Happy Friday friends!
On Wednesday, I shared a built-in bar that we made for our dining room and today {Part 2}, I’m sharing the detailed plans and exactly how we made the piece. Once you see how we did it, you’ll see that it was very inexpensive to do. If you have a blank wall in your dining room or kitchen and can spare 14″ in depth, this is a great way to create tons of storage and a serving area for beverages when you’re entertaining.
Before I jump into how we built the piece, let me show you a couple shots of the finished piece for those of you who did not see Wednesday’s post:
This is what the corner looked like in my dining room before we installed the bar:
We began by figuring out exactly how much depth we could spare in this corner so that we would not infringe on walk space into and around my dining room. My dining room is not terribly big, so I wanted to be sure and be careful not to come out to deep on the base/bar countertop.
As you go into my dining room, the bar is to the right of the door in the corner:
The upper part of the bar that in storing my glassware and liquor measures exactly 6-5/8″ in depth and the bottom cabinet measures 13-5/8″. So you can see that it really takes up very little space but it stores a lot and the countertop is perfect for serving drinks when entertaining.
We also based our measurements on standard plywood widths, so we would not have to do any special cuts. On the base, we used standard 1 x 12’s (which is really 11-1/4″) and the upper piece, we used standard 1 x 6″s (which is really 5-1/2″). On both the upper and lower piece, we finished out the front of the piece with 1 x 2’s to give it a more finished, trimmed look.
Once we knew how much space we could use, we started by building the cabinet base:
A little disclaimer here, these measurements may not be exact. I tried to do the best I could but please be careful if you decide to build this and double check measurements as you draw up your own plan.
I have gone over the above image and added as many measurements that I could. Keep in mind that every shelf has a hidden 1 x 2 underneath on both the right and left side for support:
Here is a better close up shot of the base piece:
Of course, wood glue was used as well for the sides and trime and the piece was sanded and primed.
Next, once we drew up our plan for the upper storage piece, we determined our measurements for the mirror, which was approx. 68-3/4″ x 38″. I contacted our local glass company and they installed the mirror for me (I used 1/4″ mirror and it was only $220.00 for both mirror and installation)(sorry for the bad picture):
The mirror guys gave me the option of either having the mirror glued or tabs to hold the mirror in place and I went with the tabs because the guys said the tabs hold up to 150 lbs.
Next, the upper shelving piece was built outside:
Here is the picture with the measurements. However, keep in mind that the front 1 x 2″ trim pieces are not on this image and were not added until the shelves went in. Also, because the mirror was an afterthought and we decided to add the mirror after this piece was built, we had to add a 1/4 trim piece on the back right and left side and top to go around the mirror (we did not add on the bottom because the mirror was going to extend down to the back splash). So in other words, the shelving piece needed to enclose around the mirror to be flush against the wall. There probably is an easier way to do it than we did.
Here are the measurements of the upper shelving (again, the 1 x 2″ trim is not included in measurements below and will need to be added to your own plan):
The 1 x 2″ trim piece was added to all of the shelves and both the upper and lower pieces were sanded, primed and painted with oil based paint in the color Mindful Gray from Sherwin Williams:
The upper piece was attached snuggly around the mirror (over at the bottom) and to studs at the top and the left side wall all the way down:
Everywhere that you see a red dot on this next image is where the studs were:
Having studs to hold the piece on at least two sides is critical because this piece is heavy by itself and even heavier loaded with glassware and liquor. A great starting point if you’re going to build this is double checking to make sure that you can attach over the mirror to studs. This would be the basis for your measurements/design.
Last, the doors were build with 3/4″ MDF and then I designed a fretwork pattern that went on top of the doors and it was cut with 1/2″ MDF. While the doors are heavy with that much MDF, two strong hinges were enough to hold:
The counter top had two pieces of tile backing (to get the countertop to the mirror) and then we used porcelain tile for the countertops. We trimmed the counter top with 1-1/2 inch trim piece that the corner was rounded (we rounded it):
Once the piece was finished, we saw that we need to add some small thin trim pieces around the sides of the mirror at the backsplash and we caulked the heck out of this piece! We caulked around the mirror on each shelf and we pretty much caulked everywhere.
One more thing, because this piece is in the corner, we had to cut in our base molding around the floor for the door to be opened. The left door still only opens up about 3/4ths but it’s ok with me because those thick pretty doors were so important to me.
I think I have covered just about everything but I’m sure there is something that I have missed. If you have any questions at all, please leave them in the comment section for everyone to see and I will answer questions there. I will also go back and add information if I happened to miss something extra important.
Also, please, please do not build this piece soley off of my above plans and measurements. Please use it as your guide but begin your planning process with your studs. You absolutely need good stud positioning for this piece.
Have a wonderful weekend friends!
Cheers!
Cyndy
Lois says
Love your bar. So well done. You saved some $$$ and the design is awesome. Thanks for sharing the tutorial. You are SO talented.
