On July 11th I posted a blog about "
Our 1st DIY Furniture Makeover Part 1" - we realized we needed a bar because we have a lot of bar stuff - what we like to drink! :) This began our 1st ever attempt at making over a piece of furniture into something else - Our Bar!
We learned A LOT during this process with the biggest lesson to NOT be afraid of something you have never done before. Neither 1 of us have ever taken on anything even remotely like this before and with some online reading - LOTS of blogs - we decided to give it a try. I will do a few things differently next time we take on a project like this (a "new" desk is coming!) and I wanted to share the journey with you too so maybe you can avoid a few of the mistakes we did.
The Original Unit (the side shown was not finished)
From what my mother-in-law tells me, this was a display case at a department store 60-70 years ago.
Yes this thing had 12 - count them 12 freakin drawers! Notice the carpet bottom (that will change!)
Phase #1 - Beginning Prep
We pulled out everything we didn't want nor need for our bar.
TOOLS USED: reciprocating saw, hammer, screw driver and our good ole hands and brute strength :)
Phase #2 - LOTS of Sanding & Construction
We took this piece down to it's "bones" and what a job let me tell you. My dad bought me the
DeWalt 3-amp Orbital Power Sander from Lowes for my birthday (you know you are getting older when you are so happy about getting a power tool for your birthday!) and that baby got 1 heck of an inaugural use - over 9 hours between my hubby and me! We also had to strip the wallpaper, which thankfully my hubby remembered that vinegar water and a putty knife takes it right off - THANK GOD because that was bear until he remembered that!
The construction consisted of adding paneling to the unfinished side, a platform for the wine fridge and feet to raise the unit up 6ish inches. We also took out the bottom wood in the middle for the wine storage. I also added wood filler & sanded all that down to the groves on top where there were sliding glass doors and all the random holes throughout the unit. My hubby also cut off all the built in handles for the drawers to create a flat surface we could add hardware too.
TOOLS/ PRODUCTS USED: reciprocating & circular saw, hammer, nails, power drill, screws,
Elmer's Probond Interior/Exterior Wood Filler, putty knife,
DeWalt 3-amp Orbital Power Sander, 40,60,80 & 120 grit sandpaper, plastic drop-cloth
*** We went through a whole box of the
Gator 15-pack 60-Grit ($7.98) and went back to Lowes for more and found Shopsmith 10-pack 40-grit for double the price ($15.98) of the Gator and 5 less = TOTALLY WORTH IT! I thought the Shopsmith were better quality than the Gator pads and will buy Shopsmith from now on.
PHASE #3 - Primer
I did lots of research and everyone said that the best primer was the brown can -
Zinsser Cover-Stein Oil-Base Primer. I bought some economy brushes at Lowes and went to town and gave it 2 coats. I also read that you should add
Penetrol by Flood, an oil-base paint additive that extends the drying time to avoid brush strokes (also delays the drying time) and it was definitely WORTH IT! You don't need much so it will last a long time.
We also bought a pre-made wine storage box at Lowes to save on time plus we didn't have the right tools to make the "X" correctly.
*** What I should have done was used 120-220 grit sandpaper by hand in-between the 2 coats of primer to make it a bit smoother.
Phase #4 - Painting Time (the vision starts to come together)
I knew I wanted a contemporary vintage feel to the unit so I went with classic White and Black. We used
Lowes Signature Valspar Paint in stark white and black with an eggshell finish. I also bought the
Purdy 3 XL Brush & Comb Combo - the comb is KEY! I have never used that before and highly recommend to keep your brushes clean and able to use over and over. 2 coats of paint when onto the unit to get the smooth finish I wanted.
*** Again I should have used a 220-grit to lightly sand between the 2 coats of paint. And sharing some advice I picked up online: once all the paint is on for a section go back and make a long stroke from end to end to eliminate brush marks - GREAT advice!
