DESIGN&LIVING REMODEL Entertainment Room
The Akasons actually first began their project in the lower level with an extensive remodel to the stairwell, walls, arcade room, theater and bar area. "We started with wanting to do the reclaimed wood just down here with the wainscoting, then it kind of progressed to all over the house," said Jennifer Akason. "One day I just said, 'Lets go up the stairs, it'd be kind of cool to do the wall with the reclaimed wood too.' That turned into the big beams and then eventually into the bedroom. We just kept going with the theme of reclaimed wood because we liked it so much."
Bar
In the lower level bar, the recess was already there with plumbing and vinyl flooring, but the bar and seating area still needed to be built. Staying away from typical bar counter designs, the Akasons chose to do a custom table to allow for more seating. "We thought we'd get more use out of this way than just a standard bar. We like that people can sit on both sides," said Skyler Akason. After the Akasons found the chairs they wanted, they realized the table was not the right size. To amend the issue, Savageau matched the design of the chairs and replicated it's exposed bolt and steel design into the custom table. Skyler Akason incorporated natural stone from Montana and had his landscape company do the install for the bar backsplash wall. Ample LED strip lighting illuminates textured glass and beautiful custom cabinetry designed by Knutson. The bar features open shelving, under-mount sink, a wine refrigerator and Quartzite countertops. "This is Decor Cabinetry, they're a frameless cabinet line with Alder as the wood species in a Cobblestone stain," said Knutson. "The Quartzite countertop on the perimeter of the bar area is in Sequoia Brown and we added a heavy, textured glass toward the top with open shelving below." Knutson also helped them choose a reclaimed woodlook porcelain tile for the bar area. "There is a newer process in tile technology with digital high-definition printing within the tile’s glaze. This is where they photograph actual weathered hardwood and project that image onto the tiles," explained Knutson. "It's a fairly new technology pioneered by Inkjet Printers." 65