Bar Armoire

I was recently thumbing through the spring 2010 Pottery Barn catalog and I came across this bar armoire. I love the idea of a bar armoire, where you can close the doors to put everything away. Or open it, and there's everything you need to entertain.

I don't really have $1300 to spend on housing for my liquor, so I am thinking I could make one of these myself. Here are the steps.

1. Find an armoire in the correct size.

Craigslist Houston has this one listed for $75 (which happens to have a marble top)

or one like this, from Craigslist Dallas that's a little shorter, but still tall enough (should be at least bar height).

2. Deconstruct the interior (ie, take out all the weird existing shelving!).

3. Construct wine rack shelving at the bottom. You could use wood at home depot or lowes and cut pieces to fit. Then use wood glue and a nail gun to secure pieces together in a grid pattern. Also install wooden shelves (again, use wood from home depot or lowes and metal brackets) at desired height for bar tool storage.

4. Now give the inside a good sanding and a fresh coat of white paint. This makes it look clean and bright- the perfect background for your pretty bar things.

5. Using a nail gun/staple gun, attach wine glass holder onto the upper inside of the armoire. I mean, really go to town with that staple gun. I'm sure there are actual instructions for attaching the glass rack, so I guess you could follow those...

like this one from Target for $25.

or this smaller one, depending on the size of your salvaged armoire....

5. If the exterior wood color is less than appealing, give the whole thing a fresh coat of paint and seal with poly. Maybe a bright teal color, with the edges distressed a bit, like this buffet I saw at Star furniture, of all places. I can't get it out of my head. Try Vintage Teal or La Fonda teal from Valspar.

7. Update the hardware, if you so desire.

I like this cowardly lion knob from Anthro....

and this initial knob...

or this twisted twig pull.

5. Fill new bar armoire with drinks, supplies and cute organizers like these:

or this rattan tray from Pier1 for $18

I love the idea of a dark black armoire with a gold tray inside and lots of sparkly wine glasses. This tray is on holiday clearance from Pier 1 for a whopping $2.50.

fun little things.

Sounds like it's not too difficult, right? I think this could be an easy transformation to an ugly existing armoire that wants to be a bar. Send me your photos, if you attempt this DIY project yourself.