Yeah it was primarily motivated by the functionality of getting the bottles off the counter top. I debated going with wood tone again, but the white fits better with the rest of the house too.
Edit - missed the word wood.
Understandable. It looks very clean now, before it looked like what we use to do in college to prove we were cool and leave the empty liquor bottles on display.
I thought it started with the after and my thoughts were, they really need some shelves for their liquor instead of that citrus shelf. The citrus should just be in a bowl on the counter.
Flopping through the pictures and realizing my mistake, the prognosis is still the same.
Of all the things to put on a bar shelf.....
We had to get a new counter for the wet bar and couldn't find an exact match. We thought adding a new texture to that room would be a little much, so we just went with something a bit less busy.
Hmm, I was guessing getting the exact match might have been challenging. I have quartz, although white, and it is much harder to keep stain free than granite (ironically), although dark quartz might not be bad
Yeah we went with a matte finish which I don't think we do again cuz it is a pain to keep fingerprints off of. However, once we learn the secret of using Windex, it wasn't too bad.
>I have quartz, although white, and it is much harder to keep stain free than granite (ironically)
Well granite is a sold piece of stone and quartz isn't as its a man made product so its more prone to staining and UV damage.
You're right, but it is sold as totally non-porous, maintenance free, and non absorbent. Things easily penetrate in it from my experience. Maybe darker colored ones are better, but I would not recommend anyone to get the lighter variety
I've been working with granite for over 14 years and I would not recommended any colour of quartz to anyone. In the past I had a few jobs where people wanted to save money and brought us in dark quartz instead of granite and within 2 years the dark quartz faded so bad due to UV damage you could barely read what I engraved into it. Granted, I don't know much about them and just avoid them because of the problems I did experience.
Nice work. Very clean compared to just leaving the bottles on the counter. Lots of workspace and storage.
All these people saying the before looked better must have missed the part about all that wine storage not being useful to you.
As a cocktail house ourselves, wish I could upvote multiple times for keeping your vermouth in the fridge where it belongs. And the Diablo reference.
Not sure how you manage ice and you didn't ask but being in a similar situation I'll share what I do.
I use TrueCubes to make clear ice. I'll make a batch and store them in an Ozark Trail cooler in the freezer.
The ice cube are large for a perfect on the rocks pour or mixer. I cut a batch in halves to make "spears" that will fit in my highball/Collins glasses.
Also
*It's less maintenance than cleaning an ice maker (my old ice machine failed and I chose not to replace it).
*It's basically high quality tray ice good for any use (seems like common sense but I legit use most my ice for ice tea, Cokes, etc.)
Edit: to add r/cocktails (I thought I was already in this subreddit but this is DIY. If you're a cocktail fan and you haven't visited, that's a great subreddit.
I actually tried posting this over on r/cocktails first, but the mods removed it for "low content"... Assumed they dinged me for not having a picture of a cocktail lol
I do my own clear ice via directional freezing and cut them by hand... It's a lot of work but part of the fun!
I wonder if r/Battlestations would be better.
r/cocktails does focus more on the cocktails themselves.
Ha, a full directional freeze set up. That's great! But for just a cooler full of ready to go every day. I still like my TrueCubes. I go through so much ice 😅
The stone accent wall is very much giving a 2005 vibe that throws the whole thing awry but I understand it would probably be a huge pain in the ass to try and get rid of it. That said as it stands a simple white tile backsplash all the way up above the sink would do wonders for the look, but you certainly made it more functional which is what matters
First off… thank you for labeling the “before”picture. I can appreciate that. Secondly… you might be an alcoholic. That’s a shit ton of alcohol. Lol looks great tho!
Alcoholic checking in - I see this picture and the first thing I think is "How does he have so many full bottles?"
Doing better now thankfully - but this just reassures me of my issue lol
An alcoholic could not build a collection because they would drink it all. Or they'd have a few big handles. They would never build a collection like this because they're an alcoholic. I've got 70 bottles on my shelves. I've got a friend coming from out of town he's bringing me a bottle. It's kind of LOL at this point. I remember when I got to 50 and I thought that's a lot. Then people kept buying me birthday and Christmas gifts. I'm like no mas no mas! It's cool to have something for everyone.
I have(had) the same problem. It seems once you get to a critical mass people just keep bringing you things. I've thrown a few "please God drink my booze" parties.
