After completing their custom, Richmond-area home, a couple hired designer Jamie Ivey to turn the unfinished walk-out basement into a chic zone “with a clean, hotel look,” she says. “We created space-planning options to figure out how to fit in everything they wanted.”

Plumbing was already roughed-in for a bathroom and kitchenette, so the designer worked around existing lines. Today, an expansive main room includes lounge, dining and conversation areas and a kitchenette. A well-equipped home gym occupies a spot framed out for a bedroom during the original construction. And a reading nook and craft room are part of the mix.

Ivey upped the game throughout with sophisticated finishes and custom details. A sleek, linear fireplace is clad in water-resistant tadelakt, a Moroccan-inspired limewash plaster. LED-lit ceiling coffers delineate zones. Walnut adorned with a brass reveal frames the reading nook and craft room, concealing ductwork and structural beams; it also forms a sculptural stair rail. The kitchen’s custom cabinets are paired with a backsplash and countertops of marble-look porcelain.

Pops of color and interest crop up via stylish, comfortable furnishings and lively art. Saturated in Benjamin Moore’s Montpelier, the reading nook beckons with built-ins and a luxurious daybed.