When my in-laws decided to start snow-birding in Florida, we wanted to make sure that they had a comfortable place to stay in the summer (close enough to help out with the kids, but far enough away so that everyone could enjoy their own space). My father-in-law and I got to work converting the upstairs of the barn into an efficiency apartment (sorry there aren't any before pictures, but we didn't spend a lot of time photographing barn storage space).

We did everything from insulating, drywalling and painting, to wiring the electrical and running the plumbing for the kitchen and bathroom. We laid the laminate tile for the kitchen and bathroom, built custom cabinetry throughout the kitchen, and later even installed a coal stove to help off-set heating costs in the winter.

Adding natural light was tricky because of the A-frame ceilings, so to help brighten the place up, we installed four sky-lights in addition to some standard windows. My Mother-In-Law loves to read outside in the summertime, so naturally I built her a back deck off the bedroom so she could enjoy the views and mountain air.

Working together we were able to convert this cold storage space to a comfortable living space in about three weeks.