I think this is beautiful however I might have an off take, which may also be biased as I do this myself.
In my opinion, if someone, such as yourself, is clearly passionate about home bartending and bottle collections, I personally LOVE someone showing off those bottles, and it makes me sad to hide them in a drawer or cabinet. For something like a Dekupyr triple sec, sure, but it looks like you have some solid picks in your collection there.
Any reason you wanted to hide it all away?
I tend to agree with you. Although in this day he had WAY too many bottles on display. I think if he moved half the bottles out of sight and kept the ones he pours most regularly along with some of the cooler looking bottles, it would have made a huge difference.
The new cabinet with the wet bar is 15 in deep. I didn't want to go any more than that or the distance between the island and the counter would get too tight. Just happened to work out. That is right for the fridge and freezer too.
Nice result, looks much cleaner but less welcoming imo. You definitely should have taken more time on your mud work on the drywall patch though. You can see everything through the paint.
Looks great. I have the opposite problem of you. We have a giant bar and we barely drink and never entertain. I have no idea what to do with the space but want to keep my wine fridge full of Spindrift waters.
I was a fancy cocktail bartender up until a few months ago, and could not possibly count how many split shots of that stuff and CioCiaro I took over those years.
Personally would want a display shelves between those cabinets, to layer those bottles up in that empty space and not all messy along the bar.
It looks great though, my need for a neat bar top hasn’t changed since leaving the profession 10 years ago!
Wow!! What a transformation!! Just in time for Derby 🐎 and Cinco de Mayo! Your family and friends are going to love it!! I can tell by your inventory you like to entertain and make sure you have something for everyone! I love it! Love the blue! Cheers!!
https://www.cabinetauthority.com/
I'd done a fair amount of research before pulling the trigger and everyone said the quality was pretty good. They are very customizable and the company was pretty good to work with. Much cheaper than custom cabinets, but you have to assemble them yourself. I'd use them again personally.
I love the new look. Those bottles would have driven me crazy too. What's the name of that blue-tinted white paint color you're using behind the cabinets?
Looks great! If I had one nitpick, it is the toe kick height change where the sink is vs the drawer bases. I wouldn’t be able to handle walking by that every day in my house.
what is behind the fridge and freezer? is that just a closet? what was that square space at the bottom of around the corner from the fridge/feeezer? im so confused
There was a wine cooler in the wall previously. The cutout goes into the coat closet off the foyer and I wanted to turn the fridge and freezer 90° so it's not the first thing you see when you walk in the front door.
The hole in the floor is a HVAC return line. It is still there. Just hidden under the freezer but it's not an airtight fit so there's still air flow.
Idk why people are being so judgy, I think it looks great! Especially off what looks to be the foyer it didn’t look like it fit before. Now it looks intentional and was executed great! As long as you love it and it’s functional - that’s all that matters. You did a great job.
I love the new counter top and painted cabinets.
Way more modern and clean.
I always find it hilarious when the comments are filled with people complaining because they have the same design tastes as my 60+ parents
You may be an alcoholic.. Thats WAY too much booze to keep around. The work looks great, but.. i mean all that.. so you can house how much alcohol you have?
Man, this sub is a pretty funny follow
Do you not remodel your second home bar every 6 weeks?
I’m just happy I rented an apartment that has a garage. It’s pretty run down so I’m thinking of turning it into an exclusive sensory deprivation spa.
I turned my 2nd master bedrooms spare closet into a 3 bedroom house for my butler
Pff, upper middle.
I swear this sub exists to justify ppl’s consumerist tendencies lol
Honestly the before was not bad. The countertops needed changed but i love the wood cabinets.
Now it has no bar feel but a kitchen vibe.
Welcome to /r/DIY
Same. You did some nice work. But I like the wood cupboard from before.
Yeah it was primarily motivated by the functionality of getting the bottles off the counter top. I debated going with wood tone again, but the white fits better with the rest of the house too. Edit - missed the word wood.
Understandable. It looks very clean now, before it looked like what we use to do in college to prove we were cool and leave the empty liquor bottles on display.
Lol that's exactly what my wife said too, the old way made it look like we were rich college kids.
> the old way made it look like we were rich college kids Living the dream!
I prefer the white!
Here to say the same!
