I recently had a client contact me to build her a wine bar. I had done work for her in the past and was familiar with the
dining room where the piece was going. She gave me length, dimensions of her wine fridge, and free reign!!! Whoo hoo!!
I did some research and found a design I thought would work well with the other pieces in the space. I designed the piece with an open section to house the wine cooler, a couple of shelves for storage of glasses and bottles, and a flat bar top for serving. The client approved the plans and I got started.
There is truly something magical about bringing home a pile of lumber, knowing what it is about to become. For you cooks out there, it’s like a pile of ingredients waiting to become that amazing dish! I got started building the frame and then built in the shelves. 
The final piece was to add the decorative “X”s on the ends. Can I just tell you–I have never felt dumber in my whole life than I did figuring out those angles!! I knew I should have paid attention in geometry!! After (a lot of) trial and error, I got the angles cut and finished the bar.
Free reign on a design is super exciting, but also terrifying, because you are taking a shot that the client will like it. As I mentioned, I had done other pieces for her and was familiar with her style and color palette. I ran the general finish ideas past her and got a thumbs-up. First I stained the entire piece with a dark stain. Then I applied random patches of petroleum jelly on the areas of the bar that would most likely have become worn over time.
Finally, I painted over the petroleum jelly with a pale gray color that was already used in her dining room. (it actually makes less of a mess than you would think). Once the paint dried, I was able to rub off the areas that had petroleum jelly on them, allowing the “chippy” finish to develop. I thoroughly cleaned the piece to remove all the petroleum jelly and applied a coat of poly to seal the finish. I then added decorative hardware.
The finished piece looks amazing in her dining room, adding balance to another “chippy” piece she has in the space. I pulled my color palette from the other pieces in the room to make a cohesive but not “matchy” look. (After this photo was taken, I actually built a small stand to raise the wine cooler up a bit off the floor to make it easier to use.)
The beauty of custom built furniture is you get to dictate size, color, finish, and features. The bar was delivered and the client said: “the photos you sent don’t do it justice”. BEST. COMPLIMENT. EVER.
Do you have any furniture needs that could be solved with a custom-built piece?
Hold my wine, I’ve got this…
Amy
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