It’s at approximately 5 o’clock p.m. when the world is arguably at its happiest. Usually, office hours end at 5 o’clock. Meaning, it is the perfect time to get some rest or start your transitioning to your “happy time.” People use it as an excuse to drink alcohol, even if it’s not 5 o’clock. “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere” has been an excuse for most people who want to get some rest after working for hours. It refers to the cocktail hour or happy hour even though it’s not 5 o’clock yet. The phrase, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere,” is popular, but most people are confused whether it is because it is a traditional saying or because of the song about it. If you don’t know about the song, there’s a 2003 hit song entitled, “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” It was sung by Alan Jackson and was written by Jim “Moose” Brown and Don Rollins. The song talks about the singer being tired of work. He wanted to drink despite the time only being at half-past twelve. He said in the song that he doesn’t care about the time because it’s five o’clock somewhere.
It’s quite hard to identify where the phrase originated. But when I researched it, there were answers pointing to the comedian Red Skelton. He was celebrating his 50th birthday by doing three shows at the Riviera Hotel. It included a dinner show at 8 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time), a midnight show, and the third show at 2:30 a.m. He was swamped by that time. Skelton said, “I don’t drink this early in the day, but what the heck, it must be 5 o’clock somewhere in the world.”
Some people believe that the phrase became famous because of Skelton. But the hit song also contributed to the popularity of the traditional saying. Besides, it’s often used by those who want to make an excuse of drinking earlier than they ought to.
You’ll have to excuse my rambling here. This blog isn’t about the poplar phrase that was inspired by American 9-to-5 workers’ clock-out time, marking the end of the traditional workday, and the beginning of American invention: “happy hour.” The topic of my blog is actually about turning a closet into a full-blown bar.
Like our lucky clients, Michael and Marcia. When they go home, they can kick off their shoes, go to the closet, and pour themselves a drink. I know… “go to the closet” … to get a drink sounds a bit weird. Right? But hear me out.
If you happen to have an underutilized closet, or one that ends up just being used to pile a bunch of useless stuff, then here’s an idea. You could turn a small coat closet into a bar, which could improve and enhance your entertaining space. Out with the coats, and in with the booze!
Michael and Marcia asked me to update their existing wet bar. Years earlier they had turned the existing coat closet into a man-cave bar. Since their beautiful home is located right on the river, they carried the fisherman theme into the décor of Michael’s man-cave bar. The collection of fishing themed home decorations looked cool, but the tight space didn’t provide much-needed storage for liquor and wine bottles. Marcia wanted a super chic, cool bar that would match the kitchen that I had previously designed for them. Check out that story here: Oh My!
As with most coat closets there’s limited square footage of space. Marcia felt the existing bar was on the not-big-enough side. So, the first thing we did was gut the bar. I say “we” because I include everyone who worked on this project. Sorry, where were we? Oh right. Marcia wanted every inch accessible and usable, so it was imperative for the door opening to be as large as possible. We said goodbye to the door casing and as much of the header as possible. This widened and heightened the opening of the closet, and made it feel larger overall. Right after we got that stuff out of the way, we ran into a hiccup, as is often shown on many of the home improvement TV shows. The plumber had to unexpectedly move a plumbing pipe. Unfortunately, this necessary repair pushed the timeline back a bit.
The new frameless cabinets are from Eclipse Cabinetry. We installed “River Blue” quartzite countertops and the marble and glass backsplash really brightened up this bar and gave it a much-needed update.
So, was all the stress and hard work worth it? “In the end, it all was totally worth it. It’s now a fully functioning bar with plenty of storage and an under counter refrigerator. We get compliments on the cabinets, countertops, and backsplash every time we have guests,” Marcia smiled.
Hooray to the all teams that made this renovation happen. Just Counter’s skilled craftsmen: Taylor Lefever, Tyler Mowatt, and Sam Zwack. Coral Coast Construction, Imex Stone, and Pucci Tile did an outstanding job.
It’s 5 o’clock somewhere… so, do what makes you happy. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. May your home be filled with love, laughter, and delightful dishes.
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