After years and years of squirreling away money as well as hemming and hawing about getting the project started, I finally pulled the trigger on converting a chunk of our basement into a cigar lounge.

Concurrent with the decision to build the lounge was a decision to replace and upgrade the existing HVAC system in the house. We went from two furnaces down to one, and the space savings allowed for a lounge that is just about 400 sq ft.

First issue, however, was taking care of a support pole right in the middle of the space. While a built in stripper pole anchored to both the floor and ceiling beam would allow me to incorporate a high intensity core workout into a routine that currently includes no exercise whatsoever, I ultimately decided on having it removed. This necessitated an upgraded support beam being installed, and they literally had a portion of the house on jacks when they did that.

BEFORE
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AFTER
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In order to appease my better half, I opted to have a completely separate HVAC system handle the lounge. Went with a mini split that uses ductwork separate from the main house plus an air exchange unit to filter and provide fresh air.

MINI-SPLIT FOR HEAT & COOLING
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AIR EXCHANGE UNIT IS THE BOX ON THE CINDER BLOCKS
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As the framing took shape, we made the decision to seal up the two windows in the space to give the lounge a darker feel and reduce any potential glare on the TV.


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One of the big decisions centered around insulation. I promised Grace I’d do everything possible to mitigate any cigar smoke seeping into the main part of the house. So while weather tight doors were a no brainer, I also decided on spray foam insulation. Lots of research went into the decision, and I know more about things like vapor barriers and R values and permeance than I care to. In the end, I went with the “closed cell” spray foam option which insulates the hell out of the space (R value of 6-6.5 per sq inch), but more importantly, has a permeance of 0.8 perm. In layman’s terms, the lounge holds its temp extremely well and has a better than code vapor barrier throughout. The spray foam went everywhere except beneath the floor: all walls and ceilings were foamed with the stuff. The down side: forget about ever snaking anything through the walls. The closed-cell foam is basically concrete.

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After the spray foam went in, the dry wall went up. Phase II of the project is going to include a walk-in humidor which I had the contractor rough out. In addition to the spray foam that went in the walls and ceilings of the walk-in, he used green board for the dry wall in there. He used regular dry wall in the lounge itself.

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Grace picked out a killer ceramic tile flooring that has a faux bleached wood grain look to it.

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Went with a mold-resistant wainscoting product around the perimeter of the room. We don’t have any water issues in the basement, but better safe.

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Originally, I wanted a traditional bar in the back of the room. Something I could stand behind to make drinks that also provided a few extra seats for guests. Space considerations negated that plan, but I did end up with a nice service bar with a granite counter top, a sink and plenty of storage beneath. (The contractor still owes me cabinet doors.) I’m also looking into having him build me some display shelving. The vision is to have a couple wood columns extending from the ceiling to counter that would support two thick glass shelves. The columns would be positioned to the left and right of the sink inside of each of the electrical outlets. That’s a photo for another time – for now, I’m waiting on pricing.

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I mentioned earlier that the walk-in is really going to be Phase II of the project. It was supposed to be a whole lot bigger, but I ran into a code issue with clearance space between the humidor wall and furnace. That chopped about 14” of width from the humi, and while I’ll still be able to store a ton of boxes, I had originally envisioned the space to be more grandiose than it ultimately will. C’est la vie!

There’s a funky jag in the walk-in because the contractor had to frame around the mini-split in order to capture as much space as possible. I am thinking of working with Bob Staebell and have him pre-fab the walls in something like a mahogany and add Spanish cedar storage shelving along the left and back walls with maybe a four or five drawer singles cabinet. Because I can’t get full shelves on all walls due to the space limitations, I’m hoping I might be able to do some angled display shelving on the right-hand wall.

Plan is not install any temperature control since it’s very cool in the basement (even in the dead heat of summer), and I don’t mind cooler storage conditions. Will talk to Bob about a recommended humidifier, and I’ll probably go with one of the larger refillable units he sells.

I did install a 72 bottle corner wine rack in the walk-in since the temp stays at a solid 60* throughout. Bought the rack pre-laquered as a kit and used a brad nailer to bang it together. Was a lot easier than I imagined – thankfully, as I suck at building things. Really like the look of it, and I needed the wine storage. It’s currently bolted to the wall and will be easy to remove once the mahogany walls are installed. Then I’ll just re-bolt it into place.

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I really have to give Grace big props because she really put together a nice color palette for the room. I have no feel for this kind of thing, and while I did pick out the furniture, she really pulled everything together with the color scheme.

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As with the bar, I thought I was going to be able to fit more seating in the space. Spatial recognition is not my strong suit. In the end, I dropped the idea that a love seat would fit in the lounge on top of the chairs of sofa already in there. The furniture line did not have a recliner as part of their offering, and I very much see an ottoman in my future.

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The accoutrements around the room are a smattering of things I’ve collected over the years thinking “someday this will look great in a cigar lounge” to auction lots I’ve won here and on other boards to gifts from some amazing friends.

This is what you see walking down the basement stairs. We had the painter extend the red from the room partially into the unfinished space. A heavy curtain closes off the unfinished space at the bottom of the stairs to the left. The door to the cigar lounge is on the right.
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Picked this up in Cuba last November
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Many of you will fondly remember this guy …
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The one thing for which I will absolutely take credit is this ceiling mural of a 1600’s map of Cuba. It is my pièce de résistance!

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When the contractor was building out the space, he created soffits around the perimeter of the TV area of the lounge in order to better incorporate the center support beam that needed to be boxed in. This created a faux recessed ceiling effect, and he lined it with crown molding, but I was left staring at big blank ceiling space. Was looking around online for ideas and ran across a site that produces murals on artist canvas that get hung much in the same way one hangs wallpaper. Originally, I was going to do some kind of Cuban flag motif until I found an image of this map. I loved the aged look of the thing like where it’s faded on one end but not the other owing to how it must have been folded. I was able to find a hi-res image of the file on a photography website, and mural company did a nice job of printing it on to the canvas. They also worked with my wallpaper hanger to make sure he had all the info necessary to put it up because while it’s similar to hanging wallpaper, there are some differences. In the end, I love it as it adds a dramatic touch that really pulls the whole room together and screams cigar lounge.

Lots of little punch list items I need to work through, but I wanted to share this with you all. I will say, and as some can attest, the room does get quite smoky with 6-7 guys in it puffing away on cigars for two or three hours. One of the many things that need to be adjusted, but overall, I’m pretty happy with the room. Need to take a bit of breather before I have the walk-in finished, but I see many hours of enjoyment to come.
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yup, that's super ****ing cool. Thanks for the step by step, it's great seeing it come together :-)
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Thanks for sharing the pics -- your lounge looks awesome!
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Amazing, Vin!
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Awesome, Vin! That looks phenomenal! :-)

You must be such a proud papa. :-)
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That is fantastic. Very well done sir.
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Awesome Vin!
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Looks great Vin
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Absolutely beautiful, Vin! And I love the Cuban ceiling map!
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Lucky enough to say that it looks even cooler when you're sitting and smoking in it. The room is comfortable, beautiful....spectacular!
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F'in BAD ASS, Vinny!!!!!!!
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Looks great brother!
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That is freaking sweet! I am jelly!
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Spectacular, Vin.

It is what many of us only dream of having.
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Congrats, Vin that is absolutely gorgeous and one of those the nicest spaces I've seen, I'd never bolt from that room.
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Wow, that is just great!!!
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Friggin Awsome!

Feeling Inspired.
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