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A bar cabinet needs love too, wouldn’t you agree? I mentioned in Monday’s post that I’d been doing a lot of painting lately. Well, here’s the scoop on what I was up to.
One of the very first DIY projects that I attempted was to transform an old hutch I had into a bar cabinet. The project was featured in a commercial on the DIY Network. The hutch I had was a dumpster rescue. Let’s be clear here – it was sitting next to the dumpster, not in it. I’m not so cheap that climbing into a dumpster is ever going to sound like a good idea. K, moving on.
It was a pretty straightforward project. I removed the back of the shelves, installed an under the counter wine glass rack, switched out the hardware and painted it black. Ta da! Bar cabinet! See, back then I thought all of my furniture needed to be black because….why? Can’t remember now. I’ve since seen the light (pun intended) and am slowly converting those dark, hulking pieces to something much lighter and brighter. It never occurred to me to take in progress pictures so an after shot will have to do (love the tacky collectors aluminum bottles?)
I found the wine rack on Amazon. Here’s a link to it (affiliate link) Stemware Rack. It just screws to the underside of a cabinet or a shelf. There was another shelf just below the top one but I removed it. The stemware wouldn’t have fit otherwise. I picked up the new hardware at Lowe’s. I wanted something simple in a brushed nickel finish. See how one of the cabinet pulls on the bottom is missing? Yeah, so it’s been missing all along. I managed to pick up the one knob that didn’t have any threads inside to attach to the screw. I finally just bought a replacement.
It’s held up really well over the last 4 years but as I was imagining the “to-be” version of my house I realized it had to go. It made that corner of the room so dark. Over the years, I’ve sort of gravitated to the more coastal style. Light, bright and airy with the calming colors of blues and greens and aquas and whites. *sigh* Throw some rugs and baskets and natural materials in there and I’ll be a happy girl. I must have been in a goth phase back then I guess.
A few weekends ago, I unloaded everything from the cabinet and hauled it out to the garage for a makeover. First things first – it needed to have all that black paint sanded off. I mostly got it. Here’s a shot of the bottom:
The primer would cover any dark spots so I didn’t go too over the top on it. Once I wiped the whole thing down with a damp cloth, it was ready for primer. It took 2 coats before I was satisfied none of the dark spots would bleed through.
The primer dried for a couple of days before I painted because the weather was so hot and humid. Ditto after I painted. All told, it took about a week to get it done. Look how much brighter it is after a couple of coats of white paint. It’s looking so much better already.
Once I’d given the paint enough time to dry I painted on a thin coat of lacquer. I used that stuff on Aislynn’s chair and I really like it. It works but the smell is terrible. This can is about halfway gone so I may do some research into finding a less noxious type that works just as well.
Just one short week later and everything was dry and ready for its close up, er, to have the hardware reinstalled. There is FINALLY a pull on that cabinet door! Lowe’s still carried the exact kind I needed so I was very happy about that.
The difference it makes in that corner now is amazing. The entire room looks brighter and fresher! Of course, what would a bar cabinet makeover be without liquor in the cabinet?
Has anyone else had to redo a project because it no longer fit their style? Or did you just toss it out and start over? Let us know in the comments!
And a reminder that tomorrow is Pinnovation Friday! I’ll be posting this weekend’s project. Spoiler alert – it will NOT involve painting or sanding.
