Before and After: HGTV’s “Fixer to Fabulous” Turned This Odd Laundry Room Into a Sleek Speakeasy Bar

Laundry room transformations can be pretty wild. It’s amazing how much storage you can add that can be a game changer for the rest of the house. And sometimes, a laundry room can turn into an entirely different space, like an entryway. But one thing that you don’t see every day: a laundry room-turned-speakeasy bar, which was a major highlight in the latest HGTV “Fixer to Fabulous” renovation.

In this week’s episode, hosts Dave and Jenny Marrs meet Paul Walker and his daughter, Erin. Walker is a divorcee who now owned his own home, and while he poured a lot of effort into transforming his backyard, his indoor spaces needed a lot of work (and Erin definitely agreed).

Before the renovation began, Walker’s big ask was to keep the focus on entertaining, and a lot of the changes he asked for involved making the pool area the star of the show. In order to make that happen, David and Jenny transformed the living room — which was in the back of the house, right next to the pool — into a room almost completely surrounded by glass.

The duo installed large walls of glass doors so guests could walk in and out of for easy access to the pool. And of course, lots of glass means lots of great views of said pool. They removed an old fireplace to make room for a dining nook and plenty of lounging, and they replaced the hardwood floors with stained concrete to complete the modern feel.

When Dave and Jenny checked out Walker’s laundry room that was covered in cabinetry, they knew they could make better use of the space (and don’t worry, they moved the laundry room elsewhere). And since entertaining was the priority, the Marrs decided to go all in with a speakeasy bar.

They painted the entire room a dark greenish-black with cabinets to match, which were decked out in gold hardware. Dave decided to build the bourbon wall shelving made of steel, which he laid out for four weeks to rust so it could have an old look to it. The Marrs added a hightop table and a few stools so Walker could hang out with company inside the speakeasy. And last but certainly not least, they concealed the bar with a door that was covered in Erin’s art.

As you can imagine, Walker’s reaction during the reveal was tearing-up-worthy. But you’ll have to check out the episode to see for yourself!

“Fixer to Fabulous” airs new episodes on Tuesdays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.