Milton basement reflects love of sports, music

It took Walter and Cheryl Anderson a few years to determine the best use for their unfinished basement.

The completed project in their Milton home mixes their love for music and sports in a setting that’s perfect for hosting a small group from North Point Community Church. Their 6-year-old daughter Courtney can play with her friends downstairs, which also has enough space for a pet room, where their two Schnauzers sleep and can venture out into the fenced backyard.

The couple, who own Anderson Recruiting Consultants, built their six-bedroom, five-bath home in the Reddstone subdivision seven years ago, attracted to the area that’s known locally as “horse country.”

“We were also attracted to the fact that we have over an acre. We’re on a very wooded site,” Cheryl said. “So you feel like you’ve got some land.”

They also custom designed details, such as a Juliet balcony off the master bedroom and a keeping room with a fireplace and TV nook. The front porch was created to be large enough for different seating areas, and in the back, there’s a big patio with a firepit instead of a deck.

The couple, who work from home, fused their personalities and passions in an area that’s part Hard Rock Café/part ESPN Sports Zone when they dreamed up plans for their basement about three years ago with Austin Lineberry, owner of New River Builders. The completed basement added about 1,500 square feet to the 3,800-square-foot home.

“It’s made it a nice retreat,” Cheryl said. “Because we work from home, when you’re down there, you’re disconnected from kind of that whole work mentality.”

A key feature was providing space to showcase Walter’s collection of sports memorabilia, which he began as a child by writing letters to players requesting autographs. One of his favorite pieces includes a football autographed by members of the 1998 Falcons Super Bowl team.

The hundreds of items on the walls and shelves include framed photos, tickets and mementos from other events and concerts, which also brought in the rock-and-roll theme that they used to brand their business.

“We love to go to live music events. It’s a passion we both have,” Walter said.

The sports man cave idea was pulled off in the cinema room, which has a 96-inch projection TV surrounded by four 35-inch flat screens. The setup allows Walter to have friends over to watch Falcons games or host fantasy football watching parties with five games on at once. Seating is provided by leather recliners featuring the logos and colors of the Falcons, Braves and Georgia Tech.

“They really wanted that theater to be around sports and socializing,” Lineberry said.

Staying with the manly theme, there’s even an urinal in the bathroom.

The couple enjoys family movie nights there and has hosted two election night-watching parties in their basement, with TVs on ABC, CBS, Fox News, NBC and CNN, allowing people from diverse viewpoints to watch the channels they prefer.

French pocket doors separate the cinema room from the rest of the basement, allowing people to congregate in different spots. Those doors also allowed them to design bookcases around the door frame to display more memorabilia, Lineberry said.

Other areas in the basement include a workout room, storage room and playroom.

“It’s definitely added a lot of elements to have our friends who have lots of children. When they come over, there’s plenty of places to go and play,” Cheryl said. “It’s allowed us to really open up our home to host a lot of get-togethers.”