• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Chisel & Fork logo

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • DIY
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • DIY
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    You Are Here: Home → DIY

    Refurbished Bar

    October 7, 2017 | Updated August 28, 2019 by Ryan 1 Comment

    212 shares

    This refurbished bar took an old kitchen island from Cost Plus World Market and became a useful bar that houses alcohol and glasses.

    refurbished bar in basement

    Basements are still a relatively new thing to me. In Florida, at least as far as I know, basements do not exist. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the high water table right underneath the soil but don't hold me to it! Anyways, since moving to Maryland, I've found it's actually more uncommon to not have a basement.

    To dig even more into the weeds, most renovated homes (like ours) have a completely finished basement to add value to the home. For us, literally half the square footage of our house is in our basement. So naturally I was trying to come up with ways to use the basement, but also use furniture I already had and that's when I started looking at bar refurbishment ideas.

    When I first moved to Portland, I lived in an open concept apartment that had a big open space in the kitchen. As counter space was limited, I bought an island from World Market. While it had great use in Portland, there was no use for it in the townhouse Lauren and I lived at in Maryland so it just sat in our basement. I didn't want to have it just waste away in our house this time.

    kitchen in former townhome

    Since we had a ton of wine glasses from visiting wineries and leftover alcohol from our wedding that might never be drank, I thought converting the island into a refurbished bar was perfect! So I went to work with measuring everything out and seeing how I wanted to make it look. My mom actually just had renovated her kitchen a couple of years ago and had this area that had different colored reclaimed boards (see below) that looked awesome, so I wanted to semi-copy it.

    mom's kitchen renovated with wood planks

    While I didn't get reclaimed boards, I did something similar. I just bought some ¼" thick poplar and cut it to different sizes and stained them a few different stains. I love how it turned out! Unfortunately this was before I started documenting every little detail but to build the shelves, I lucked out that there was a bar that I could rest everything on. I just had to measure correctly and find wood that was wide enough to work. I had debated on making my own hanging shelves for wine glasses, but decided to just buy some from Amazon and I'm glad I did.

    wood shelves for bar

    So for you out there, if there is a piece of furniture that is "wasting away", try to see if you can find a different use for it. For us, an island that had no use anymore is now a refurbished bar and the first thing you notice when walking into our basement. Oh and it hides all of our extra glasses and liquor! PS if you're looking for other furniture ideas, check out some of my other posts.

    wood shelves with alcohol

    refurbished bar with wood planks

    side view of bar

    Other Projects:

    • Kitchen Island
    • DIY Wine Cabinet
    • IKEA Dresser Hack
    « Crispy Baked Chicken Wings
    Rosemary Hummus »
    212 shares

    Receive Top 25 Recipes

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sylvia Duer says

      October 07, 2017 at 9:13 am

      Great job, Ryan and Lauren! It's functional and beautiful.

      Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    About Chisel & Fork

    ryan standing in kitchen

    Hey there! Welcome to Chisel & Fork, a blog with tasty recipes and DIY projects. I'm Ryan and here you'll find hundreds of recipes ranging from true comfort food to vegan. Oh and if you like woodworking, you might just find your next inspiration. Read More About Chisel & Fork…

    Get Your Free Copy of My Top 25 Most Popular Recipes

    title page of ecookbook

    Easter Day Recipes

    • orange roll on spatula above rolls in baking dish
      Orange Rolls
    • overhead shot of smoked spatchcock chicken on wood board
      Smoked Spatchcock Chicken
    • mini ham and cheese quiche stacked on cutting board
      Mini Ham and Cheese Quiche
    • chocolate hazelnut biscotti stacked on white plate
      Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

    Popular Recipes

    • chocolate chip scones stacked on white plate
      Chocolate Chip Scones
    • spoon lifting out chicken paprikash
      Chicken Paprikash
    • close-up of german chicken schnitzel on white plate
      Chicken Schnitzel
    • close-up of pork tossed in sweet soy ginger garlic sauce on bed of white rice
      Mongolian Pork

    Featured In

    logos of places where Chisel & Fork has been featured

    Footer

    ^ back to top

    Information

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates
    • Recipes
    • DIY

    Contact

    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • Work With Us

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2022 Chisel & Fork

    212 shares