Off and on, John Carbone worked on finishing his basement for about three years.
Still, it was only about 10 percent done. When he gave his wife, Katy, a faux gift certificate for Christmas promising he would complete the job by that Easter, he knew he had a deadline to meet.
The project required working 12 hours a day during the final week. He used 92 sheets of birch and mahogany paneling and what Carbone described as “untold gallons” of stain and polyurethane. He estimates he used a half-mile of molding for the mahogany trim and wore out three saw blades in the process.
But in the end, the couple had their upscale English pub. Items previously hanging on the walls in national chain restaurants, such as Houlihan’s, Rio Bravo Cantina and LongHorn Steakhouse, and pieces from the antique shop he owned in Chamblee found a new place in Carbone’s pub.
“We wanted something that was dramatic,” Carbone said.
Snapshot
Residents: John and Katy Carbone. John, who is retired, previously owned Moose Breath Trading Co., an antique shop in Chamblee
Location: Peachtree Corners
Size: About 5,400 square feet (including the finished basement), three bedrooms, three full and two half-baths
Year built and bought: 1996
Architectural style: Ranch
Favorite architectural features: The 12-foot coffered ceiling in the library room, which has an illuminated 5-by-10 foot stained glass panel.
Interior design style: Eclectic
Favorite interior design features: The antique light fixtures, doors, stained glass, original French advertising posters and a number of architectural items, which were among the items Carbone previously had in his shop. "When it was time to decorate the basement, I just walked through the building picking out anything I wanted," he said. For example, a pair of glass, bronze and mahogany antique doors that came out of a hotel in Manchester, England, serve as the entrance to the library. "The doors to the library are absolutely gorgeous. They're very impressive, they're very large," Carbone said.
Favorite room: The basement, finished in 2004, includes a great room, a full kitchen and a bar that can seat 10 people, Carbone said. He did not put a TV in any of the rooms to encourage conversation. The stained glass panels were once the exterior windows in a Houlihan's restaurant in Atlanta. The basement walls have birch wood paneling and mahogany trim. The rosewood bar rails previously were bed rails that he milled to the needed size. The bar is trimmed out in brass. "Recently we had a party downstairs and some people had never seen the basement before. They said it took their breath away," Carbone said. The basement also includes a workshop, powder room, office and two storage rooms.
Favorite decor items: Carbone shows his fascination with aviation in the basement décor, which includes a model of a 1930s plane hanging from the ceiling and airplane photography. A bench, which is 12-feet long, came out of a railroad station. Signs, an English pub mirror and framed posters are among other accessories.
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