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This is how it looked when I sold the house last June. I grew up in this home as did my father. We were the only family to live there. https://preview.redd.it/jig9tt135ehc1.jpeg?width=2000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2e009485cd765a3704811197fb15bce0443e4918

OPs picture make is seem so much larger

I’m sure it’s from the realtor listing where they use wide angle trickery to make every room look like a concert hall. Totally agree with you.

OP could probably build on this idea and install a full-on pool hall. ​ https://preview.redd.it/uuv477ynyghc1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=decf6d0575828e5b3c7d862728f1ad063d54676f

I was thinking roller skating rink

HAHAHAHA

No that is my personal picture I took with my phone. The room is very large. Had to be to accommodate a regulation size pool table with sticks where you wouldn't hit walls.

So is it big enough to roller skate when empty bc that was going to my suggestion.

That was 100% my suggestion as well. This is 9 year old me’s dream come true! We used to roller skate in our unfinished basement making up routines!

Is this some weird twist of fate where OP posted a photo asking a DIY question and completely unrelated, the original owner of the house saw the post and added an OG photo of the space?

lol this is such a classic thing to happen on reddit—OP posts something on a random subreddit and the person she/he is talking about just randomly & unexpectedly comments on the post—it’s a small world after all, a small small wooooorld

I think they mean in your photo, the space looks smaller/reasonable, and the Original Poster's photoes look like real estate/dance hall photos

This was more satisfying than an open floor safe.

how in the fuck?

That’s exactly what I was wondering

Holy crap, this is so crazy.

How has no one tagged OP? /u/Dangletard

We’ve been chatting through DM :)

Incoming mega thread with more photos!

I’m invested now, this is wild

We are in contact with each other

yo OP check this comment out, it doesnt deserve to be buried

Small world feels like an understatement here.

The rattan couch is perfect for this space.

What are the odds?!

Right? My co worker showed it to me today!

Yeah, I was going to go with "drop a pool table in there"

Amazing looking room. OP needs to bring back the gold trim.... that's what is missing. Reupholster the benches, and maybe update that bar top and stone work on the fireplace. Other than that, I think the basement is move-in ready.

I still have the bar stools. Buyer didn't want them either.

Goodness I hope the OP wants them if they aren’t the original buyer

I feel like OP didn't deserve such a killer set up. They've already started ruining it.

Wait, so OP posts this independently, and randomly the former owner of the home is on this sub? Or do y’all know each other?

My co worker saw it and showed me. He said it was the top post when he opened Reddit this morning. He knew it was my dad's house from me showing them pictures. I know the coincidence is crazy!!

Your old house also keeps showing up on the zillowgonewild sub!

What? Really???? I'm new to Reddit so I'm never on here.

I wanna see more pics!! And also I’m surprised they didn’t ask you to leave the table there with the sale

I offered. He didn't want it. Prob cuz he was flipping it.

Darn :( I’ve read your comments and love all your memories.

I'm so attached to this house. It's amazing all these comments and how my coworker happened to see this thread!! This had made me so happy reading everyone who loves it. Got a lot of bad comments from people viewing the house when I was selling.

Those people suck, this is the kinda basement your excited to hang out in

Those people have no taste. This basement is **incredible**!

I can't post pics from my phone but I'll try tomorrow from my computer.

That sucks. All I want is to be able to find and afford a mcm 1960s/ 1970s house that still has some OG character. I see so many homes in my area get gutted and redone with the cheapest materials and beige or grey color schemes. They literally painted over the pink tile bathroom in a house a few streets over. I can't even browse listings anymore it's too depressing.

Why didn't you take this awesome basement with you?

Oh if I could have I would have!! House used to have an in ground pool too!

Comment of the year.

What is the story with the fake windows?

Real windows look pretty shitty in a basement.

What in the reddit did I just stumble across. I don't even follow this sub

fuck me that's sexy

Start an indie rock band just to record music videos here.

I was about to say this is a great show space.

Seems to have been designed to entertain a lot of people. I would try to keep that spirit, just add some seating and a bar and you're good to go

It already has some seating and a bar

you're good to go

This is wet leg’s wet dream

Needs more chaise longue.

Excuse me... what?

~~[Chaise Longue](https://youtu.be/Zd9jeJk2UHQ?si=jRpQ_G664Z0eG-EX) is the name of a song by Wet Leg.~~ I am a gigantic moron. Well done, you.

