Drinks cabinet up-cycle project
During the first lockdown I told you my story about my summer house bar. The summer has left us, and the colder months are here. While the bar is out of use: during the quietude of lockdown2 I was looking for a piece of furniture to replace my bar cart in the lounge. I absolutely loved it but the amount of bottles, cocktail shakers, stirrers, mixers and such became too much for it to bear, and it became cluttered and noisy.
I picked up this amazing simple piece on Facebay for free. (my favourite word when up-cycling). A simple, clean-lined, and slightly uniformed cabinet which was crying out to be slightly more mid-century than it was. The wood doors are what swung it for me (pun intended) as the pattern and grain is beautiful.
Style and looks wise: it was a relatively simple make over. Just adding new legs for that mid-century nod, new simple sleek handles, a large bespoke cut piece of mirror behind the shelves, and LED strip lights fixed beneath each shelf to highlight the glass. (The LED’s also have a colour change function and can even flash like a disco, if you’re into that, which is completely fine! each to their own)
Walllpaper featured here in my lounge is from Cole and Son, London. ‘Woods and Pears’
The legs were purchased via Amazon.
These awesome cabinet handles came from Etsy seller Plank Hardware London.
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/PlankHardware
(above you’ll see the cab before, and during mirror instal)
The lighting was a particularly tricky part of this make over. My husband takes all the credit for putting this together, he had chosen a particular type that could be clipped together. This involved drilling some holes in the back and soldering the connections to make them run into one power source. The last thing you want on a piece like this is a mess of wires, and as I wanted it to sit flush against the wall, the power needed to be placed underneath out of sight.
Here’s some other idea’s for what I could have done with this cabinet/bookcase:
Wallpaper the backboard
Added glass shelves
Paint the inside cavity of the whole cabinet with a pop of yellow or dark blue
Paint the whole exterior body with wood paint to match the walls in the space
Removing the doors completely
I’m really pleased with how the cabinet came out! and I’m happy to replace my beloved bar cart with something equally as fabulous and then some! I appreciate furniture from all over, I’m a massive fan of Ikea and their innovation when it comes to design at great value, and I love to mix it up with furniture that you’ve creatively made your own, Up-cycling is great fun! Have a go at it yourself.
If you’ve got any comments about this project or my work please do get it touch! Thank you for reading!
Lots of love, and happy up-cycling!
Clare G.