18 Ways to Turn Unused Space Into the Rooms You Need

Over the winter months, Karl Jungbluth in Boone, Iowa, designed this 12-by-6-foot screened-in room to use standard lengths of lumber with very little waste. The flooring inside is standard lengths of low-maintenance composite decking. "Since we planned to stain it green and barn red, I used pressure-treated lumber, along with a metal roof and composite decking," Carl says.

See this and more backyard before and afters in Best Yard Before and Afters 2011.