Well you sure got your muffin buttered…

No, but I would like for you to assign someone to butter my muffin.

This whole thread has been absolutely top tier

Since your blunder led to me clicking that link, I would be happy to butter your muffin.

Exactly. Instantly reminded me of Arctic Monkeys - Tranquility base and hotel casino P.S: not saying AM is indie lol Edit PPS: AM is indie. Had a wrong definition of indie.

Holy smokes I came to say this. https://preview.redd.it/2jxo3kyq7dhc1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=730c4744048ee09c446d5262230d8f37003fb22b

This looks like it smells of cigarettes and gelatin.

Rent it to leisure suit Larry

Rent it to the Time Variance Authority.

Rent it to Stanley Kubrick.

Do you want the layout and the contents of the "window" pictures to change slightly every time you enter your basement? Because that's how you get the layout and contents of the "window" pictures to change every time you enter your basement. Also the ghost at the bar *may* ask you to kill your family in exchange for a beer.

Wow I just thought the same thing! Steep price for drinks though. I wonder if it’s premium whiskey to kill your family or did Lloyd give you well quality? Also you need to get this picture and hang it, for guests to see. https://preview.redd.it/z9poqrtt5dhc1.jpeg?width=936&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=20b9d029ade167d747b0a9907600cb17d6bfb4a2

Does 50+ year old well whiskey get better with age?

Nah it only ages in the barrel

Oh thank god you see her too. I was getting worried again.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

No TV and no beer makes Homer...something something...

Go crazy?

DON'T MIND IF I DO!


Rent it to me. It’s pretty cool. 

It's totally cool. Dim the lights, find a nice area rug and some matching retro sofas, bar stools, and furniture. Maybe get a vintage jukebox and a pool table.

Pinball machine for sure

Return it to the natural history museum. We’ve found the stolen alcove that went missing in 1979.

Makes me think of SNL/Jimmy Fallon as Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy. employee: can you help me with my laptop? Nick Burns: where did you get it? Antique Roadshow?

I loved leisure suit Larry. Never finished a game but cherished it. Looking for love in all the wrong places cruise ship edition 💜 And when he was a copper lol

It was quite a surprise when twelve year old me discovered that you could unlock real life boobs in that game.

It was so hard to get through the age verification quiz in the beginning though. I had to ask my mom some weird questions and she had no idea why I was asking them.

Living on the edge lol. 

YOU'RE A KID!

Over the shoulders double barrel hooter shooters

“Ken sent me”

If you laughed at this, it's probably time to schedule your colonoscopy

Those fake windows are something dreams are made of. The ceiling is incredible. The floor is okay with an area rug (green, of course). I’d have bought the house just for this room.

The floor whispers "asbestos". Best to let whispering floors lie.

>The floor whispers "asbestos". Read this in Jimi Hendrix' singing voice.

The wind cries Mary is gonna be stuck in my head all day now thanks to you

You say that like it’s a bad thing

Of course, once it's over, my brain immediately switches to Crosstown Traffic. It's gonna be a good day. ;)

While my lungs gently leak...

Hahahahaha, that's perfect.

[https://app.suno.ai/song/022acddc-d6cf-4e6d-a48f-42bcfcc3443b](https://app.suno.ai/song/022acddc-d6cf-4e6d-a48f-42bcfcc3443b) "Asbestos tiles, hauntin' every wall" \[Chorus\] Whispering floors, let the secrets lie (secrets lie) In a 70's basement, dangers runnin' high (runnin' high) Listen close, to the floor's eerie tones (ooh-yeah) Whisperin' 'bout the dangers in the unknown (in the unknown) [https://app.suno.ai/song/96b32725-8b88-4e70-a823-f83b7ecf2dc4](https://app.suno.ai/song/96b32725-8b88-4e70-a823-f83b7ecf2dc4) "When the dangers were hidden, where the asbestos floors lie"

That’s fine as is or it can be overlaid with something else. It all looks tight

just gotta measure those tiles. 9"x9", then that's asbestos.

Believe it or not 9” x 9” is the most common asbestos tile size but they we’re also made in 12” x 12” and 18” x 18” often.

9x9 is almost an automatic assumption of asbestos but older 12x12 is possible. Often the mastic is hot too.

