Joel and Shauna May believed shifting their family to a larger house, but after viewing 3-D renderings of the cellar renovation by Brad McCallum, owner of Urban Abode, they understood they’d be very happy staying put. The couple had a great deal of demands for their 900-square-foot area, which introduced lots of layout challenges.
“What is important to note about Joel and Shauna is they are both passionate people, and they are a few of the most hospitable people you will ever meet,” says McCallum. “They wanted bold and big suggestions for their space, places they could use to get together with friends, to house their growing wine collection and to just relax, curl up and watch a film. What they didn’t need was normal.”
Their dream cellar today includes a full exercise space, media room, wet bar area, wine cellar and bathroom with large steam room.
Basement at a Glance
Who hangs out here: Joel and Shauna May and their kid
Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Size: 900 square feet
Year finished: 2012
Urban Abode
“The couple are happy people who like to spend some time together with friends and share everything they have,” McCallum says.
Urban Abode
McCallum opened the stairwell to the basement as much as possible. “The addition of the stair railing makes the space feel like a dingy cellar and much more like a third story to their home,” he states. Wrought iron spindles and special molding give the stairwell a stylish presence.
A glance through the glass reveals among the cleverest applications of space inside this cellar: McCallum tucked the impressive wine cellar underneath the staircase.
Urban Abode
“What I admire about Joel and Shauna is the fire and daring sense of style. Few people have the guts to decorate with such striking purple background and rich velvet furniture,” McCallum says. “The finished space truly plays to their characters.”
Urban Abode
The clients wanted a home theater but not a dedicated theater room. They also wanted to be able to lounge around with friends and family. This media and fireplace wall includes a 7.1 surround sound system and 70-inch LED TV, so the space can change into a cushy theatre on film night.
Fireplace: L42 gas model, Montigo
Urban Abode
McCallum created a dark custom stain for the built-in maple media cabinets to help camouflage the TV. The element that the clients did want to stand out was that the fireplace, which is surrounded with a white ledgestone marble-style tile and contrasts with the dark cabinetry.
Hint: When mounting a TV above a fireplace, think about your neck! McCallum kept the proprotions of the fireplace pleasing while making sure it was reduced enough so that he can mount the TV at a comfortable viewing level above it.
Urban Abode
“The cabinets were utilized to conceal components for your home theatre, while the upper open cabinets were made to display vases, photos and other collectibles that they have,” says McCallum. The display shelf layout also has light to show off their favourite objects.
Urban Abode
Another element that the clients wanted was a wet bar where they could perch and hang outside, not something just shoved up against a wall socket. “They wanted a sofa feel, so we took our inspiration from some of the great downtown nightspots around Calgary,” McCallum says.
Tile: 12- by 24-inch Cavestone porcelain, Julian Tile; deendant lights: Robinson Lighting and Bath
Urban Abode
The countertops are Brazilian Arabescato marble; the backsplash is a mix of marble and molten glass. Patterned translucent glass to the cupboard doors reflects the lighting.
Cabinet door glass: UC-011, Urban Glassworks; backsplash tile: Evolution Night Fall in a routine of arbitrary strips
Urban Abode
Urban Abode
This cellar has many typical utilitarian features that created design challenges, including low-hanging HVAC ducts and teleposts in strange places. “This two-pillared shelf unit has been created and constructed by us to conceal the teleposts in the cellar,” McCallum says. “Normally these are only hidden in walls but if we had done this it would have created a closed-in space, and we didn’t need to compromise the open concept.”
The exercise room is beyond the translucent glass French doors.
Urban Abode
Urban Abode
“As the designer, my marching orders for your tub were to design something which I thought would look amazing, match their style and operate in the area. That is a lot more vague than you might ever imagine!” McCallum says.
Urban Abode
So he turned to for bathroom layout inspiration, then created an original customized bath where he repeated materials like the floor tile, dark-stained maple cabinetry and Brazilian Arabescato marble countertops utilized on the wet bar. This created continuity throughout the entire basement.
Urban Abode
Among the most significant items about the couple’s wish list has been a steam shower. It was to match up to four people, be easy to clean and provide a few music to sing along to. Large tiles keep the cleanup easy, and waterproof Kohler speakers keep the music pumping.
Urban Abode
The fixtures include a Hansgrohe rain can showerhead, body jets, a shower wand and a Thermasol steam blower.
Accent tile: Ames Tile & Stone
Urban Abode
Joel ditched an unfulfilling career in finance years back and took an opportunity, linking his friends in a coffee roasting company, Fratello’s Roasters. “The appreciation that he developed for great-tasting coffee grown to a deeper admiration for spirits and wines,” McCallum says. Therefore, the couple is constructing an impressive wine collection and wanted a wine cellar to conserve, store and display it.
Urban Abode
The biggest challenge that the wine cellar design introduced was that there didn’t seem to be any room for this. “After looking through hundreds of other wine cellar images on , I gathered my inspiration from a number of images and seemed to the space under their staircase,” McCallum says. “It was not going to be large, but we needed it to be remarkable.”
Urban Abode
Almost 300 bottles are held by the basement. It is properly constructed with spray-foam insulation, a koolR cooling unit made especially for wine cellars and completely custom-designed and -built cabinetry.
Urban Abode
The priority for the wine cellar was proper storage, together with great-looking display coming in a close second. “The perspectives of these wine bottles, the light that’s used and the styles of storage have a bearing on the performance, and also for Joel and Shauna, obtaining this right was very important,” McCallum says.
McCallum had a blast working for this household. “They allowed us to pitch them a few of the most exciting layouts ever, and it gave us a opportunity to build an incredible space,” he states. “Now that they have been enjoying the area for the past couple of months, their friends have affectionately been calling it The Purple Lounge. While they are both very active, they always make the time to slow down and relax with friends each time they get the opportunity.”
