to get from one room to the other you had to walk through the laundry area. The living space “was visually connected but not physically connected,” Kennedy says.
AFTER: In the renovated living room, Kennedy moved the TV to a new wall, pictured. Sliding doors covered in faux wood wallpaper hide a storage area for things like holiday decorations. “Good design allows you to store things that are easy to access and encourages organisation,” she says.
BEFORE: The staircase and storage beneath it previously were walled off.
AFTER: Kennedy removed the wall between the stairs and the basement to create more of a visual connection with the upstairs. “That way it wouldn’t feel like you’re going down into a secluded room,” Kennedy says. “We wanted it to feel like just another part of the house.”
Bell wanted to create a nook space under the stairs similar to what she has at the house she shares with actor husband Dax Shepard and their children. A cushion sits on 30-inch-deep custom-built cabinets that store the kids’ toys.
Bell wanted to create a nook space under the stairs similar to what she has at the house she shares with actor husband Dax Shepard and their children. A cushion sits on 30-inch-deep custom-built cabinets that store the kids’ toys.
A desk area gives the kids a place to do homework and arts and crafts, while a three-in-one game table and a dart board offer distraction when needed.
A new bathroom in the basement features a large vanity and a walk-in shower.
One of Bell’s main requests for the project was that she wanted to create a bedroom for her 11-year-old niece, Lucy. The bedroom replaced a rarely used home office. “She can have a space to think about who she is and not worry about having to pick up after her brothers,” Bell says. Kennedy added an egress window that brings natural light into the room.
The designer painted the walls off-white and incorporated the pinks and purples that Lucy likes now into the furnishings and accessories, which can easily change out as she gets older. “That way she won’t be stuck repainting the walls,” Kennedy says.
The designer painted the walls off-white and incorporated the pinks and purples that Lucy likes now into the furnishings and accessories, which can easily change out as she gets older. “That way she won’t be stuck repainting the walls,” Kennedy says.
This chest belonged to one of Bell and her sisters’ grandmothers, and it was important that Kennedy find a way to incorporate it into the design. It made sense to include it in Lucy’s room, where it fit perfectly below the new window. Purple knobs updated the dresser without changing it too much.
BEFORE: This bird’s-eye 3-D floor plan shows the basement’s original layout, with the entry staircase at top right. (Click the image to enlarge it.) To get to the home office in the lower left corner, you walked through the unfinished storage space, top, that also housed the washer and dryer.
AFTER: This view shows the reconfigured layout. The new living area is on the right side of the floor plan. At top centre are the game area and homework station, with a small desk area below. In the top left corner of the plan is the new laundry area, and below that is Lucy’s bedroom. The new bathroom is at bottom centre.
“There isn’t one thing I said I would change,” says Sara, pictured on the right with Bell. “Nothing.”
Watch now:
See how Kristen Bell’s sister reacts to seeing her basement transformed
Your turn:
See how to make and use Houzz ideabooks for your own home project
Read:
10 Reasons to Love the Brand New Houzz India
Watch now:
See how Kristen Bell’s sister reacts to seeing her basement transformed
Your turn:
See how to make and use Houzz ideabooks for your own home project
Read:
10 Reasons to Love the Brand New Houzz India
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