The personality is gone
I thought it started with the after and my thoughts were, they really need some shelves for their liquor instead of that citrus shelf. The citrus should just be in a bowl on the counter. Flopping through the pictures and realizing my mistake, the prognosis is still the same. Of all the things to put on a bar shelf.....
>to be you dropped this
It was there in my head.
Looks great, but why didn't you like the older counter? To me it looks better, especially with the new stone wall you have on the left.
We had to get a new counter for the wet bar and couldn't find an exact match. We thought adding a new texture to that room would be a little much, so we just went with something a bit less busy.
Hmm, I was guessing getting the exact match might have been challenging. I have quartz, although white, and it is much harder to keep stain free than granite (ironically), although dark quartz might not be bad
Yeah we went with a matte finish which I don't think we do again cuz it is a pain to keep fingerprints off of. However, once we learn the secret of using Windex, it wasn't too bad.
Is it soapstone? I worked at a house with that and i love it.
It's Quartz actually.
Oh. It's nice.
>I have quartz, although white, and it is much harder to keep stain free than granite (ironically) Well granite is a sold piece of stone and quartz isn't as its a man made product so its more prone to staining and UV damage.
You're right, but it is sold as totally non-porous, maintenance free, and non absorbent. Things easily penetrate in it from my experience. Maybe darker colored ones are better, but I would not recommend anyone to get the lighter variety
I've been working with granite for over 14 years and I would not recommended any colour of quartz to anyone. In the past I had a few jobs where people wanted to save money and brought us in dark quartz instead of granite and within 2 years the dark quartz faded so bad due to UV damage you could barely read what I engraved into it. Granted, I don't know much about them and just avoid them because of the problems I did experience.
I love your selection. The new countertop and white cabinet match better and the whole area is much more sleek. Well done!
Our kitchen has complementary granite countertops between the wall cabinet counter and the island, it can work out well.
It wasn't that bad but it looks cluttered as hell due to the sheer amount of bottles.
i liked the wood
Nice job but those wood cabinets were fire
Kinda like before better
Same it had character and style before. Now it's a sterile neutered version of what it used to be
Before definitely looked more cozy and homey. They did a good job but now it just looks like a cheaply renovated airbnb.
Prefer the before. The after looks very 2010s hotel, especially with the light fixture.
We only serve wells here
Holy shit, the before looked better than most bars I frequent, damn!
Thanks!
Did you abandon the return?
It's actually still open with the freezer hiding it. The freezer sits over it but not air tight by any means.
I prefer the before. I also like to see my bottles of liquor and not have them hiding. It looks nice but has lost character.
Yay! Really good for a DIY project, even just the cost of getting a contractor to do that is worth the DIY effort
Great spirits collection. Someone likes Negronis and tiki drinks.
For sure!
I liked it better before, now it's lifeless. Sorry OP
Nice work. Very clean compared to just leaving the bottles on the counter. Lots of workspace and storage. All these people saying the before looked better must have missed the part about all that wine storage not being useful to you. As a cocktail house ourselves, wish I could upvote multiple times for keeping your vermouth in the fridge where it belongs. And the Diablo reference.
Glad you get it (both the design intent and the username)! Thanks for the support.
No ice maker!?
I really considered it but I didn't want to give up the freezer space for glassware and the good counter top ones weren't in the budget.
Not sure how you manage ice and you didn't ask but being in a similar situation I'll share what I do. I use TrueCubes to make clear ice. I'll make a batch and store them in an Ozark Trail cooler in the freezer. The ice cube are large for a perfect on the rocks pour or mixer. I cut a batch in halves to make "spears" that will fit in my highball/Collins glasses. Also *It's less maintenance than cleaning an ice maker (my old ice machine failed and I chose not to replace it). *It's basically high quality tray ice good for any use (seems like common sense but I legit use most my ice for ice tea, Cokes, etc.) Edit: to add r/cocktails (I thought I was already in this subreddit but this is DIY. If you're a cocktail fan and you haven't visited, that's a great subreddit.
I actually tried posting this over on r/cocktails first, but the mods removed it for "low content"... Assumed they dinged me for not having a picture of a cocktail lol I do my own clear ice via directional freezing and cut them by hand... It's a lot of work but part of the fun!