Cyndy says
Aw, thank you so much Lois! Thanks so much for your note! Cheers and Happy New Year!
Mary Ruth says
Your fearless approach is refreshing! I like the idea you used the space for the bar where you did not mind ‘bar traffic’ or gathering. We are planning ours in our pass through -pantry, that way the dining room and kitchen are freed up for gatherings. We are remodeling the kitchen so it was easier to plan ahead for what we want in the space.
I like your addition of extra wood to create a detailed door style.
Removing baseboard really helps to fit the piece snug to the wall.
Making sure the cabinet construction and securing it for heavy weight is very important, you addressed those issues.
Good article as usual, I enjoyed reading and viewing steps and photos.
I have had my own custom kitchen business and we have built our own cabinets (Euro style) and the only thing I saw that I would change would be:
Where the cabinet fits against the wall on the left side, where it meets another wall (in a corner situation) is to leave about an inch space (fill in with wood spacer for securing the cabinet to the wall) and put a scribe molding (thin non supporting molding to cover space). What this does is move the cabinet over 1″ away from the wall and makes the door on that side open a bit more and less crowded at the corner. I like to set this ‘scribe’ molding back an inch or so as well to give the whole cabinet more prominence.
Also, what was the significance in placing the bottom shelf up about 3/4″ to 1″ from the bottom? Enough to allow bracing underneath the sides?
The whole look of this bar cabinet and the buffet with cohesive look is wonderfully styled. LOVE the paint color too!
Good job!
Cyndy says
Thank you so very much Mary Ruth! You know, as I’m reading your post I’m nodding my head yes! I had a couple inches that I could have made that blank/false space for the cabinet door opening. Ugh! Why didn’t I talk to you ahead of time?! Note to self… talk to Mary Ruth before each project! So smart you!
About the placing of the shelf 3/4ths up was because initially, I wasn’t going to have the mirror, so yes, it was for bracing below the shelf and Jesus, I guess made that rim below to conceal the 1 x 2 that would be the brace. Of course, when we decided to add the mirror, we realized that we could no longer brace in that spot because of the mirror. However, I do like the way it turned out but it does look a little odd and maybe we could have transitioned a little better. I’ll have to talk to Jesus more about it but I know it was a bracing issue.
You are SO observant! I so, so love it! Wish I had you by my side to talk through all of these projects.
Happy New Year my friend and thank you for your note! Cheers!
Mary Ruth says
Forgot to mention:
LOVE LOVE LOVE your tall ceilings!!! I am in serious envy here!
Mary Ruth says
I am sorry it took me a while to respond.
I had my own custom kitchen business back in Virginia. And we did a few cabinets and all moldings for our home as well as install hardwood flooring. So, we have been used to DIY at home. Right now we are starting our kitchen remodel. We build our own cabinets too.
I worked in and with custom shops for years in Richmond, Va and saw lots of styles (according to budget) of doors and cabinets. I kind of built up an idea in my head which was easiest for a DIY to build so we could quickly make our cabinets.
You can email me anytime for questions like that about construction of cabinets. I can give you suggestions before anything is built, if you wish.
I understand about the lower shelf on that upper unit. We make a box and that involves screwing the shelf from the sides. Of course Peter uses bondo or wood filler to fill where the screws went in. That makes it harder if you are staining, but if we were staining we would be making a different cabinet! We tend to stay with paint grade, makes it easier for us!
For mirror, Peter says he would have made the cabinet first with full back and all support backer for attaching to the wall. Then you can take this to be fitted for a mirror for the back and tack it in since you tack the mirror to the inside of the cabinet… That way the support is secure…
The way you did it, should be OK, and it looks like you got creative about that cabinet construction! Love that it is mirror-backed…
IF you want to fix that opening at the bottom, you can make a strip of wood, as a filler to fill that space and get attached under the shelf, will just make it look thicker.
I am only observant is because I have done the work, the drawings and the plans for the shop and AutoCad drawings and industry specific software to communicate with the shop. So, I was aware of the details of the pieces that make up parts of cabinets.
Sorry again for taking a while to get back to you. I started a small decorating group on Facebook of old board buddies, and it has just consumed me! How FUN though!
Then my camera ‘bit the dust’ so I took a while to pick one, just got it yesterday! Nikon Coolpix! I am not up to grabbing my Nikon D700 for quick project photos!
Was thinking of getting back into blogging, but, it has been 5 yrs or so since I did that, any advice. Not wanting to do anything except preserve all my photos and stuff from the last blog and then record my projects. Blogger is one that I was familiar with, not that enamored with Word Press. What is the good one now to start with?
Carla says
I Ann a bit unclear as to how you attached the top shelving unit to the wall. Can you please clarify??
Jill Miglin says
Hi Cyndy,
Love the bar. It’s giving me inspiration to do one in an unused closet in our dining room. My question is in regards to the rods on the shelves where the liquor bottles are stored. What type of rod and how is it installed?