Atlanta real estate: Basement remodel helps balance work and life

Home and Garden

Photos: Basement remodel gives family its work/life balance back

When work began taking over common areas of her Mableton home, this business woman changed her commute to the downstairs.

By renovating the basement to add a home office, Laura Grifenhagen Zhiss' work no longers spills over the dining and sitting rooms. The floor plan in the traditional Mableton house, built in 2008, is open from the living room to the kitchen. The couch, chairs, lighting and artwork are from La-Z-Boy. Text by Lori Johnston/Fast Copy News Service.

The 3,500-square-foot Mableton home, built in 2008, has five bedrooms, four full baths and a finished basement.

Tired of working at her dining room table, Grifenhagen Zhiss finished the basement of her Mableton home with a separate office space for her business, Apex Logistics. The Duralee fabric she selected for the custom curtains inspired the lavender hue for the room, which has a custom work center crafted by Jesse Rumsey Cabinets.

The renovated basement, which was finished in 2015, also includes space for a treadmill desk to fend off a sedentary lifestyle. Grifenhagen Zhiss uses it while doing paperwork.

Grifenhagen Zhiss. She used extra cabinetry from her Mableton basement remodel to create a gift closet (she keeps it stocked) and wrapping area.

The boys access the backyard through the basement, so Grifenhagen Zhiss chose "indestructible" concrete floors and added a full bath with a shower downstairs to wash off the kids and their dogs. "I can hose them off before I release them into my actual home," she said.

The game table, from Butler, doubles as a table for dining or other activities when needed in the remodeled basement. "If we want to eat, we can pull up stools to it. If I need to have a meeting, it can serve as a conference room table," Grifenhagen Zhiss said.

Grifenhagen Zhiss found discounted kitchen cabinetry and appliances, which were previously in a Buckhead showroom, through SR Appliance Depot. Although they were not assembled and came from separate collections, Jesse Rumsey Cabinets helped her design and install the kitchen in the full finished basement. In the kitchen are snacks for the kids, her lunch and even casseroles for dinner to heat up when the boys are playing in the backyard.

The living room design revolves around the curtains, which dressed the window in the Mableton neighborhood's model home. When Grifenhagen Zhiss moved into the home, she was pregnant with her first son. She needed furniture for the empty living room, so she took the curtains to the La-Z-Boy Gallery in Kennesaw and asked for design assistance. The store furnished the room, including the artwork.

The dining room, previously used as Grifenhagen Zhiss' office, has regained its focus, especially for Shabbat dinners. A multitiered chandelier from Murray Feiss's Huntley Collection illuminates a seder plate and Shabbat candlesticks, which form the centerpiece for the table throughout the week.

This console from Hooker Furniture holds treasured items, including a menorah, a kiddush cup, a havdalah set and a torah that was a gift from a neighbor.

Grifenhagen Zhiss purchased the piano that anchors her family's music room when she was a college student. She still plays, and said her 5-year-old son, Benjamin, recently asked her to teach him. The music room walls are painted Passive by Sherwin-Williams, like the dining room across from it.

In the music and game room,Grifenhagen Zhiss uses a century-old cabinet that belonged to her grandmother to store puzzles and board games. "You would never know Chutes and Ladders is in there," she said.

Extending the island is as easy as bumping the kitchen table under the countertop. Peter Zhiss and Laura Grifenhagen Zhiss invested in a custom zinc-topped table made by Jimmy Fischer. They needed a table that could not be easily destroyed by three kids.

Over the zinc-topped table, a trio of pendants from Murray Feiss' Hobson Collection lends an industrial aesthetic that's not too edgy for the traditional Mableton kitchen.

The Container Store's Elfa system helped convert an unused space near the kitchen, laundry room and garage into a purposeful spot for craft items, coats and backpacks. Homeowner Laura Grifenhagen Zhiss designated certain drawers and shelves for each child, which she said helps contain the clutter. Christopher Oquendo/AJC FILE

Containers that attach to the Elfa storage system keep art supplies organized but still easy to access.

A handy tool for the parents, who have three sons ages 3 to 8, is the TripClip.com, which gives mom customizable chore charts and checklists. The color of each boy's chart corresponds to the color of his water bottle, lunch box and toothbrush.

The boys' playroom is a colorful and creative space, with plenty of bins and containers to keep items organized.

At the top of the stairs and just outside her sons' rooms, Grifenhagen Zhiss created a library. "Often, you will find them just sitting in front of it," she said. "They tell their friends they have their own library." A "bird lady" poster that she's had for two decades found a new home in this spot.

These Pottery Barn modular cubbies were purchased at a yard sale for just $50, a huge savings over the original price. The plastic containers are from Target.

The shelves and walls in the boys' room are vibrant blue and green, which is part of the eclectic style in the Mableton family's traditional home.

A recent addition to the deck is the garden tower 2, a composting and container garden. It can hold 50 plants, said Grifenhagen Zhiss, who wanted to be able to grow lettuce and other produce, even when her garden bed is not ready for planting. "I'm so excited. I can step out my back door and be able to theoretically make a garden salad."

Grifenhagen Zhiss recommends creating a sandbox for your kids if possible. This one is designed for easy drainage, so her boys can play in it after heavy rains.

A fenced backyard keeps kids and pets safe, and is outfitted with kid-friendly structures such as a play set and a sandbox. Christopher Oquendo/AJC FILE

Peter Zhiss and Laura Grifenhagen Zhiss, with sons, Maxwell, 8, Benjamin, 5, and Samuel, 3, purchased their Mableton home in 2008. Peter Zhiss is a media supervisor at U..S International Media, and Laura Grifenhagen Zhiss owns Apex Logistics.

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By renovating the basement to add a home office, Laura Grifenhagen Zhiss' work no longers spills over the dining and sitting rooms. The floor plan in the traditional Mableton house, built in 2008, is open from the living room to the kitchen. The couch, chairs, lighting and artwork are from La-Z-Boy. Text by Lori Johnston/Fast Copy News Service.

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