THE BAR creates a natural focus in a Killingworth couple's "bonus room," after renovation of the 600-square-foot space into a room where all can do what they want without sacrificing togetherness. (PATRICK RAYCRAFT / HARTFORD COURANT / December 12, 2008)

It's easy to plan a fun night out if you live in Hartford. Away from the big city, things are more complicated.

Take the case of one couple in rural Middlesex County. Their home is something of a drive from the nearest multiplex. Besides, with two small children, who gets to go out at night?

And so they looked inward and upward.

The bonus room — the cavernous, undefined space above the garage — was ripe for renovation. It's a big room, 600 square feet, about the size of a Manhattan apartment they occupied long ago. But it had to accommodate a half-dozen activities.

But hold on: His wife enjoys scrapbooking, and there had to be a place for family night television. Storage was also a must, so they had to fit that in somehow.

"We didn't want to make a typical man cave," says the man of the house. In function and style, the room had to fall somewhere between the formality of the living room and the kids-only anarchy of the playroom.

The house is a modern colonial, but the bonus room was inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. The room has an irregular shape and dormer windows, which are suited to the turn-of-the-century lodge look.

The colors are subdued. The walls are brick-red, the ceiling tan, the wool curtains olive, and the faux-suede valences camel. The quarter-sawn oak beams and paneling add to the "clubby" feel. The paneling along the dormers conceals large closets, which pop open with a touch-latch.

Quarter-sawn oak was also used for the cabinetry, made by Aaron Keathley of Branford. The desk and bookcase were designed to store the wife's scrapbooks, a multivolume chronicle of special memories. There are also easy pull-out drawers for paper, pens and glue sticks.

Stylistically, the room is characterized by mute colors, native woods and straight lines. The one departure from this sober rusticity is the billiard table, a limited edition model by Brunswick, the historic Midwestern manufacturer. It has mahogany veneer and mother-of-pearl inlay, and rests on four curved pedestal supports. More country house than craftsman, the piece was a design risk — a symbol of the tension between impulse and rational, long-term planning.

Sharon McCormick, the interior designer who worked closely with the couple, says the billiard table was chosen at the beginning of the renovation. She adds that the possibility that it would not fit loomed over the project throughout its yearlong duration — but fit it does.

Because the wife stays at home, she was able to oversee day-to-day work. But the couple rejected the traditional division of labor, where the woman is the decision-maker and the husband just writes the checks. This couple planned the room together.

McCormick says this was quite unusual. In most renovations, she says, one person takes charge of the project. "You do what you think is best" is a comment she says she often overhears.

"It was a team effort," says the wife. She and her husband were not, however, always interested in the same things.

"We have complementary skills," he says. "Things that she's good at, I'm not — and vice versa. We found during this project that she has a nice eye for the big picture and I am more attentive to function and details."

While she tackled color, he made sure the floor plan would work. It was she who hit upon using sunny yellow Santa Cecilia granite for the counter top. That the originally planned counter dimensions would interfere with billiard players was his discovery.

"A room like this takes the pressure off entertaining," says McCormick. While some might retire to the sofa for a chat, others can play games.

In the months since the project was finished, the room has become a popular destination for the family. Activities that used to disperse members to different rooms have been united in one space.

"Our intent was to bring our family and friends together," says the woman of the house. "We use it every day."

•For more information on Sharon McCormick Design, call 860-349-1349, or go to www.sharonmccormickdesign.com. For more on Keathley Building & Remodeling, call 860-638-9380.