Sunken Treasures

A boldly designed den

Who: Nicolas Burbano Díaz, a designer; David DesLauriers, a retired investment banker; and their French bulldog, Oskar Where: Summerhill

In 2020, Nicolas Burbano Díaz and David DesLauriers bought a narrow two-storey semi in Summerhill. Two years later, they knocked it down and embarked on a modern rebuild, which included upgrading the basement. “With small city lots, you have to maximize every inch,” says Nicolas. Their contractor, the Fifth Wall, completed the job last March, and the couple moved in soon afterward. Related: Inside a restored 1880s Annex home with moody, dramatic interiors

The 800-square-foot lower level, like the rest of the house, is warm and minimalist, with Venetian plastered walls and ceilings and arched doorways. It’s decorated with a mix of high-end designer and vintage furnishings, including an Angelo Mangiarotti–style travertine table. The space serves as a study, a meeting space, a gym and an entertaining area. It’s also equipped with a dog shower for Oskar. The basement has its own entrance, which comes in handy after muddy dog walks and to contain parties, like the one the couple threw for Nicolas’s running club last fall.

“We hosted a sit-down dinner for 22 people,” says Nicolas. “It was exciting to see the room transform.” He created one long table and hired a chef to cook upstairs. Heated concrete floors keep things toasty, and floor-to-ceiling linen drapes create an intimate, cocoon-like atmosphere. “I wanted a space that was set up for hospitality-inspired experiences,” he says.

On regular days, Nicolas uses the basement as a home office. Thanks to casement windows, an open staircase and nine-foot ceilings, it’s as airy and bright as any other room in the house.

An elevated teen hangout

Who: Morgan Marlowe, CEO of Perkopolis; Richard Joynt, VP of partnerships at Perkopolis; and their sons, Henry, 15, and Andrew, 11 Where: Lawrence Park

Morgan Marlowe and Richard Joynt’s basement transformation was part of a larger overhaul to their 6,000-square-foot home. They bought the property in September of 2023 and had planned to just redo the floors, but when they realized that would also involve updating other elements like the wall trim, they decided to do a full-scale reno. They enlisted designer Cynthia Ferguson and project manager Urban Blueprint to transform the home’s interior with vibrant colours and patterns. “Our previous houses have been all greys and whites,” says Morgan. “I wanted colour and lots of it.”

The 1,800-square-foot basement is the home’s central hangout. The boys host a steady stream of friends down there for play dates and sleepovers. “We had a hockey party, and I think there were 20 boys on the couch,” says Morgan. It’s also common to find a raft of kids seated at the black quartzite bar. The teens come and go through a separate entrance.

Down the hall, there’s a cornflower-blue laundry room, a gym with whimsical loopy wallpaper and rubberized checkerboard floors, a pool table, a massive sectional with an 85-inch TV, and a wine cellar that the family uses as a games room.

“The space was supposed to be a man cave, but my husband jokes that it’s turned into a boy cave,” says Morgan. Still, the couple has hosted a friend’s 50th birthday, a housewarming and NHL playoff parties. “No one even goes upstairs. It’s a bonus that everything stays clean up there.”

A holiday-inspired refuge

Who: Martin Grzadka and Monika Wilk, owners of wealth-management firm Wilk Grzadka Group, and their sons, Henry, 11, and Oskar, 9 Where: Burlington

Martin Grzadka and Monika Wilk bought their urban barn–style house in Burlington’s Shoreacres neighbourhood a decade ago. The place has salvaged barn beams in the ceiling and light wood accents throughout. It also had a 2,500-square-foot finished basement, but it was a bland and neglected space, and they barely used it.

In March of 2023, the family travelled to Marrakech for a vacation and stayed at a Nobu hotel. In the serene lobby, the boys played pool while Monika and ­Martin drank mint tea on an armless sofa, admiring the space’s calming sepia colour scheme and curvy furnishings.

Back home, they decided to transform their basement into something resembling that Nobu lobby. “We wanted it to feel like a hotel, elegant but kid-friendly,” says Monika. The couple enlisted designer Lisa Kooistra and contractor York Renovations and Design to create a sophisticated yet relaxed family hideout.

Designed for lounging, cocktails and recreation, the space is taupe-toned down to the custom oak pool table (a handy cover converts it into a poker table). Ribbed wood adds texture to the walls and conceals the furnace-room door. Similar fluting covers a gas fireplace and bar, above which hangs a Samsung Frame TV. The family watches sports and spends quality time here. “The kids will play pool while we have coffee or cocktails on the sofa,” says Martin.

The space transports them back to their trip. “You have that enveloping feeling you get in a nice hotel,” says Martin.