A fulfilling part of my job is to help my friends and neighbors improve their home. After all, every homeowner always has something in their home that can be improved to better suit their lifestyle.

This family wanted to convert a storage closet into a more functional living space. This closet was adjacent to the family's main entrance/exit, so it stored jackets, shoes, hats, and their 7 year old's random sports equipment. The closet doubled-up as storage for adult beverages as they kept a mini drink fridge inside of it. Also in an adjacent exterior closet was the water heater which was accessible from the backyard.

Here is the "before" photo:

We stripped down the area to the studs to create a blank canvas. This allowed us to see how much room we could work with. We learned that we could expand the area by 1.5 feet into the patio. The area of the patio we claimed was dead space behind a door so the expansion would not steal any practical patio space. We moved around walls, re-supported the roof structure, and added electrical to account for the beverage cooler, under-counter lights, and bar lights.

Here are the "after" photos:

Now the family has a useful mud area. It is painted in a contemporary rich blue hue. The couple's second grade son is excited to display his hat collection. The parents are even more excited to have gained an open bar used to display their beautiful glassware and welcome their guests with a cocktail from a proper bar.