One of the things that we were really excited about in buying a house was having a home bar. Not a wet bar or anything like that, just a nice piece of furniture to store liquor and wine and use during parties or even when it is just us.
So, I started trolling Craigslist. I was looking at a wide variety of things – old dressers, buffets, and desks were my main hits. I saw one originally from World Market that I loved but missed out on and was feeling down in the dumps when I spotted this bar, listed as a “server”. But, it was listed at $300, which was a little more than we were wanting to spend. After hemming and hawing for 5 days, she lowered it to $280. That signaled to me that she was willing to negotiate. I offered her $200, she countered at $220, and we had a deal. The only bummer was that Sean and his friend John had to drive 45 minutes deep into Mount Pleasant. However, I am calling it worth it!
The piece is solid wood and extremely heavy. I was actually shocked at how good of condition the finish is in. There are a few tiny blemishes, but it honestly looks fantastic. It is my favorite shade of wood – dark walnut. I was totally perplexed because my plan had been to paint it navy. However, upon inspecting the finish in person, I totally didn’t want to paint it!
The biggest problem with not painting it is the fact that it is the exact same color as our floors. It’s all a bit brown-on-brown for me. Sean had the idea of putting a runner rug underneath it. I wasn’t sure if that would look too dinky or weird (I had never seen a runner under just a piece of furniture before) but I knew that we didn’t want a big run because we have a run just 3 feet over and this area really serves as a walkway to the living area and screened porch. So, to test it out, I slid 2 bath mats underneath to form a sort of fake runner. I digged the vibe (but you know, not white fuzzy bath mats) so I poked around on amazon for a runner. This one was exactly the right size – 20″ wide by 59″ long.
To further personalize the bar, I decided to swap out the knobs. These are the same knobs that we put in both upstairs bathrooms, and frankly we had a bunch of them sitting around (they come in a 10 pack). The seeded glass is so my vibe and I really love the look!
Please ignore the random paint swatches on the wall – we are waiting until the contractor’s work is done to paint! But, I would love to hear which color you prefer 🙂
So, now this piece is just going to chill for a while. I promise, I have bomb plans for this wall. We are going to make it beautiful and functional. This is easily our most used room in the house and I can’t wait to make it great. It’s just a bit down our priority list at the moment. For now, I am glad to have the booze out of the pantry and this beautiful showpiece!
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Hello, I’m Morgan, half of the creative force behind CharlestonCrafted.com! With a passion for DIY that dates back to 2012, I’ve transformed three homes and now I’m dedicated to helping others craft their dream spaces. Let’s turn your house into a home together!
LMacL
Thursday 1st of September 2016
Before you try any involved methods to deal with the nicks and scratches on your new bar, try breaking a walnut half in half and rubbing the scratches with one of the pieces. It's amazing how well it works, on lots of different types of wood. My best friend taught me this trick and I use it often!