5 GTA Homes With Beautiful Basements

By Josh Sherman | 3 minute read

From home theatres and saunas to wet bars and gyms, basements may be below ground but they can also represent the height of luxury.

Basements — they aren’t always the most glamorous of living spaces.

Like balconies, they’re sometimes relegated as a place for homeowners to store unneeded stuff, even if they’d otherwise be suitable as a den or spare bedroom or room to entertain. Other times, they aren’t even habitable to begin with. They’re simply left unfinished, with exposed electrical and insulation — not exactly inviting.

But also like balconies, these below-ground, often-neglected places have all sorts of potential to add incredible value to a home. Just take the following five Greater Toronto Area homes with beautiful basements. The owners have elevated their basements with a host of amenities and luxury features. Keep scrolling below to check them out.

1. 54 Corwin Cres., Toronto

The price: $3,400,000
The basement: Clearly the basement wasn’t an afterthought when this custom modern home, nestled in the North York neighbourhood of Armour Heights, was being designed.

Among the lower-level walkout amenities are a glassed-in fitness centre and bright full-sized rec room, as well as a complete nanny suite for overnight guests and a laundry area, too.

Behind a rustic sliding barn door, you’ll find a miniature movie theatre with Cineplex-style seating for seven.

2. 179 Old Yonge St., Toronto

The price: $5,650,000
The basement: The basement in this 6,200-square foot home has heated floors, but we wouldn’t exactly call it cozy, often a real estate euphemism for small or worse yet, cramped. The spacious, mostly open-concept subterranean living space has an abundance of room for multiple uses, whether for a home gym, entertaining space — or both, as the current layout shows. It also contains a separate message room, including a sauna retreat.

The sunken patio, meanwhile, provides a super private space to enjoy the backyard away from the prying eyes of your neighbours.

3. 15 Cotswold Cres., Toronto

The price: $5,880,000
The basement: Here’s another basement that defies the stereotypes of being dark, tight spaces. The walkout basement has surprisingly large windows and sliding glass doors that let in lots of light.

A large wooden wet bar, complete with a glass wine cellar, adds some warmth to the space, as does the gas fireplace. It’s a great spot to enjoy a movie on the projector, which the built-in speakers complement. And would it be an upscale home without a basement sauna of its own?

4. 62 Felbrigg Ave., Toronto

The price: $2,998,000

The basement: Boasting more than 3,000 square feet of living room, this Hoggs Hollow home isn’t short on space — but that doesn’t mean it’s taken for granted. Just look at how the stylish basement wine cellar has been incorporated beneath the dramatic floating staircase. It’s not only a clever use of negative space, it also creates visual interest in a nook that might otherwise be ignored or, worse yet, neglected.

While this basement isn’t the brightest, ample pot lighting and airy finishes help liven up the space, which is capacious enough to house a pool table — or air hockey, foosball, shuffleboard, or whatever else is more your speed — jam space, gym, ensuite, and laundry room.

5. 2275 Doulton Dr., Mississauga

The price: $22,500,000
The basement: If you look at enough luxury listings, what once seemed impressive eventually becomes mundane. (Oh, another in-house spa? That’s nice.) But it’s hard to imagine getting desensitized to the level of opulence on display within this 25,880-square-foot Mississauga chateau.

Perhaps no space in the mansion encapsulates the full extent of this luxury better than the basement. You might have seen a home theatre before — including, of course, in listings above — but have you seen one with three separate tiers of seating and leather sourced from luxury Italian automaker Lamborghini?

And while a home bar might not be much to get excited over, how about one that opens up onto an entire private nightclub? It’s also safe to say the fitness centre is unlike any you’re likely to have seen before.