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How to build a Beverage Bar

Filed Under: One Room Challenge

How to build a beverage bar from a closet under the stairs

How to build a Beverage Bar

This is one of those projects where everyone in our home agree was worth it!

This unorganized, cramped closet was really wasted space. It was a place for me to stash anything and everything that I didn’t want to look at or deal with at the time. This space is underneath the stairs between the dining room and hall to the kitchen. It was the perfect spot to create a beverage bar out of this closet.

Our kitchen counters are sort of chopped up so being able to move the coffee pot and supplies has freed up a section on the kitchen counters. The beverage bar will also be a great place to sit desserts when we hold family functions.

Here is the useless space before we cleared it out. This is exactly how it looked for years.

DIY Beverage Bar from converted closet

There was some demo that had to happen. We removed the doors and the frame. This left a very rough piece of wood showing but that was alright because we were planning to add a smooth new piece over it to paint.

How to build a beverage bar- demo day

The only issue with removing the door frame was the floor. Once the frame was out that left the subfloor showing. We were very fortunate that we had a few pieces of raw hardwood left over from adding hardwood floors in other rooms.

Ray cut the wood to size then filled the seams with a stainable wood filler. I sanded and stained over it. I bought Miniwax stain in Golden Oak thinking it was the color and guess what…it was right on!

Custom Beverage Bar and Hardwood floor repair

Since the two side walls were there all Ray had to do was build a back wall. We made sure to measure the depth of our cabinet and mini fridge in order for those to fit.

As you can see the light fixture had to be moved but I am not qualified to explain that process. If you or your husband are handy then you may already know how to do this otherwise get help from a professional.

We did add a horizontal board to the side walls in order to add the butcher block countertop. The board is the support for the countertop.

How to build a beverage bar from a closet

We bought the mini fridge and the slide in cabinet from Home Depot. The cabinet comes in different sizes so measure your space to see what size will fit. The size we have isn’t in stock so I have linked the one from Lowes.

Cabinet we bought.

Mini Fridge we bought.

The butcher block was purchased at Ikea. We drove to Charlotte and loaded it up. It was 6 feet long and was enough to make the top, a shelve and a couple of extra cutting blocks for my kitchen. I purchased the HAMMARP Countertop in Oak. Then I used Howard Butcher Block Conditioner on it because Bob Vila of This Old House recommended it.

Customized DIY Beverage Bar

These photos show how everything comes together. To save money and time there are only studs behind the fridge and cabinet, no real wall. You can actually slide the beverage fridge out right now and crawl behind there if you wanted. We just added the planks from the countertop up.

Along with the two side pieces of wood that were added to hold the countertop a front facade had to be created to cover the space between the countertop and cabinet as well as to the right of the cabinet by the wall. These were cut, glued on with wood glue then nailed in with finish nails.

Custom DIY Beverage Bar

We covered the walls and ceiling in the beverage bar with planks then painted white. To see how we installed the tongue and groove planks I have a tutorial HERE.

Beverage Bar with Wood Planked walls

Those brackets holding the shelf up are also from IKEA and cost $4 each! That is a great price! We were going to build some but when we saw these we were sold!

DIY Beverage Bar Shelf from butcher block

DIY Beverage Bar Counter top and Shelf

This is a VERY hard space to get a full photo. The below one was taken with my cell phone that’s why it looks a but different in color.

Beverage Bar DIY Project

How to Build a Beverage Bar from a closet- Coffee Station

I’ve already shared all of the details about the painting the beverage barΒ HERE.

You can find the mini beverage refrigerator at Home Depot.

DIY Beverage Bar Cabinet from Stock Home Depot

Beverage Bar shelf made from butcher block

I’ve shared a few photos on Instagram and was asked where I bought a few of the items. The three tier metal tray came from Sam’s Club over a month ago. Someone told me they went to the Sam’s website and found it because their store was out. The black and white stripe bowl was found at Ross for $5.99 and I would have bought more if I could have found them! It matches everything! AND that little help yourself canvas, I painted it for free because I already had the supplies!

How to build a Beverage Bar- Coffee Station- Built from Closet space

If you would like to see the complete kitchen makeover click on over HERE.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie says

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    Love everything that you guys did to and your beverage bar complete! Such a cute and practical space now!

    • Sonya Barker says

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      I never new I’d love it so much! Thanks Katie!

    • Shirley says

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      I absolutely love this. I’m an all day coffee drinker and love home recipes for mocktails which any age group can enjoy. I don’t even call them mocktails just nice beverage ha-ha. I hope to make mine turn out just like yours. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Jackie says

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    Gorgeous way to use a formerly impractical space. Very creatively and beautifully done. I want one… πŸ™‚

    • Sonya Barker says

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      Thanks SO much!

  3. Kathy @petticoatjunktion says

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    I love your beverage bar Sonya! It’s the perfect size and has everything you need!