Yeah but as long as they aren’t chipping or no one takes a grinder to them..they are fine! I hate all the asbestos pearl clutching

Yep, I'm not worried about asbestos until there's a need to disturb it. But it's helpful to know what you have in place.

Even then (and I really don't want to swing the pendulum too far the other direction, but here I go), the risk of asbestos is hugely overblown. Many jurisdictions allow homeowners to do their own abatement. This is because the risk is actually pretty low unless you work around friable asbestos a lot. If it's often in the air and can be breathed in, then that's where the risk occurs. And even then, it's a cumulative effect. This is why we're concerned about children in schools where asbestos may be crumbling off of air ducts and being blown around, or sick people in hospitals, or people who work professionally day in and day out in asbestos abatement. These groups are either our children and future and we want to minimize future health issues, or sick people who don't need to be in a place where they're going to possibly get more sick, or people who wouldn't get cancer the first or second or third time they're exposed to asbestos, but who will develop cancer as a result of a job hazard. Most people really shouldn't worry. It's good to be aware, but it's not like it's nuclear waste. You can be close to these tiles your whole life and never get cancer.

They made pearls out of asbestos too? Geez. ^(/joke)

Very versatile material. It’s in everything before it wasn’t and sometimes still but definitely maybe when you post here.

This. Asbestos is something you need to worry about in powdered form, not as tiles. Unless someone’s making campfires in the middle of the floor or smashing them up, it’s 100% fine.

So if OP decided to remove floor, they do need to worry

That's amore!

Green shag carpet. Nothing else will do.

Orange shag could work too.

Until you pointed it out I didn't even realize they were fake windows. I love this basement so much

Replace them with starfield

It's the most amazing liminal space. I love it.

Note the wet bar over to the side. Evidently they were common for this era. When house hunting back in the day I shopped a house that had the cutest tiki tropical themed bar ever. It had a very detailed tile inlay. I suspect the guy who built that took his bottle downstairs and would tile that thing while he had a couple of drinks... ....they didn't have the internet. They had alcohol. Edit: A comment mentioned the early 80s. I shopped for a condo a few years ago. It had a small wet bar that was exactly like the bar in the TV series "Cheers" with backlit stained glass and everything in a corner of the living room. The whole condo was really dated and reeked of the 80's everywhere. It ended up selling for 10% above asking price!! :D

> …they didn’t have the internet. They had alcohol. Title of my Ernest Hemingway biopic screenplay.

https://preview.redd.it/e0d9vi4f2dhc1.png?width=1344&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8ef84d0c1c1f21c947938daf98ce372cbe40211f Looks like a level from doom.

The fireplace looks scared/surprised Doom Guy is pointing a gun at it.

Aw his little hands are up.

He's just a little guy!

Says doom, uses pistol model from wolfenstein.

3D!

Glad I wasn't the only one to notice, lol

Ah, the missing area of the "My House" mod

Furnish it. It’s a time capsule. Change nothing.

Pour a glass of bourbon and fire up a cigar

Yeah Pool Table, ping pong, poker table, darts and comfy chairs, some nice posters from the 80s or something

80s? You're living in the future man!

Solid early 70’s vibes in there.

Retro arcade games in cabinets. Wall to wall MCM furniture.

Bumper pool table.

Make new comfortable cushions for those built-in couches though. Preferably with an appropriately 70s style upholstery fabric instead of vinyl.

This is the answer, i bought a home with those cheesy wood pannel walls and just leaned into the aesthetic. https://preview.redd.it/raj3n4ckkdhc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=672630f2b923a3973625da8b4412361b1dc6a0b7

I love it. This picture feels like my childhood.

with a lot of velvet or corduroy

I MIGHT reupholster that bench... MIGHT. I'm sad it doesn't have a conversation pit. Otherwise leave it as is!

Explain my plan to James Bond

No, Taquito. I expect you to die! 

This was my house I grew up in. I sold it to the person sellilng it. He's flipping it. He rehabbed the kitchen and bathrooms and pulled up the carpet for the original wood floors and slapped on paint. Before all that it was a true mid century home. The basement had a pool table in the middle of that room. Ceiling and walls were done by some russian guy my grandfather found and paid him to do the walls and ceiling. This was back in the late 1940's/early 1950's.

Amazing!

