Post by BBSparky on Jan 10, 2013 11:02:58 GMT
Yep, you read it right, a home bar! When we moved into our new house in Nov 2011 we found we had quite a big lounge and not a great deal to put in it. After the obligatory walk around the sofa shops a large sofa was delivered and a second one for the dogs was placed in the far corner but this still left a large space to make use of. After all of 30 seconds thought I decided that what the area really needed was a home bar so I set about making one despite never having done anything like that before in my life.
I decided that rather than going the easy route of just building a rectangular one I was going to build a curved, padded and leather covered one for full on 70's retroness
I started in the garage by making the frame with MDF top and bottoms. It was actually a lot easier than I thought and all the time I had my dads voice in my head repeating the old saying 'Measure twice, cut once'.
Once the frame was built I made a central shelf ( making sure to leave the right space beneath for one of those small glass fronted beer fridges you see around), fitted the side panels and set about gently curving some thin MDF around the front.
After this it was a trip to the local material shop. To say I was like a fish out of water was an understatement! However I managed to source the padding I would need and also the length of fake leather for the front. Once home I stapled the padding to the outside of the bar area and then proceeded to cover with the leather and staple this too. Unfortunately in the excitement I forgot the take pictures of these stages but I was quite happy with how it turned out. (Excuse the wallpaper as this has since been replaced!
)
To finish the top I cut a sheet of MDF to the same shape as the top of the bar and we covered it in photos from my wife and my holidays and time together and covered it with a sheet of perspex which means we can add to it whenever we like.
To enhance the bar feel I have since installed some optics into the alcove behind the bar. Ironically we hardly drink but the bar has been a good talking point when friends come round and its certainly better than just an empty space.
I decided that rather than going the easy route of just building a rectangular one I was going to build a curved, padded and leather covered one for full on 70's retroness
I started in the garage by making the frame with MDF top and bottoms. It was actually a lot easier than I thought and all the time I had my dads voice in my head repeating the old saying 'Measure twice, cut once'.
Once the frame was built I made a central shelf ( making sure to leave the right space beneath for one of those small glass fronted beer fridges you see around), fitted the side panels and set about gently curving some thin MDF around the front.
After this it was a trip to the local material shop. To say I was like a fish out of water was an understatement! However I managed to source the padding I would need and also the length of fake leather for the front. Once home I stapled the padding to the outside of the bar area and then proceeded to cover with the leather and staple this too. Unfortunately in the excitement I forgot the take pictures of these stages but I was quite happy with how it turned out. (Excuse the wallpaper as this has since been replaced!
)To finish the top I cut a sheet of MDF to the same shape as the top of the bar and we covered it in photos from my wife and my holidays and time together and covered it with a sheet of perspex which means we can add to it whenever we like.
To enhance the bar feel I have since installed some optics into the alcove behind the bar. Ironically we hardly drink but the bar has been a good talking point when friends come round and its certainly better than just an empty space.