Luxury Living

Two layers of drywall provide soundproofing between the theater room and the rest of the house.

And there’s much more to the Fried basement than just the home theater. it also includes a wet bar, a foosball table, a pool table and an office for Dean, with plenty of accessories around to establish character.

The most striking feature of the sconcelit rec room is the bar, which comes in two parts.

The first part of the bar is set into the west wall, with a deep double bowl sink built into a granite countertop. An icemaker and dishwasher are also set into it, and lighted wall cabinets display a variety of glasses, liquor bottles and beer steins. A wine cooler is located next to the back bar.

On an island set out from the wall, a faucet and serpentine sink trough are built into the granite-top bar, with four bar stools on the outside facing inward. A microwave and refrigerator are built into the island, as well as a two-burner cooktop. in addition to its conventional functions, the sink is designed for filling it with ice and adding shrimp or beer to chill.

“it’s like a piece of art,” Dean says. in the middle of the rec room is a sitting area with comfortable chairs and a porcelain elephant that serves as an occasional table. Near the chairs is a shelving unit covered with all manner of beer steins, serving plates, teapots, decanters, urns and candlesticks. A smaller shelving unit to the left holds chalices and a wine rack.

Many of the steins and glassware are decades old and from Europe. Dean’s stepfather was a career Air Force man, so Dean spent some time living overseas, including periods in England and Germany.

“Those are early ’60s, most of the steins,” he says.

The pool table has leather pockets and is lined with black felt. A rack on the wall holds pool cues, and a clock next to the table uses pool balls as numerals. Near the clock is a framed poster depicting the Buckeyes’ 1968 National Championship win, with signatures from nearly all the players and team staff.

A foosball table and a wall-mounted plasma TV make up the rest of the rec room’s most noticeable features. Dean played a lot of foosball in college, he says, and the pool table was also a long-lived goal.

“i always wanted a pool table and never had a pool table,” he says. “Of course, then you realize how hard the game is.”

An office off the bar area contains exercise equipment, framed cartoon prints on the walls, a rack of baseball caps and a wall of personal keepsakes, including diplomas and old black-and-white photos.

The Frieds have moved to Florida and are selling the house; it was still for sale as of Oct. 1. Though they intend to take the keepsakes and some of the art, the majority of the equipment in the rec and theater rooms will stay. More information on the house is available from Street Sotheby’s i nternational r ealty’s Tremont Center Office, 614-538-8895. v

Garth Bishop is editor of CityScene Magazine . Feedback welcome at gbishop@pubgroupltd.com.