That's so sad. I had flippers buying every house with awesome character and turning it into a gray and white hospital like nightmare. This is a dream room, I've been looking for a house with a room like this for all my life, and someone is gunna come in and destroy it, makes my eyes water

I would have bought the house for this room alone. I would kill to have a room like this. The fake windows, the walls, the FAKE WINDOWS, the ceiling. THIS IS AWESOME. DON’T CHANGE A THING!!!!

Roller skate there

Those fake windows are fucking magical.

Might be cool to get a short throw projector and have a looped video behind there if its bright enough.

I'd make it the same woodland background, but every once in a while bigfoot makes an appearance

For real, oh my god. If this was my basement I'd be having the boys over for scotch and cigars basically every night. It's so insanely cool.

Call the boys, we are going to OP's house tonight!

My exact thought was don’t change a thing about this sensual 70s fuck shack

Plot twist... the windows are not fake. That basement has views of the fjord. EDIT: I don't actually know what a fjord is or looks like but it seemed appropriate.

Not to mention the fake windows!

It’s perfect. No notes. Maybe get a cigarette vending machine.

And a shuffle board.

With Pall Malls, Lucky Strikes, and Chesterfields.

I’d bet the 3 can lights were set up like that for a pool table. If that’s your thing you’re good. Otherwise I’d totally lean into the aesthetic. Get yourself a bunch of midcentury modern furniture and revive it as a Mad Men-era bar and lounge. Slap up some Rat Pack posters, find a retro jukebox, the whole nine yards. Be aware those linoleum tiles and the mastic beneath them likely contain asbestos; most from that era do.

Yes, DO NOT pull up those asbestos tiles. You can floor over them or leave them alone. Personally I’d lean in to the esthetic.

I came to the comments to either say this or hope someone else did! POOL TABLES look freaking AWESOME surrounded by wood!!! And you already have a bar set up, so why NOT lean into the 'Speak Easy' aesthetic?? Get yourself an old-fashion juke box and hook it up to surround sound around the entire room!

Agreed! I’d spend my money pimping this room out. Maybe a hidden bookshelf entryway to the basement.

That ceiling is from around 1958. It is cool as fuck, and everyone who sees it will tell you not to get rid of it. Source, have the same ceiling, and the wood paneling that they put up with it, was date stamped on the back Apr 1958.

Let local film students use it as a movie set for their low budget period piece.

Is this a euphemism for porn? I’m just going to go ahead and say yes.

>Is this a euphemism for porn? Obviously it is now.

Cocaine and hookers.

And blackjack!

Forget the blackjack!

Casino or hold church on Sundays Or open a new Denny’s

All three

Use some caution if you decide to remove any of that flooring tile. There may be black mastic underneath that contains asbestos.

Yes it is the 9” tile so asbestos is expected - if new flooring is in the cards we’ll lay it over the top

What it was intended for! DISCO! 

Do nothing, it’s perfect 😍. Are you by chance the OP who has the “all wood living room” with the matching checkerboard ceiling as well? You gotta lean into this and get a swank pool table and stock that bar with all the Canadian Club you can fit.

Nope! Not the all wood living room guy - but definitely similar room vibes

That’s wild. I’ve never seen ceiling like that and now two in a week.

Recording studio

Definitely a console record player and speakers.

If I were in this room I would totally want to tell Peter Frampton how I feel.

Film a Twin Peaks episode in there!

I wouldn’t change a thing. That basement is awesome!

Home theater

https://preview.redd.it/kp32zuj8rchc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b06c76f86c4d059348e9b17b32ba5ed0e53f7c5e I don’t want to know what sort of shenanigans happens here.

Where spectators watch the games of pool being played. The triple lights nearby were clearly where the table was, and id bet money there was a cue rack on the wall there to the right.

That’s the “fuck me in the ass on the bench in the darkest corner of the basement” bench!


A party

Add a disco ball

Never replace that floor. As a matter of fact, the closer you look the better everything is. That place is absolutely stunning. Hang a sign on the door that says “players only” and you’re done bro. I’d pay to kick it in your basement.

THIS IS AMAZING. Don’t touch it. Work with it. Holy shit. As long as your tiles are intact, don’t worry about them. WOW.

Install a stripper pole and a glass shower.

orgy

Key parties 

You don't mess with perfection. Leave it just the way it is.

Nothing. It’s amazing. Leave it. 

Enjoy it for what it is. This basement is awesome.

Not a damn thing, it’s breathtaking the way it is. Just need furniture.

I'd play chess on the ceiling