A basement renovation, for kids and adults

June 20, 2012 1:19 PM

Keri and Patrick McGinness, who have two sons, ages 5 and 2, say they wanted a space where they could entertain guests without feeling like children and adults were on top of each other. The ideal location, the large basement in their Manhasset home, was strewn with toys and lacked a cohesive design. “We were so spread out that we felt like we constantly had to go over and check on them,” says Keri McGinness, who left the family’s 49-by-24-foot basement only minimally furnished for three years as the two accountants pondered just how they wanted to use the space. Finally, they turned to designer Frances Herrera of Interiors by Francesca, a design firm in Forest Hills. Herrera’s design divided the space into three zones with play areas on each end and an adult-friendly space in the middle. — SYLVIA E. KING-COHEN