"Marcel's 1940s Milwaukee home, which he shares with his boyfriend, Ben, fell into that first category of being an unfinished space for storing almost entirely forgotten stuff. "It had cinder block walls with chipping paint and some old wood paneling that had been roughly cut out at the bottom from the previous owners installing a drain," Marcel says. "It was cold and full of spiderwebs when we first moved in, and not a place we ever wanted to hang out.""
"But after being invited into nearby homes that had finished basements, Marcel saw how cozy they could be for an intimate crowd. "The one common theme I noticed was that most have a basement bar from the '60s or '70s, and I love that," he says. "I'm not much of a drinker, but the idea of having people over for a little cocktail party in the dead of winter totally made me want to create that kind of environment in our home.""
"Besides creating a bar where friends and family could gather away from the cold, he also wanted to designate a living space to its side. A portion of the budget would be used to spruce up a bedroom and bathroom in the basement's corner for future guests, too. "I wanted people to feel like they were stepping back in time, so I had very specific design"
Marcel Dagenais renovated an unfinished 1940s Milwaukee basement that originally had cinder block walls, chipping paint, and old wood paneling, leaving it cold and full of spiderwebs. Marcel, originally from California, drew inspiration from nearby finished basements and the retro basement bars common in the 1960s and 1970s. He aimed to create a cozy environment for winter gatherings and designated a living area beside a bar. With a $3,000 budget, he planned to capitalize on the existing mid-century paneling and also refresh a basement bedroom and bathroom for future guests.
Read at Apartment Therapy
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