Former garage is now a hardworking hangout

Norfolk

If it doesn't work, change it.

That matter-of-fact philosophy has guided Helen Emmons through multiple room makeovers and renovations at her Talbot Park home.

The latest do-it-yourself project - a garage-turned-office/retreat - is another example of Emmons' can-do mentality.

"It all started with this bathroom," she said, stepping into the garage to show off the new powder room. "This is the only one we have downstairs, so when people wanted to use it they had to come into this really gross area. It was embarrassing."

The garage, formerly dark and paneled, had brown-patterned, 1970s-style linoleum flooring. Doing laundry in those surroundings was a less-than-appealing activity for Emmons, whose home decor belies a would-be interior designer spirit and eye for style.

Little did Emmons know, though, that the bathroom face-lift would lead to bigger things.

To give the room character, she covered its particle-board walls with English embossing paper - a textured, paintable wallpaper. Next, a friend had some leftover marble tile from a project. Emmons snagged it. Husband David bought a wet saw, cut the tile to fit, laid and grouted it.

Emmons knew she couldn't do much with the bath's tiny dimensions, but that was OK.

"My thing is, if you work with what you have, it kind of comes out better than you thought," she said. "So, I thought, 'Why not just do it in all white?' If I did anything else, it would just look smaller."

Emmons kept the bath's mirror and existing sink, which fit perfectly in a corner, and put in a new toilet. A towel bar and accessories and vintage painting rounded out the transformation.

"So then the bathroom looked so good," she said, laughing, "and this was such an unfunctional space, that I said we really needed to do the garage, too."

Emmons knew what she wanted: a pretty, efficient, multitasking space. It needed zones for the hot water heater, laundry, bill paying, extra storage and hanging out.

First, with two teen daughters and their many clothes, the couple needed a better space to do laundry. The Emmonses encased the washer, dryer and utility sink in walls with louvered doors for easy accessibility and eye appeal.

When the area came in too small for their appliances, they had to rework the walls. But it didn't discourage them.

"People have to realize that design is fluid. If you put up a wall that doesn't work, take it down," Emmons said. "Immediately change it, or you'll look at it for the next 50 years and not be happy."

Getting rid of the garage's brown paneling was also a welcome change. Emmons, who works in the family business, Mike's Pizza on Hampton Boulevard, spent three evenings after work taking down the paneling. Tear-out complete, she looked forward to her husband putting up new drywall. But David, who's in the Navy, had to leave town for an extended period.

Luckily, brother-in-law Artie Rea came to her rescue, hanging the drywall while she held it in place. It took them two weeks through snatches of time, and plastering followed. Then, Emmons spent three nights bathing the walls in pale-green paint for an airy feel.

"The girls didn't get dinner for three nights," she joked, "but I had to do it sometime."

New whitish-gray tile throughout the space completed its light, bright mood. In case they ever want to sell the 2,900-square-foot, 1945 Colonial, the couple kept the garage door should new owners seek to store a car there.

The door, clean and white with sparkling steel tracking, meshes a sleek, industrial feel with the room's mix of old and new furniture and accessories.

Next came the part dear to Emmons' heart: design and organization.

A bargain hunter, the seating area has a '50s-style slipper chair, which she snagged from curbside castoffs and reupholstered.

Emmons nabbed the freebie, clean-lined, steel-framed sofa, now covered in white faux leather, from her parents, who were getting rid of it.

Another bargain deal, an old bureau with mirror, got a paint job to lend style and storage.

Emmons found a $500 Oriental rug, with original price still attached, for just $50.

Because storage is limited in the family's kitchen, a steel shelving system tucked into a niche near the garage door holds canvas bins and boxes.

A bookshelf on the opposite wall showcases Emmons' growing pottery collection.

And, on the far wall under a window overlooking the backyard, Emmons placed a cream-colored desk and small baker's rack for her correspondence and bill-paying center.

The entire project, completed two years ago, took about three months.

Emmons estimated cost for the garage and bath, between materials, furniture, fixtures and a little labor help, was about $4,400.

Next up in her DIY plans, Emmons said, is a two-story addition that will expand the family's kitchen/den and add a new master bathroom.

Victoria Hecht, (757) 446-2614, victoria.hecht@pilotonline.com