Love That Basement

Design by Fiori Interior Design
Photography by Mike Van Tassell
Text by Donna Rolando

A self-proclaimed arachnophobe, a North Caldwell homeowner has made it a habit to stay out of the cellars of homes. “I don’t do basements,” she says. “I have a huge fear of spiders.”

That’s why her four-bedroom Craftsman-style home’s “lower level”—a euphemism—needed a redesign more than most. Now, with a new wine-tasting room inspired by her family’s Bavarian roots, this homeowner is breaking her own rules about basements—although she still occasionally sends her husband down to check for any “intruders.”

Although photos of Germany provide a connection, a parquet floor gives the TV room a flavor distinct from the nearby wine-tasting room.

Perhaps understandably, the home’s lower level was left to last in the room-by-room renovation that was launched shortly after the couple purchased the place 17 years ago to raise two boys. With the passing in 2021 of the homeowner’s mom, the family made a discovery: a wine barrelhead carved with her mom’s family name and native town. That town was Randersacker in Bavaria, Germany, where winemaking spans generations. (“The whole town has vineyards,” says the homeowner.) The barrelhead helped spark a transformation. Before, the lower level had become “a catch-all for junk.” Today, it’s a hit with social gatherings.

Selections are handily displayed in this wooden wine rack with faux crocodile wallpaper.

The designer was Terri Fiori of the eponymous Wyckoff design firm, with whom the family worked for years and who “always knew the right direction to go.” Not long after the barrelhead discovery, Fiori took on the mission of integrating the basement into everyday life.

“I wanted to have the feeling of a charming small town in Germany—you know, to have it feel like a small restaurant,” she says. “So I thought the banquette was the perfect focal point for below the barrelhead.” The mustard-yellow banquette by Craig Allen Designs is easily the homeowner’s favorite spot. “It almost has a Swiss Alps or a diamond-shaped pattern that was to me very European,” the designer notes.

Just as in any good restaurant, performance fabric by Elitis takes the “Oh-no!” out of “Uh-ohs” with wine, while offering a soft velvet. The custom table by Contemporary Craftsman unites warm wood and a cold black iron base with a “handmade feel” that complements hand-forged accessories in a lightup display cabinet. The room is designed to be a true showcase for the couple’s treasures from their jaunts to Germany.

Designer Terri Fiori endeavored to give the wine-tasting room with its inspirational barrelhead the feel of a German restaurant.

No room at the table? Pull up a faux Navy leather stool with brass accents at the 6-foot, granite-and-mahogany wine-tasting bar, where wrought-iron wall sconces illuminate your selection. For high contrast with the yellow, Fiori deviated from the traditional German bar scene with faux crocodile navy wallpaper that now turns heads. Her take on this Big Croco by Elitis? “I thought it was something completely unexpected.”

Where the barrelhead takes center stage, an antique mirror works to open the space across the entire back wall. Fiori chose darker cabinetry, not only for function, but also to create a mood with polished countertops of absolute black granite.

Like this room’s barrelhead inspiration, the 40-inch-by-60-inch marble mural (honed for contrast) between Gothic-arched mahogany cabinets also tells a story. “We took a photograph from my clients’ mom’s hometown, and we replicated that into a mosaic,” she says. Glass shelves stretch across the front to ensure that no space is wasted.

This mosaic mural depicts a place the homeowner’s mom knew well: her Bavarian hometown.

To enhance the room’s European charm, the designer mimicked cobblestone with the flooring by Bergen Brick, Stone & Tile, while overhead she conquered a height challenge with embossed tin metal silver. “It looks really cool,” she says, “and it reflects the light.”

Because this room is meant for tasting, there’s a Big Croco-lined wood wine rack with wrought-iron bars and a closet converted into a Vintec wine refrigerator, all floor-to-ceiling. It’s a familiar haunt for these empty nesters to gather with friends for wine and a charcuterie board she can serve with ease.

For the avid football fans in the house, Fiori made the lower level come alive with a TV room that incorporates the rich flavor of Bavaria in regional photographs by a relative of the family, Michael Malandra. While images of a scooter and streetcar burst with color, the grape harvest is celebrated in black and white, creating a connection to the wine-tasting room further perpetuated by the dark cabinetry. “They still do this—go out there and harvest grapes,” says the homeowner. “A lot is still done by hand.” The harvest photo cleverly hides a well window to banish that basement vibe, which Fiori also remedies with raised panels instead of flat walls.

While creating interest with patterns and contrasting colors, each piece of furniture maximizes the joy of the game experience: ottomans from Samuelson Furniture score as footrests, olive velvet chairs by EJ Victor with accessory tables swivel between conversation and the screen, and a neutral sofa offers 10 feet of viewing comfort. Dual ottomans that cradle a glass table are meant to move where needed.

To give this room its own personality, Fiori supersized parquet tile—honed to avoid slips. “We wanted the look of wood and the warmth of wood but the practicality of porcelain,” explains Fiori. No tin metal silver here—rather, detail gives the drop ceiling a unique architectural feel. Sconces with black-satin finish complement the room’s recessed lighting.

One challenge the TV room faced was that there was no room for a TV— until the designer arranged to close a wall, that is. Another was the logistics of fitting the 10-foot sofa down the blue-trellis-rug stairs—a feat accomplished with two smaller sections.

Getting rid of that creepy, crawly feeling for which basements are notorious took some creative design and the right inspiration. But with the completion of the project in February, the homeowners now have a lower level they can enjoy and be proud of.

As for the mom who inspired the wine-tasting room with a barrelhead, the homeowner knows she’d approve. “I think she would have thought it was really special,” she says, “because it’s filled with all things from her town and from her area.” Right down—as she might have added— to the wine glasses.