Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Studying for the Bar

Slowly but surely, progress is being made in Casa de Giggles. And this home improvement is something that every girl, woman, pack rat, and shopaholic can enjoy - additional storage! But first let's review the situation...


This random corner of our dining room was narrow and housed our wine empty bottle racks.


First we added some wine glass holders to the bottoms. But underneath the racks was a small space for additional storage. I looked and searched and shopped for something that would fit. But alas, I was more disappointed than Madonna in a Malawian orphanage. Nothing!


Until my grandma came to the rescue. She had a storage piece in her hall that was just perfect. Outdated, sure. But my dreams of having a little bit of that wonderful old lady in every room of my house is coming true...starting here.


I am totally digging the clean lines and the storage possibilities. I think I want to paint it white (go figure) and re-do the hardware with a bit of oil-rubbed-bronze color or replace them with glass knobs. Won't this just be divine as a little drink station?! I am so excited about getting this one started! And I am just drooling about painting the inside an accent color...any suggestions?

Best part? It is totally functional. Not only is it the perfect size for bottles but it is just the right size to hold the ice bucket, additional wine glasses, and all the other doo-dads that are necessary for entertaining a bubbly event. Speaking of wine tasting parties...you know they break out my favorite at those things....no, not Chardonnay...all the cheese! hee hee!

20 comments:

Emily said...

Love the wine glass holders attached to the shelves, and what a great way to use your grandma's piece! It will look fabulous with your personality added to a wonderful family heirloom!

it is everlasting said...

Love it! That storage piece is perfect! What color white do you use for your furniture pieces? We have a blinding white that we used on our trim and I wasn't sure if I should go with something muted for furniture...

heather s. said...

Love it and I'm glad you are painting it white. I think it would look amazing with new pulls - the existing ones are too dated even if you did spruce them up a bit.

Linda@ Lime in the Coconut said...

You have a perfect little bar area...I would go with a wow color (or some great paper) Fushia comes to mind because it'll contrast nicely with green bottles...or even a softer pink would be nice.

Heidi said...

That's a great piece. I'm probably in the minority, but I wouldn't paint that piece white. It might be a pain in the butt to do, but I'd try to stain it a darker color to show off its history. I think white would be too modern of a look for an older piece of furniture.

Darby said...

You're too much. I'll be over tonight for cheese and chardonay!

claire @ a peachtree city life said...

i love that! it really ties it together and makes the racks above look more at home in the space.

Katie said...

Hey Marge - I use Zinsser Cover Stain primer on all my furniture pieces. Since it is oil based I apply 3-4 coats of primer using a foam brush (I abhor cleaning up oil-based anything - using the foam brush I can just toss it in the trash). Then I use Benjamin Moores pastel white base as my topcoat (yup - no color additives). Since I use it on all my trim it matches perfectly. Although it is a little blinding-white, I like it because it matches. I have heard really positive stuff about decorator's white which is not too yellow or pink or blue but just a nice soft white. Let me know if you venture into that big white world and what you find!

XO - Katie

Heather (Laptops to Lullabies) said...

Ooh, I love white-painted everything too. Maybe you could paint the inside a margarita-green. It is the accent colour in my kitchen, and I lovvvvve it ...

Amanda said...

Love it, love it, love it! My thought would be to leave the 2 side doors off, use some wood filler to patch where the doors screwed into the cabinet sides, then install some lighting on the inside top (I'm thinking IKEA's circle lights that are like $7 each or 3 for $15), each side, so it illuminates your liquor bottles. I think either paint it a snappy color inside which will be even better with inside cabinet lights and glass bottles or stain the inside (and outside) with your Cabot Polystain! Maybe some fun shelf paper too.

It's a beaut and I can't wait to see the finished project!

www.girlmeetshome.blogspot.com said...

I have just started stalking your blog in the past few weeks, and you are great! I love your ideas and crafty creations. This storage piece is fabulous...I don't know if you planned to do this already (i noticed a piece of glass leaning against the wall in one of those photos) but getting a custom cut piece of glass might be a good idea to top the furniture. that way if you pour drinks or put down a bottle of wine, the wood top stays protected and you can easily clean off the glass. Just a suggestion!!!! Good luck with the paint job!

Katie said...

Girlmeetshome - THAT IS BRILLIANT! I am all for protecting the top of a precious piece! Now I am off to see if there is a scrap glass shelf in the basement that I can get custom-cut!

Thanks a million!

XO - Katie

Freckles Chick said...

*marvelling at your dear grandmother's fantastic taste in furniture*

I could see this piece painted all white. Or that dark espresso color you just used on the piece in your den w/ the inlays painted white, to bring out the details and make it pop!

Kate Riley said...

What a marvelous piece, it fits the space so well, and it's functional ! White would look lovely, but so would a dark espresso for drama. Definitely get a glass top - I did that for my dining room table and it works wonders to preserve your beautiful furniture.... and glass is easy to clean. Great addition to your space !

Kelli said...

I love what you've done here. Classy and goes very well with the space.

Carry Grace said...

My grandmother had that same piece of furniture. It is not at my mom's and she won't let me touch it. It would look great painted white. Great job on the cast-off round table.

Amanda said...

If you were to leave the doors off and "display," maybe some mirrors along the back walls... could be interesting! Orrrr, could be cheese-fest... I wouldn't know until I tried it :)

Kim @ NewlyWoodwards said...

That looks perfect there. Cannot wait to see it white.

Dusty @AllThingsG+D said...

That is perfect for that spot! What a great find Katie!

Pretty Little Things for Home & Life said...

What a great little bar piece!! Good Find!!