This unused space to show place is an enclosed porch and guest room turned brew room! We received a phone call one day from a cute Coronado couple who said, “We are in our 40s and are not going have kids, so we want to take what money we would have spent on college tuitions and make a beer room!” This Coronado Cays couple had taken up home brewing as a hobby and their current set up was not very functional. The brewing equipment was in the garage and the kegerator refrigerator was located in a rarely used, small guest room. They called us with the idea in mind to transform this guest room into their new in-home brew room and place to drink beer – we did just this.
At the initial meeting, Michelle noticed an enclosed porch adjacent to the guest room that had a couple chairs and a single book shelf – the home owners jokingly suggested that they “pretentiously call this our library.” Michelle suggested that instead of just transforming the guest room into a beer room, they could tear down the wall between these two small rooms and make one amazing club room, with a long bar and a library complete with a secret door! One challenge was that these two adjoining rooms had different floor and ceiling heights which meant we would have to reframe. It was totally worth it for all the natural light that would now inhabit the space! This room would now serve another purpose as not only a place to enjoy the home-brew but also a quiet, comfortable place to read!
Our design incorporated reclaimed wood bookshelves with an integrated Dimplex electric fireplace, to create the new, cozy library. A TV is also on that wall to allow for entertaining. People now had a place come over, watch the game and drink beer! Our FAVORITE feature on this wall is the secrete, swinging door in the bookcase itself! This hidden door opens up into a refrigerated room, or Chill Room, for wine and beer. It was tricky to find the right craftsman to make the door and custom library ladder and Rich Walker, artisan extraordinaire, saved the day! We are so in love with how the door came out. The beer lines run through the wall behind the 12’ bar to connect the nitrogen and four-tap tower to the kegs kept in the Chill Room.
Because this room was going to be used a lot, and the homeowners had cats, they wanted their finishes and furnishings to be low maintenance and not super expensive where they would be crying if someone spilt wine or beer. So we put in luxury vinyl floor for a durable and no maintenance option and the room was affordably furnished from Living Spaces. We placed the sofa under the skylight for a comfortable place to read and soak up all the natural light, while the conversation chairs are easily moved to accommodate various gatherings.
It was so fun getting to turn this unused room into the most-used room! Hobbies make the best inspiration for transforming rarely used spaces into places that fit your lifestyle.
