Makeovers

Outside the Box

When it comes to upcycling, thinking outside the box is at the heart of what I do. That doesn’t always just apply to looking at a singular piece of furniture. Sometimes it’s a much larger picture. For instance, unless you built your home and selected each and every element, there’s bound to be something you wish were different. This was the case in our home. The challenge for us was too little counter space in the kitchen, yet our formal dining room went largely unused because it didn’t fit our lifestyle. We discussed taking down walls and reconfiguring our home’s footprint, but couldn’t settle on a plan we liked. Then it struck us. By moving the dining table off center, we created space to build a combination coffee and wine bar along the entire length of the dining room. We were able to solve multiple problems with this idea.

First, it added tons of additional counter space–perfect not only for the coffee and wine bar but also for serving food at parties and holidays. We installed a sink and included a small refrigerator inside the cabinets for cocktail garnishes, coffee creamer, etc. We also installed a filter in the water line to this sink, providing filtered water for all of our coffee, tea, and cocktails (our tap water doesn’t taste the greatest). The base of the wine bar was built from a wine rack. We also gained a ton of storage and created a room perfect for entertaining. The dining room bridges the living room and the kitchen, and now provides a place where people want to linger. Coffee in the morning, wine after dinner, games in the evening and obviously —dining. By installing directional lighting on a dimmer where the center chandelier used to be, we are able to highlight all functional parts of the room.

Now the most under-used room in our home has become the hub. We used store bought cabinets, and I built the countertop in the same style that I use for building farm tables. It solved so many issues and turned out better than we even expected. All this for under $1000. Not too shabby!

Think about what you wish were different in your home. Is there a solution outside the box?

Hold my wine, I’ve got this…

Amy

 

 

 

 

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