An “Awkward” Closet Transforms Into the Coziest Speakeasy for $798 (The After Is Unrecognizable!)
ABOUT THIS BEFORE & AFTER
HOME TYPE: House
PROJECT TYPE: Closets & Storage
STYLE: Art Deco, Colorful, Eclectic, Mid-Century Modern
SKILL LEVEL: DIY
RENTAL FRIENDLY: Yes
There’s no denying that having effective storage at home is valuable — but sometimes closets can be more: cloffices (closet-offices), clurseries (closet-nurseries), and even … cleakeasies (closet-speakeasies) like this one from DIYer Deidre Drewes.
When Deirdre and her fiancé, Justin, moved in to their home last year, it was in great shape and a pretty good match for their style and needs — a true win! But one space that was a bit of a stumper was the closet off of the dining room. It was only 36 square feet (11 feet long and just 40 inches wide), with a sloped ceiling because it sat directly under the stairs. The previous homeowners had used it to store extra flooring, but Deidre joked to Justin that it should be a speakeasy. Over time, that joke turned into an idea, which turned into a bona fide project.
The first step was starting with a blank space.
Deidre started by removing all the old flooring — some of which she and Justin stored in the attic, and some of which they sold on Facebook Marketplace — and painting the space dark blue (Sherwin-Williams’ Moscow Midnight) for a dramatic flair. “I’ve painted plenty of times before, so taping off the trim and going around the edges of the room didn’t scare me,” Deidre says.
Bold wallpaper turns the ceiling into a focal point.
But what did intimidate her was adding peel-and-stick wallpaper to the sloped ceiling. “Since the space was so awkward, it was a bit hard to line up the panels perfectly — and I definitely got a stiff neck after some time,” she says. “While the installation isn’t perfect, it still looks great and everyone compliments the print choice.” (She got it from Amazon!)
The key ingredient was a new Murphy bar.
“I knew that to make the space work, I needed the perfect Murphy bar to fit the closet dimensions,” Deidre says. She was able to find a seller on Etsy, RetirementWoodworks, who made a Murphy bar in the perfect size.
Deidre also knew she wanted to include a wine fridge, but the closet lacked outlets. She and Justin hired an electrician to install one here as well as in another closet.
Extra details complete the transformation from closet to speakeasy.
Deidre finished the space with fresh lighting with Edison-style bulbs, gold-framed mirrors, and even a luxe-looking light switch plate. She even used offcuts from the wallpaper to embellish the panels on the closet door, and to decorate the back of the Murphy bar.
“We also have a portable Marshall Bluetooth speaker that we store in the Murphy Bar, and the acoustics of the closet actually make the audio quality sound phenomenal in the tiny space,” Deidre says. “Over New Year’s Eve, we had friends over and the speakeasy became a mini karaoke space as we sang over 2000s pop hits at the top of our lungs.”
Before, the closet was under-utilized (and certainly uninspiring). But now, Deidre says, “we’ve actually made it more functional by turning it into a speakeasy and making it a cozy space that’s separate from the rest of the open floor plan home.” And they were able to do it for about $798, excluding the cost of the electrician’s labor.
Deidre’s best advice? “If you have an offbeat idea for an awkward space, run with it!” You could be steps away from the home of your dreams.
Inspired? Submit your own project here.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) Every Sofa at West Elm — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
Everything You’ve Ever Wanted To Know About Article’s DTC Furniture
See How a Stager Used Paint to Transform a 1950s Living Room
