Garage Transformation - The Bar

No party room could be complete without a bar!!  This was something my husband and I totally agreed upon - me as I love the extra counter space for food and my husband so he could get his Keg-o-rater he was lusting after!!  Of course we wanted to custom build this on our own and it actually was a much easier task then we thought it would be.  To tie in with the rest of the room, I drew inspiration once again from the colored barn wood.  I still had plenty left over from my first haul at the Salvage yard so went back to my jigsaw puzzle and made a larger version of the benches in our mud room.  Here is the step by step process we used to make the bar and some little touches that I added to make it our own!

We started with a simple frame with 2x4's and plywood

After mapping out my barn wood pieces and cutting them to size, I screwed them to the front of the plywood face.

We went to a lumbar yard to find the wood bar top that we felt would fit best.  We wanted something wide enough for a bar top but not too heavy that it would be a pain to secure to our frame.  This was a slight challenge as we didn't want something that looked new.  We found this perfect piece of pine that still had the bark on the edges. After sanding and then securing with lug bolts, we put a very light stain and sealer on to achieve this look.

I had this old rake head that I found at an antique store and used it to hold the Wine glasses.  Added a great vintage touch and also serving a purpose for storage!!

Another great find from an antique show - old milk crates - worked perfectly for a wine rack.  Stacked on the bar top and turned to the side it holds 6 good sized wine bottles.

Last touch was a chalkboard.  I love having this to post a fun saying for whatever event we have going on in the room.  Adds a little color and also comes in handy when guests want to know what is on tap!  I made this from painting a smooth piece of plywood with chalkboard paint.  I like to use at least 3 coats of the paint - more is even better.  I made a frame from some fancy trim I found at a hardware store and after painting it - sanded it down to give the worn look.

The bar has already been put to good use on numerous occasions - sometimes too much of good use!!  Not only does it add a great place for our guests to hang out but it has done wonders at keeping my kitchen free of guests during a party - never could understand that no matter what, people will always end up hanging in the cramped kitchen - well add a bar and that problem disappears!!