A Home in the Making: A Space for Drinks!

Something I never expected about moving into a house that you can actually renovate is how quickly time flies! We've been in our new house over 7 months!

Besides reminding me that I desperately need to: 1) hang pictures 2) buy some furniture and 3) maybe decide on some paint colors, this intro was supposed to segue into the fact that I'm going to be putting some of our house projects on here! Though it was a new build, there's still plenty of projects that we've come up with to make the house feel more like a home.

Our latest project has been building a bar in our dining room area. We're not done yet, but I figured I'd catch you all up to speed. Here's the house as we saw it before we bought it (so yes, all this furniture is staging).

Against the dining room wall, next to the window, is the perfect space to fit a bar. What we really wanted was a mini fridge for drinks (beer, wine, Gatorade, etc.). In planning this, we thought it'd be great to incorporate some cabinets that could also hold liquor, drinking accessories, and wine.

We shopped around a little for an already created piece, but we had a specific image in mind, and our strict dimensions really did call for a specialist. One perk of living in a housing community that's still being built is that we've got access to a lot of great construction companies (the downside is nail guns being used right outside your window at 8 AM on a Saturday...). Bryan (boyfriend and homeowner) approached the builder who was in charge of our home and asked if he knew anyone who could do specialty cabinets.

Our initial design plan

He set us up with a specialty carpenter who does cabinets. There was an initial meeting where design, color, wood type, and detail of the cabinets were all discussed. We chose cabinets that are really similar to the kitchen ones, but we would do a glass overlay and a different shade of granite. It was at this time that we decided to change from our original plan of an X shaped space for the wine and use these simplified rows. The carpenter was worried that we wouldn't be able to fit as many bottles using the X-shaped layout. I was hesitant at first, but I think they turned out great!

For the fridge, we went between a few different styles, but ended up choosing this Frigidaire, which matched the brand of our current refrigerator and washer/dryer.

So far we love the cabinets! They're exactly what we need: a place for liquor (with adjustable shelving), enough wine space, and a minifridge that hold all of our beverages! It's easy for guests to see what we've got available, and there's enough space for any extra 6 packs that get brought over.

The cabinets turned out to be the easiest part of all of this-- now it's time to find glass and granite. These pieces are still in progress, but they're moving along. I'll update you when we get there!