  4. Heather says

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    It’s SO DARLING!! I adore it. What a big impact a small space can make. Brilliant!

  5. Marlene Stephenson says

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    Looks great Sonya and a great way to use that space.

  6. Corey @ Tinysidekick says

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    What an incredible upgrade for your home! Of course I love how amazing this looks, but I really love how you thought outside the box and created a truly usable space out of that closet! Bravo Sonya!

    • Sonya Barker says

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      Thanks so much Corey! I wonder why I’ve lived here almost 8 years before this happened! πŸ™‚

  7. Tina Robinson says

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    Looks great! Just a caution though since it wasn’t totally clear what beverage fridge you used – if you don’t use one that is made to be totally built in and enclosed the motor will burn out pretty fast. The cheapie dorm type fridges don’t work.

  8. Teresa says

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    This is such a great idea! I never would have thought to do that. It looks amazing. What a great use of space. Great job!!

  9. Terry says

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    What a great idea! You do beautiful work! Please come and share! I would love it if you would join in on my Making Broken Beautiful party! It starts 6:00pm (MST) this Thursday September 10 and I would love to have you join up each week!
    Smiles for a great week!
    Terry
    (http://thecuratorscollection.wordpress.com)

  10. Emma says

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    Beautiful job!! I’m looking to do something similar in my office and we have a small space to work with as well. Loved your DIY project, such inspiration! What fridge do you have? I’m looking to get the same one, and the handle on top is exactly what we need! Thanks! πŸ™‚

  11. Jen says

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    This is great! I am in the planning stages to build a little cabinet/countertop for a mini fridge in our basement Air B&B rental and this will work perfectly. The one I plan to make will be free standing, so I’ll have to make some modifications, but this has me inspired. Thanks for listing material costs and where you sourced them.

  12. Emily says

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    This is such a inspiration. Thanks for sharing! Can I ask how wide the space you ended up with was and the width of the fridge and cabinet? We’re looking to do the same but lucky our closet is already a little cut off due to the HVAC under the stairs.

  13. Leasa Parker says

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    love the coffee station! Where did you get the tiered galvanized tray? I have seen this somewhere and cannot remember where?

    • Sonya Barker says

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      I bought it last summer at Sam’s Club and I don’t think they have it anymore. I found one exactly like it on Amazon in case you would like to check it out there (affiliate link) http://amzn.to/1QnEOLh

  14. dolly dreyer says

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    Great Idea, Looks awesome!
    where did you purchase your beverage cooler? Does it have an ice maker in it? and what brand is it? Thank you!

  15. Liberti says

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    I love this. I actually have a question. I have an old built in trash compactor in my kitchen that I want to replace with a fridge like you did. I’m worried it will overheat because it is not free standing, which a lot of them are sold as. Did you have to purchase a specific one because it was built in?

    Thanks

    • Sonya Barker says

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      I’m not sure about that but we have unused space behind the beverage bar wall that is open. We did not build that full wood plank wall to the floor so behind our cabinet and fridge we just left the studs and there is about 2 feet of open space where the ceiling slanted.

  16. Tim says

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    do you have a link to the specific cabinet from Home Depot by any chance?

    • Sonya Barker says

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      Yes, this is what we bought. http://www.homedepot.com/p/15×34-5×24-in-Base-Cabinet-in-Unfinished-Oak-B15OHD/202020617?keyword=15+inch+stock+oak+cabinet

    • Jenny says

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      How did you make it look like the compartment for the fridge was part of the cabinet? What materials did you use for that part?

  17. Jessica says

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    hi! love this! looking to do something similar. Can you post the fridge you used? Thanks!

    • Bri says

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      Agreed, I would love to know the model of fridge. I’ve been searching the web and can’t seem to find it. Thanks for the post! πŸ™‚

  18. Donna Bingham says

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    I love your beverage station! My house is so tiny I couldn’t do that but I am doing a Hot Chocolate bar on my buffet for the winter, I will set it up this week. Thanks for sharing your lovely stuff πŸ™‚

  19. Sarah says

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    Hi! Love what you did with your bar. If you don’t mind me asking, where did you buy the hardware for your bar cabinet?

    • Sonya Barker says

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      Sure, here are the affiliate links to what I have. They are by Hickory Hardware and I have rose gold. http://amzn.to/2kgak9G

    • Sarah says

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      Thank you! My husband and I have a similar staircase in the home that we just bought. We used your mini bar blog post as an inspiration! it turned out great. Thanks again! πŸ™‚

  20. AmyBeth says

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    I tried the link for the beverage fridge you provided but it isn’t working. Can you tell me where you got yours/what model it is because I love it! Thank you

    • Sonya Barker says

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      Thanks for letting me know about the link. Here you go. https://rstyle.me/+SJwps1tn6uZ-YCQUF-J1ew

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