UNDER CONTRACT: A metalhead's dream in Bristow, hidden room included

You never know what someone's hiding in their basement.

At one home in Bristow, it's a dark hidden room with shades of death metal and "Ghostbusters II."

Zakk Farkas and his wife bought the unassuming four-bedroom, 3,013-square-foot house in Bristow's Avendale neighborhood new in 2015. An unfinished storage space in the basement called to Farkas as a potential "fun project," but it stayed unfinished -- until the pandemic.

A self-described "metal head," the 37-year-old Farkas works in IT and loves 80s rock, the TV show "Stranger Things" and do-it-yourself projects.

His hidden room opens with a mechanical system Farkas designed himself, revealing a long, dark hallway with a huge framed replica of Vigo the Carpathian, the bloodthirsty medieval sorcerer in the movie "Ghostbusters II." The floor is a swirled dark red. And that's pretty much the entire room.

In all, it cost about $2,000 to create and serves no real purpose except as an outlet for Farkas' creativity.

"I'd say the most amount of time spent in this room is taking all the couch cushions in there and playing 'the floor is lava' with my 3-year-old. He absolutely loves to play there," Farkas said.

The hidden room isn't the only unique part of the house. The garage, too, has been touched by Farkas' creativity. There's a huge "Hellfire Club" stamp on the floor, a nod to the show "Stranger Things."

Farkas and his wife decided to sell the house last year after their second son was born, a plan that was always in the cards. The listing gained quite a bit of attention, becoming Realtor.com's most searched home of the week last week. After a weekend open house, Farkas reports the house is now under contract.

Farkas chronicled his renovation on his YouTube  channel, Home Degore. 

"I set out to turn heads by creating an insane looking space and that's exactly what I did," he said. "I think someone called it a room for 'ritual sacrifices' and I had to chuckle because the only things that have ever been sacrificed in there are double stuffed oreos and CapriSuns. At the end of the day, it's just a finished storage room, and I just enjoy being different. Whoever owns it next will have the imagination to make it their own." 

Q&A with Zakk

Us: What sparked your interest in creating a hidden room and what's its purpose?

Zakk: We paid for a finished basement minus two storage rooms. One of the storage rooms would serve its intended purpose but the other one just seemed like a perfect setup for a fun project. It took me 5 years to get around to it and roughly 2 years to complete.

Us: Like a mancave?

Zakk: I definitely don't consider it a mancave haha I've actually never been a fan of that term. For whatever reason, I relate "mancave" to a father's hideaway from his wife and kids, and I love being around my family. For me, this was an opportunity to build something truly unique and different from what you'd typically see in a hidden room (tiki bar, home theater, etc.). I was limited with what I could do though because the unfinished room essentially looks like a narrow hallway. Truth is, I never focused on intended use, I just focused on the imagery. Think of the entire room as a blank canvas, all I did was paint my picture. I also knew we wouldn't live here forever so I didn't want to do anything too permanent. I'd say the most amount of time spent in this room is taking all the couch cushions in there and playing "the floor is lava" with my 3 year old. He absolutely loves to play there.

Us: How does the hidden door work?

Zakk: I spent a lot of time and effort planning the concept and mechanics. I wanted to do something I'd never seen before and I feel like I accomplished that. Essentially, there's a hidden nail in the accent wall and you use it to slide a board that unlocks the main door. While inside, you can pull a lever and it'll secure the canvas back onto the wall on the outside. Pretty fun party trick haha I've never called it a secret room because it's not a secret. It's a hidden room because you still have to figure out how to get inside.

Us: Is it the only hidden room/door in your house?

Zakk: The giant canvas at the end of the room hides a space I purposely left unfinished (roughly 2ft from the end). I needed somewhere to store a swiffer haha

Us: How much did you spend all together on the project?

Zakk: A little over $2k which was mostly lumber. I started the project toward the end of 2020 and materials were pretty pricey at the time.

Us: How did you create that lava floor?

Zakk: Epoxy and micropigment. I've worked with this stuff for years and had a blast doing it.

Us: What is that painting at the end of the hallway and how did you come by it?

Zakk: It's a replica print I bought off a website called iCanvas. A room that looked intense needed an intense focal point. It really tied the room together.

Us: The Hellfire in the garage is a reference to Stranger Things?

Zakk: Yes. I love that show, especially the character Eddie Munson. As a huge fan of 80's metal music, I think he was a great depiction of an 80's metalhead.

Us: What are some other interesting/unusual features you've added to the house?

Zakk: Aside from the hidden room, I built a custom wet bar with a real copper vessel sink, steel accent wall (staircase going down to the basement), and finished the garage off with a few paintings of my favorite things, like Archer from the FX show riding an airplane.

Us: Why did you decide to sell the house?

Zakk: We always knew we'd eventually leave for more land and our forever home. With our family completed following the birth of our second son last year, my wife and I decided to go for it.