DIY Flashback: Turn a Closet Into a Bar

Posted August 31, 2011 // Celebrations, Decorating Ideas, Get Organized, La Casa, Living Room

You guys may have noticed in some of the images of our living room that we have a little closet tucked away in the corner, pretty close to the old kitchen pie safe that we later moved into the living room for added storage.

 

It looks like a pretty tight squeeze, but we’ve never minded because we don’t peek into that closet too often.

Because we’re not alcoholics.

What we are is forgetful, because this project was completed on Valentine’s Day two years ago, way before our blogging days.  This was my first independent DIY adventure and used as Chad’s V-day gift – even though we really don’t do much by way of presents for that holiday. I always just buy something for or do something to the house that Chad would like and call that his gift. He takes me to Rue Cler. It’s an even swap in my book. Have you had their asparagus with the egg on top?!

But back to the closet.  I never took a  before photo – remember this was before I plastered our lives all over the interwebs so a before shot was not a priority at the time. Essentially it was exactly what you would expect from a closet, one top shelf, a rod to hang clothes on and brown bi-fold doors.

First things first I painted the doors white – of course. Then I took down the clothes rod and give the inside of the closet a fresh coat of paint in Benjamin Moore’s Tapestry Beige to match the living room walls.

After the paint dried I hauled an old wooden cabinet that had been wasting space in the basement up stairs where I primed and painted it to match our lower kitchen cabinets which are Benjamin’s Moore’s Brandon Beige.

The cabinet slid right in to the closet. I used a few screws to attach it to the back wall and cut some scrap wood strips out to cover the open sides of the cabinet – giving it a built-in look.

It was also topless at the time so eventually I would have to actually buy something to complete this project. I picked up a piece of half inch plywood at Lowe’s and had them cut it exactly to the size of my cabinet “counter” and angled it in. A few sheets of glass tile and some grout also provided a nice countertop like surface. I even splurged on enough tile to make a small backsplash – after all this was the hubs first Valentine’s day gift as the hubs. Money was no object.

As a final touch I also added one more shelf and mounted three stemware organizers also purchased from Lowe’s underneath the top shelf.

There is nothing else fancy about the closet, no wiring or plumbing for a sink or wine cooler but it’s a nice area to store our hooch for sure. And it has a door to close before mom comes over.

Full disclosure: our friend Jenny gave us this idea – the day we moved in. It only took us about 8 months to finally just do it. And more than another year to share the project with you guys. We’re already thinking of ways to jazz it up even more. I just picked up the skull candle holder from Home Goods, thought he was pretty intense and perfect for a husband who cuts on people’s faces for money.

Other things we’re thinking about doing are adding a mirror to the back wall or fun wallpaper to all the walls, finishing the cabinet with some hardware and such. Any ideas for us?

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