Sean and Cara are the ultimate "sporty" couple. Sean, who currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals, earned a Super Bowl ring with the Pittsburgh Steelers after the 2005 season. Cara played with the Canadian Women's National Hockey League and starred in ice hockey and field hockey at Brown.

During Sean's off-season, they run a football camp for aspiring players and spend lots of time instilling their love of sports in their two young daughters.

The family spent the past 10 years moving from city to city to accommodate Sean's career but finally decided to put down some roots. Their new house is starting to feel like home, but it had one big space that was "homely" as opposed to "homey": a boring, outdated - and decidedly purple - basement that the girls used as a playroom.

Sean and Cara wanted to move the kids' toys elsewhere and turn this eyesore of a basement into a contemporary lounge that would be stylish enough for entertaining guests and comfortable enough for the whole family to take in a game or two. The couple also wanted a space in which they could showcase some of their sports memorabilia (including a little thing we call the Super Bowl ring) without it looking like a sports bar or a personal shrine.

So I gathered my own team and got set to score a designer touchdown and hat trick. A good deal of the couple's sports jerseys and memorabilia were full of bright colors - reds, greens and blues - so I decided to fill the rest of the room with neutrals to offset these louder tones. I painted the walls in a cool cream, put down dark, prefinished wood flooring and chose light, luxurious colors for fabrics, furniture and accessories.

I divided the room into two zones: a bar area and a sports area. In the bar area, I installed a funky fridge, a narrow trough sink, some display shelving and a slim- line electric fireplace with some accent lighting. I wanted to make the bar area a space where people could gather around, so I installed a gorgeous vanilla quartz bar with accompanying stools for lounging.

In the sports area, I put up several dark wood and glass cabinets that look like lockers to house the couple's sporting memorabilia. Then, for something special, I had two large mirrors made that feature silhouettes of Cara and Sean in overlaid brown and metallic gray vinyl graphics.

And what sports area would be complete without a big-screen TV that can pivot and be seen from anywhere in the room? In the midst of these two zones I installed lots of loungy furniture, including a big, cream-colored sectional and an ultra-cool, ultra- relaxing massage chair (a little present from Cara to Sean).

The room had little natural light, as its only window was obscured by the outside deck, so I put up some light-colored, tone-on-tone embossed drapes. To brighten things up, I installed recessed lighting and a super-modern linear chandelier that hangs over the bar and adds a little sparkle to the room.

After some final accents and accessories, this lounge was ready for action. By blending light with bright, elegant with casual and style with comfort, this once purple playroom scored the perfect sports-inspired makeover. Now it's game on for the whole family.

Interior decorator Candice Olson is host of HGTV's "Divine Design." For more ideas, information and show times visit HGTV.com or divinedesign.tv.