This is usually the dining room that only gets dined in once a year during Thanksgiving or the little living room that no one lives in that just about everyone has in  their home. IT’s that one room that seem to be wasted space or barely used.

Well I have HAD that same space in my home and put it to good use. Don’t waste space in your home! Turn it into a reading room if you like to read, gallery if your an Artist, an office if you work from home – do something with it!

I didn’t use a filter when I took this picture. I designed this room to look old, like a step back in time. The color palette is soft and very much like a sepia photo.

I changed my extra room into a bar. My husband and I LOVE go out to eat, have a few drinks on the weekend after a long week and we just love to socialize. This got VERY expensive!

Martini’s cost anywhere from $8-$10 a pop. A Manhattan $8-$14 per drink! This adds up very quickly and with two kids in College, I just couldn’t throw money out of the window anymore.

So, two years ago Mr. and I decided to save that Happy Hour fund and a few of my Color Consultation monies and build our own bar. This was the BEST decision we made! It took about  six weeks to complete. We shopped local and everything was paid for in cash – to the penny. I loved that every single item in that room from the ceiling light from Lowe’s, the bar stools at Garden Ridge, granite from a local shop in Waxhaw, lamps from GoodWill and a local Interior Design store and the furniture from Waxhaw Furniture Outlet. All the other decor was saved over the years and each piece holds an amazing story.

Isn’t this fun? We constantly have people over on the weekends and I even have an OPEN sign in the window. How’s that for utilizing space?