As winter proceeds onward so must our projects. The goal? To finish up the many little (and not so little) tasks within the confines of our home so my husband and I can both be working outside in the sunshine come spring and summer.
Our most recent makeover was this built-in china cabinet which was original to the home. We didn’t want to get rid of it all together because it was such a great use of space. The function would have to be changed to suit our needs but the ‘bones’ were there begging for our attention.
When we purchased this home we knew there would be no room for my wine cabinet or for my husband’s beautiful oak bar brought back from Germany during his military years. Changing the functionality of the built-in cabinet over to a wine/cocktail bar made sense. It would allow for more storeage of our combined bar ware, sodas, water, wine fridge and my ever expanding essential oil collection.
Because good storage hides clutter while looking clean, the glass sliders were the first thing to be removed. This reduced the visibility of wine glasses and various items we intended to store in the upper space. The lowest shelf was also removed to allow for a larger work space in what would become the serving and prep area of the bar.
A center “pinwheel” pattern backsplash was installed using some of the leftover tiles we had from our kitchen install. It gives a little textural detail that is easy to clean.
The original stained finish was in pretty rough shape overall so we went with a paint and primer combo, the same color as our kitchen island. The color called Zinc, would make everything seem cohesive within the open living space.
Thick trim and blank rosettes were added to the perimeter of the piece to lend more bulk to the cabinet and to make it appear more furniture-like. The original piece lacked this detail where on our updated version it is more eye catching and impressive.
Knowing that we wanted to incorporate the wine fridge into the lower half of the cabinet we designed the area to allow for storage on either side. Electrical was also run to power the fridge as well as a workspace light to brighten the serving area. The new doors with an upgraded drawer slider and sleek hardware makes the finished piece look a little more modern.
We are currently waiting on one final item to top off this makeover. My husband ordered a large piece of tempered glass to place over the countertop area of the bar. This should protect the paint well enough while keeping things clean looking and oh so functional.
So, who’s ready for a glass of wine? Anyone?
Dirt On My Plate 