WORKBENCH BAR

After too many flea markets lusting over vintage workbenches that cost a bomb, I was just about ready to give up on the idea of having one as a bar when we found the frame of a wooden workbench at my mum’s place.

It was downstairs in the cellar and had a few boxes on top of it – totally hidden away. We got straight to work and replaced the legs, added a sturdier shelf and gave it a good lick of paint and…

Ta-da! It’s now all ready to serve up a round of mojitos.

This post isn’t really a full DIY post because it’s a unique piece but I wanted to share this as more of an idea that you might like to adopt and make your own.

Making this really made me realise how much you need to look past first impressions of pieces of furniture and keep your eyes open for little gems all over the place. I’m a pretty firm believer that almost any piece of wooden furniture has potential and isn’t worth throwing away.

This is what the workbench looked like to begin with.

The top was really stained.

And there was a fairly flimsy shelf underneath.

After sanding down the top, we decided that the legs needed to be chunkier to make it look more in proportion, so we chose a width of wood for the legs similar to the width of the worktop.

In order to avoid having metal screws and bolts where the legs join together, the sort of upside pie (π) shaped legs are attached together using wooden dowels (those sticky-out wooden things).

Here’s the workbench with the new legs on on the left.

We then added a much sturdier shelf made of pinewood and gave it a good lick of coloured varnish.

We also swapped up the plastic ends of the wooden handles with little wooden drawer knobs and although the stains on the top didn’t come out entirely after sanding, I really like the worn look that the worktop has.

You guys know I love a good before and after shot to really see the difference…

I absolutely love this bar but above all, I love having friends over and being able to tell them the story behind it and how much love went into making our own workbench bar.

I think I even prefer this one to the vintage ones I kept seeing at flea markets!

I also made these macrame hangers which hold fresh herbs (for the photo and for parties), brown sugar, straws, muddlers and a few of the smaller bottles of alcohol.

I think I’ll share a full DIY post on how to make these next week because they are awesome for holding all sorts of pots.

I’d love to know what you think of this idea! Are you thinking of working a bar cart or a little bar into your space?

Also, if you want to know any more details about the process, just leave any questions in the comment section below.

Have a wonderful week! xS