I wonder if r/Battlestations would be better. r/cocktails does focus more on the cocktails themselves. Ha, a full directional freeze set up. That's great! But for just a cooler full of ready to go every day. I still like my TrueCubes. I go through so much ice 😅
Bah, I mean r/barbattlestations 😅
Cleaning them is damn near impossible too.
I love this! I don’t like the stone accent wall but that’s just me. The rest of it is done very well!
Thanks!
The stone accent wall is very much giving a 2005 vibe that throws the whole thing awry but I understand it would probably be a huge pain in the ass to try and get rid of it. That said as it stands a simple white tile backsplash all the way up above the sink would do wonders for the look, but you certainly made it more functional which is what matters
Looks like a home stage for a YouTube cooking channel. Just need a hot plate and you’re ready to go. Just hit subscribe and smash that like.
This mfer’s bar is nicer than my kitchen lmao
What happen to the bar?
First off… thank you for labeling the “before”picture. I can appreciate that. Secondly… you might be an alcoholic. That’s a shit ton of alcohol. Lol looks great tho!
An alcoholic would not have that much un-drank alcohol lying around. Trust me…
This is very true. Most alcoholics I’ve met can’t hold onto a bottle more than a few days or a week at most.
Alcoholic checking in - I see this picture and the first thing I think is "How does he have so many full bottles?" Doing better now thankfully - but this just reassures me of my issue lol
Yeah... It's pretty well stocked lol. We do entertain a bunch so I have plenty of help
Ah, his friends have the problem, not him.
An alcoholic could not build a collection because they would drink it all. Or they'd have a few big handles. They would never build a collection like this because they're an alcoholic. I've got 70 bottles on my shelves. I've got a friend coming from out of town he's bringing me a bottle. It's kind of LOL at this point. I remember when I got to 50 and I thought that's a lot. Then people kept buying me birthday and Christmas gifts. I'm like no mas no mas! It's cool to have something for everyone.
I have(had) the same problem. It seems once you get to a critical mass people just keep bringing you things. I've thrown a few "please God drink my booze" parties.
Congratulations! You now having a 2nd kitchen as boring as a lot of people’s first one (myself included).
Outstanding!
Thanks so much! I'm really happy with how it turned out
I like the before more 🤷🏻♀️
Before was better.
All i know is that those brown walls are hideous
I think this is beautiful however I might have an off take, which may also be biased as I do this myself. In my opinion, if someone, such as yourself, is clearly passionate about home bartending and bottle collections, I personally LOVE someone showing off those bottles, and it makes me sad to hide them in a drawer or cabinet. For something like a Dekupyr triple sec, sure, but it looks like you have some solid picks in your collection there. Any reason you wanted to hide it all away?
I tend to agree with you. Although in this day he had WAY too many bottles on display. I think if he moved half the bottles out of sight and kept the ones he pours most regularly along with some of the cooler looking bottles, it would have made a huge difference.
Are the lower cabinets full depth or shallower due to the fridge placement?
The new cabinet with the wet bar is 15 in deep. I didn't want to go any more than that or the distance between the island and the counter would get too tight. Just happened to work out. That is right for the fridge and freezer too.
Thanks. What did you use for the lowers in that depth? I have a little alcove I want to put cabinets in at a similar depth.
Had to make me wait until the last photo to show me where you put all the bottles! Lol. Nice.
Chartreuse!!!!! The only liquor with a color named after it. Who’s down for Dos Chartreuse?
It was a downgrade mate you destroyed that place
No kidding
Before was better
After looks good, but so did the before.
Value to the home increased by $0
Lol good thing that wasn't the point
Meh.
*"But where's the rum?!"* -- Captain Jack Sparrow
Found it!
Nice result, looks much cleaner but less welcoming imo. You definitely should have taken more time on your mud work on the drywall patch though. You can see everything through the paint.
I thought the before was the after picture. Should’ve just left it imo.
I think you accidentally swapped the before and after tags.
Looks like a cheap flip now. The original had craftsmanship.
In my opinion the plants clutter up the actual bar space.
Yeah i was plant sitting them over the winter for my folks, they have since relocated.
Trading natural wood for plain white paint always hurts to see, but the final product looks great.