Phase #5 - The Clear Finishing Touch
I've done my homework and everyone says if you are going to do all this work (definitely an understatement) then finish it off with a clear poly or finishing coat. Being that it is a primarily white unit I was nervous about over-time yellowing. I found a blog (I promise I will find it and give it proper credit) that swore by a floor finisher -
Varathane Interior Floor Clear Paint (there is an oil-base and water-based version). It's NOT cheap - $48.57 and only comes in a gallon size - but if it won't yellow to me it's worth it and will last a long time too! I gave the unit 2 coats of the semi-gloss finish.
***I ONLY "glazed" (I kept calling it that for some reason) the parts that you would see - nothing on the inside including the top inside portion since I was going to cover it in a pattern.
Phase #6 - The Pattern and the Look
To go with my contemporary vintage theme I chose a geometric print that had a 50's inspired feel that I really fell in love with. I found online (surprise, surprise) that
Staples prints engineered prints for $7.29 each for a 3'x4' print!! I did everything online and picked up the 2 - 3'x4' prints for $14! HELLO and THANK YOU!
* I must put a disclaimer here - engineer prints are draft prints - it is NOT photo quality and did have some blemishes as I will call them.
We measured out the inside back and sides of the unit and cut the prints to size. We stapled the back in at the very bottom and using
Elmer's Extra Strength Spray Adhesive pasted it to the back. We did the same to the sides. I finished it with the Varathane clear finish - 2 coats. NOTE: the paper bubbled up when I put the "liquid" on the paper to the areas that weren't glued to the wood. They dried out fine so don't worry.
We also covered that carpet piece up top in a black vinyl so it would be wipe-able. I don't have a picture of this until the end - sorry! Still getting the hang of taking step-by-step pictures for products.
TOOLS/ PRODUCTS USED: 2, 3'x4' geometric prints,
Elmer's Extra Strength Spray Adhesive, staple-gun,
Varathane Interior Floor Clear Paint, Varathane brush,
Fishars 45mm Contour Rotary Cutter, right-angle, measuring tape, cardboard box (to cut on top of), black vinyl fabric, scissors, regular stapler
***If I did this step over I would make sure to have a very even coat of glue covering all the wood and really make sure every inch touches the wood even more than I did.
Phase #7 - Bring it inside!
YAY NO MORE PAINTING! Everything was dry and done and we brought it inside. We put the wine fridge & storage in and attached the new hardware to the drawers and put those in. OF COURSE the last drawer doesn't want to go it now?! Last minute surgery from my husband was needed. Plus 1 of the drawers hardware didn't match up with 1 of the holes. Not sure how this happened since the others did and a straight-line was drawn to mark all the holes - oh well we did some more surgery and made it work.
Sometimes a custom piece is really custom! I love it!
TOOLS USED: honestly besides the screw-driver for the drawers' hardware and I assume a hammer from the banging I heard, I'm not really sure what he did but he made it work.
That's our beer fridge next too it :)
Phase #8 - Fill It Up
I'm just realizing this as I am recalling all we did how massive this 1st undertaking was and how many steps it was, BUT it was so worth it. I found myself walking in the dining room this morning and right when I got home and a few times while writing this just to look at it and admire it. I am so proud of us!
The fun part now - fill it up! The only thing that it's missing is wine glass racks on the top. We will be near an IKEA later this week and going to pick some up there since they are so cheap.
Phase #9 - Install the Wine Glass Racks
For my birthday we were in Charlotte, NC and they have an IKEA so we got to stop by and have some fun. One of the things we picked up was the wine glass racks for the bar. They had a few different ones but the one we settled on was the Inreda set. It is a set of 5 racks that are all separate so you determine the space between them - perfect! We bought 2 sets because we needed 7 total for the white, red, martini and champagne glasses. NOW it's complete!
TOOLS/ PRODUCTS USED: IKEA Inreda wine glass racks, power drill
I really am in love with this bar. I can't believe how well it turned out. I hope you enjoyed my post and maybe even learned something. If you have any questions PLEASE leave them below or
Email Me It! and I will do my best to respond.
Now onto the next project (just don't tell my husband - lol!)
PS - Find out all the costs associated with this project by Clicking Here!
