They Made the Basement the Most Attractive Part of the House: living small

 

“As their need for living space expanded, Joël Onorato and Anne-Charlotte Paret began to feel boxed in by their rowhouse in Washington, D.C.

 

Mr. Onorato, 36, an architect, and Ms. Paret, 37, an economist, had purchased the home for just over $1 million in 2020, when they only had one toddler. Measuring about 1,500 square feet over two floors, and with only one finished bathroom, the compact home had initially seemed like enough for the young family

 

By 2023, however, spatial pressures began to mount. Their first child was growing, and they were planning to have a second baby. Parents from both sides of the family, who live in France and Italy, wanted to come help raise the children, now 6 and 1, and hoped to stay for months at a time.

 

In such a tight, urban location, there was no easy way to build an addition or space for a stand-alone accessory dwelling unit. But there was a basement. It was largely unfinished, and contained a utilitarian bathroom, a makeshift laundry area and a utility room, but Mr. Onorato couldn’t ignore that it offered a potential 360 square feet of additional living space.

 

At the same time, he was planning to establish his own architecture firm, Joël Onorato Workshop, and was looking for projects that could showcase his design chops. Aware that basements are often the musty misfits of homes, where few people enjoy spending time, he envisioned making his basement one of his home’s most attractive spaces.

 

“The goal was to transcend the unfavorable conditions that the basement has, which are low ceilings, very basic finishes, seeing the guts of the house, and most importantly, very little light,” said Mr. Onorato, who was born and raised in Italy. “I wanted to make it almost more special than the regular floors, to make up for this disadvantaged starting point.”

 

To keep costs down and reduce waste, he also planned to use a mix of utilitarian and salvaged materials.

 

Seeking to bring as much natural light into the basement as possible, Mr. Onorato began by taking stock of the existing windows. It wasn’t promising: The basement had two small windows at the front and another small window and a windowed door leading to a parking spot at the back.

 

To allow the meager light to flow freely, he divided the space into a bedroom, bathroom and laundry area using plywood walls and sliding doors that only run perpendicular to the windows. Where he needed walls running parallel to the windows, he used clear glass for the bedroom and frosted glass for the bathroom, so the light shined through.

 

In another area, he needed to conceal a plumbing pipe but wanted to lose as little space as possible. Inspired by an installation of mirrored columns by the artist Olafur Eliasson at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, Mr. Onorato covered the pipe with a folded piece of mirror-polished stainless steel, which had the added benefit of reflecting light.

 

At the front of the house, he hid an electrical panel by thickening the whole wall with functional elements. Built from plywood, the wall frames the windows while providing a bench, storage drawers and a desk for the bedroom. The wall above the desk is finished in more mirror-polished stainless steel, “almost like a third window,” Mr. Onorato said.

 

To create visual depth in the bedroom, he painted the cement-coated wall behind the bed deep blue before adding a custom plywood bed frame with integrated night stands and sconces, as well as lighting that highlights the texture of the wall.

 

The bathroom is only 34 square feet, but Mr. Onorato hoped to make it feel luxurious. He bought an inexpensive toilet, but covered the tank and plumbing lines with a brushed stainless steel cabinet that also stores toilet paper and a wastebasket. To finish the shower, he found premium aqua green tile from Clé Tile at a surplus building material store.

 

For a sense of atmosphere, he installed a light strip behind the mirror, which washes a painted brick wall with light. To save space, he mounted a soap dispenser and toothbrush holder directly on the mirror.

 

For the laundry area, which is tucked under the staircase, Mr. Onorato sourced a leftover slab of marble from an architectural salvage yard and had a stone fabricator turn it into a counter with an integrated sink.

 

Mr. Onorato hired a contractor but also did some of the work himself, and built the project in a stop-and-go fashion. After starting in the summer of 2023, the overhauled basement was finished in the spring of 2024. The total cost was about $90,000.

 

“Our parents love it,” Mr. Onorato said. “The fact that we can host parents or in-laws in their own space while they also help us with our children really helps with staying on good terms.”

 

And, in those rare moments when the basement isn’t occupied, the couple have found another benefit of their own. “Sometimes we go downstairs to shower,” Mr. Onorato said, “because it’s nicer than the one we have upstairs.” [1]

 

1. They Made the Basement the Most Attractive Part of the House: living small. McKeough, Tim; Suchman, Scott.  New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Feb 4, 2026.