Eclectic Homes

Junk-Storing Garage Becomes a Cabana Getaway

Although this family of four enjoyed the cozy, cottage-like atmosphere of their house, they knew they had more room. “Our children share a room, which makes fairly tight,” says one of those owners. “We wanted some extra room for visitors and for when the kids get larger.” They didn’t need to look farther than their extra-large garage which wasted a lot of room on stored junk. “We needed some breathing room since our house is small and we’ve got two growing children,” the owner says. “We also wanted a bathroom nearer to the pool along with a secure space convenient for refreshments and shelter for the backyard. We basically needed a peaceful place to hang a sanctuary.” After the couple needed architectural plans in hand, they hired Bill Fry, whom friends were recommended, to construct it.

The garage structure is extra long and provided enough room for a living room with a wet bar and a complete bath, although the base needed some unexpected structural function to encourage the newest uses. While a complete garage stays, the rear provides room for your family to blend drinks, play games, read, get on the Internet, mix playlists for the outdoor speakers, have a film night, store snacks and grab a postswim shower, inside or out.

Space at a Glance
Location: Los Gatos, California
Size: Around 270 square feet
Year built:
2011

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

The living room enjoys natural light in the large sliding doors that recall a relaxed Japanese teahouse.

A glance through the doors from exterior reveals a light and open area in addition to a perspective through the pocket door to the full bathroom.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Shelves behind the sofa provide ample area for board games, towels, magazines, DVDs and books. “I occasionally will read or see movies out here,” says the homeowner. “My children like to see MythBusters, read and play games with their buddies in the cabana.”

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

A sloped ceiling creates a cozy spot for your own couch and provided the opportunity to bring a skylight and a ceiling fan.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Cleverly placed wall niches are used for display and storage.

Lots of wet feet trample through the space; these are radiant heat floors that look like wood but are ceramic tile.

Floors: Parker Wood Porcelain Tile

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

From the wet bar area, custom open shelving rather than clunky upper cupboards leaves things more open and makes the room seem larger.

In addition to supplying a spot for mixology, this area comes in handy during al fresco dinner parties. “When we’ve got friends over during pleasant weather, we’ll eat in the backyard and we are going to set up a buffet within the cabana, which is quite convenient,” says the homeowner.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Clutter never gets it into the cabana in the first place, so open shelves didn’t present the typical troubles. “The nice thing is this tiny cabana serves as a ‘escape’ place — we don’t use it every day the way we use the rooms in our house, so it does not get cluttered,” says the homeowner. “The shelves have a smooth finish, so they are extremely easy to wipe down. Consequently it always feels clean in this area, even if our house feels disorderly!”

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Another market offers storage for glassware. The background of mosaic tile may be enjoyed through the glasses and glass shelves.

The tasteful quartz countertops have been locally located remnants.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Moving into the bath, a clear glass shower enclosure retains the open atmosphere, which makes the bathroom seem larger than it truly is.

The shower is a steam shower by ThermaSol. The glass at the top tilts down to maintain the steam within the stall.

Tile: Tile Fantastic

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

A pony wall offers extra privacy around the commode. A mosaic tile edge continues throughout the whole bath.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

A well-placed niche offers storage for bath towels.

Tip: When using open shelving in the bathroom, you truly cannot go wrong with white towels.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Yet another market in the shower offers space for shampoo as well as some decorative cubes.

Tip: When planning shower markets, make certain they are tall enough to accomodate your favorite products. If you prefer to buy shampoo in bulk, then look around those tall bottles.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

The mosaic detail continues to the shower stall floor. A bench and a ledge offer room for bottles and using a seat.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

When there’s no time for the full steam treatment, an outdoor shower provides a spot for a quick rinse.

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

The homeowner got a little overzealous when it arrived to tile indoors, but the outdoor shower benefitted. “I fell in love with too various kinds of tile so the tile designer tried to work them into the design — it seemed pretty darn good on paper, but if the tile man started installing the tiles, then the design was quite muddled and did not work at all,” she explains.

“After losing sleep over it, I decided we had to rip out a number of the tile he’d already installed and just go with a more straightforward design. The silver lining was that we ended up salvaging a few of those already bought, fresh tile by installing it in the exterior shower area, which turned out more tasteful than we were planning. It was a lovely way to use the substances.”

Bill Fry Construction – Wm. H. Fry Const. Co..

Finally, another side of the garage offers more play area in the kind of a giant chessboard.

“The chessboard thought was triggered from something that I saw in a landscape book and one I had seen at an upscale outdoor shopping mall,” says the homeowner. “My children had just begun to get into chess, and that I believed it’d be an enjoyable element to add to the lawn. I wanted to make it subtle, sort of like a surprise, and our landscaper did a great job with it.”

More:
8 Tips for Pool House Perfection
A Tale of Two Pool Houses

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