Remodeling to Add a Bar

Our home model had a space for a bar in the great room, but the people who first bought the home opted not to finish it out.  Basically, there was an indentation in our great room with a set of upper and lower honey-colored cabinets that looked like a laundry room.  It was odd and ugly all at the same time.

We looked all over for a “before” picture and couldn’t find one, so please take my word for it, our great room looked really odd.

In order to make this room look finished, we decided to put the bar in. We considered adding a sink and making it a wet bar, but tying into the bathroom plumbing was over $1000 and exceeded the budget for the entire project.  Ok, nope.

One of the best remodel projects we’ve done in this home is to add a bar in the great room.  I would have never believed I would use it or enjoy it so much.  I basically only drink wine and John rarely drinks anything so I didn’t think we’d get much use out of it.

Here’s the surprise that happened with the bar addition.  It was like adding a separate room!  We actually use it.  Sometimes I serve happy hour there as an alternative that gets us out of the kitchen.

We ended up doing the project in two phases.  Phase 1 was adding a curved drywall with a granite top.  Since it is a smallish counter, we were able to get a granite remnant at a granite boneyard. It is a beautiful piece of stone.

We added electricity for a small beverage fridge. 

Phase 2 happened a couple of years later when we had the kitchen remodeled.  We redid the bar cabinets to match the kitchen cabinets and added frosted glass.  We then found the pendants and had electricity run and installed them.

When we host large parties, groups always congregate in the kitchen, but the bar area allows another spot for smaller groups to gather and fosters different conversations.

We had cute leather bar stools, but the cats got those scratched up pretty quickly.  When the new Manchester upholstered stools from Pottery Barn came, I put the leather ones behind the bar.  They can’t be seen, but are nice to use for extra seating. They have a few scratches so they aren’t pretty, but they’re perfectly fine.

I’m not a Pottery Barn affiliate but I linked the bar stools for convenience. They are on clearance right now too!

Of course, Roxy needed to get into the picture!

You might also notice my small gallery wall with a few of our family pictures.  There are some oldies but goodies there.  Please don’t mind crooked pictures hanging in my house.  I must have small earthquakes every day, because I cannot keep pictures straight on my walls.

You might also notice a wine bottle wall hanging to the left which is a present from DF Chris. The cork basket is a present from Darling SIL Linda. The pendants and wall clock I mentioned here.

What I’m Reading

I haven’t had room to add books to my last couple of lengthy posts.  On audio I listened to The Boyfriend by Thomas Perry.  Apparently this is the second of the Jack Till series and I liked it well enough to go back and read the first, Silence.  Jane Whitefield and the Butcher’s Boy are really two of my favorite characters, both by Thomas. 

Jack Till isn’t quite as engaging, but I like the character and I liked the intelligence and action he used hunting down the bad guy.

I also sort of liked the bad guy.  Thomas has a way of illustrating how engaging a good looking, smart psychopath can get so far in life.

A good read and I give it four stars out of five.

A little off subject here, but I have an Achilles injury that is keeping me from my running and walking right now.  Beside the crazy factor, it means I’m not able to listen to as much audio as I like, dang it.  I am listening to an old Larry McMurtry, Leaving Cheyenne.  Twenty-five years after he wrote this, he won the Pulitzer for Lonesome Dove and I can tell you, writers in that class rarely disappoint me.  So far, SO GOOD!  So many reasons to get back on my leg again.

Not a Pulitzer contender is The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth.  Of course, it’s a #1 with sequels to follow and I won’t be reading them.  I just don’t care about the characters.  They are really not likable and not very interesting.  Rated two starts out of five.

I have had the privilege the past couple of weeks to pray for the health of some dear ones to my dear ones. I am praying daily (well, more like hourly) for all the crazy and hurt going on right now. There must be many others praying like I am and God must be in Heaven listening to billions of prayers a day. It’s hard not to worry, but I do think God has this covered.

I pray for peace and strength and grace for you this week.