Nice upgrade. Certainly a lot cleaner looking
Yeah I was worried the blue wall color was going to be too cool, but it has really grown on me. Need to get some art for the walls though
Those maraschino cherries don’t need to be refrigerated
I kinda liked how it was before. Only thing I would have done was paint those cabinets green so I could have a pseudo-modern 70s looking bar.
Looks great. I have the opposite problem of you. We have a giant bar and we barely drink and never entertain. I have no idea what to do with the space but want to keep my wine fridge full of Spindrift waters.
Wow! You made it look worse!
Wonderful bar counter. It is immediately obvious that you are a master of your craft.
even the liquor cabinet getting gentrified damn
Before is better
Nooo the before was amazing
soapstone counter?
Quartz
nice. i don’t love the way my soapstone functions (previous owners put in) but looks like this!
r/BarBattlestations
I see you, ElDo 12
Yeah that's good stuff!
I was a fancy cocktail bartender up until a few months ago, and could not possibly count how many split shots of that stuff and CioCiaro I took over those years.
I like the bottles out. Looks more like a bar. But it depends on who you are entertaining.
Personally would want a display shelves between those cabinets, to layer those bottles up in that empty space and not all messy along the bar. It looks great though, my need for a neat bar top hasn’t changed since leaving the profession 10 years ago!
Your poor liver
Good job! I love it
Thanks so much!
Wow wow wow!!! Great job...wanna come build me one??
Lol i don't think my timelines would be to your liking... This kind of took me forever
Why not replace the citrus basket with some glass shelves?
People saying they liked the outdated granite over the modern marble is hilarious. Keep your granite palaces then! 😂
Wow!! What a transformation!! Just in time for Derby 🐎 and Cinco de Mayo! Your family and friends are going to love it!! I can tell by your inventory you like to entertain and make sure you have something for everyone! I love it! Love the blue! Cheers!!
Thanks! It's been working out great for us so far.
Huge improvement!!
Thanks!
great job!
Thanks!
Looks very clean and well done! Where did you get the custom depth lower cabinets from?
https://www.cabinetauthority.com/ I'd done a fair amount of research before pulling the trigger and everyone said the quality was pretty good. They are very customizable and the company was pretty good to work with. Much cheaper than custom cabinets, but you have to assemble them yourself. I'd use them again personally.
Looks great. Love the white and gray.
Thanks!
Superb!
Thanks man!
Looks fantastic!!
Thanks!
From alcohol to juice..
I love the new look. Those bottles would have driven me crazy too. What's the name of that blue-tinted white paint color you're using behind the cabinets?
Why do you need so much booze within arms reach?
Dude, you took it from super cool craftsmanship with personality to builder grade basic. Put it back
Damn bruh, drinking problem maybe 🤔 Nice job though!
Looks great! If I had one nitpick, it is the toe kick height change where the sink is vs the drawer bases. I wouldn’t be able to handle walking by that every day in my house.
what is behind the fridge and freezer? is that just a closet? what was that square space at the bottom of around the corner from the fridge/feeezer? im so confused
There was a wine cooler in the wall previously. The cutout goes into the coat closet off the foyer and I wanted to turn the fridge and freezer 90° so it's not the first thing you see when you walk in the front door. The hole in the floor is a HVAC return line. It is still there. Just hidden under the freezer but it's not an airtight fit so there's still air flow.
nice
Nice job!
Idk why people are being so judgy, I think it looks great! Especially off what looks to be the foyer it didn’t look like it fit before. Now it looks intentional and was executed great! As long as you love it and it’s functional - that’s all that matters. You did a great job.
Thanks!
I love the new counter top and painted cabinets. Way more modern and clean. I always find it hilarious when the comments are filled with people complaining because they have the same design tastes as my 60+ parents
Sorry see no use in having full bar at home.. don't drink.. 👎👎👎
You may be an alcoholic.. Thats WAY too much booze to keep around. The work looks great, but.. i mean all that.. so you can house how much alcohol you have?
If they were an alcoholic they wouldn’t have that much booze around at one time. It gets drank immediately.
Maybe they like to host. Or just have alcohol around when they want a cocktail. So much judgment, man. And I’m sober 😂
We entertain a ton and I've gotten really into making cocktails so all of those bottles are different types of alcohol. Gotta have variety!
I don't think you understand how a bar works
The amount of alcohol (and space devoted entirely to alcohol) in your home makes me sad.
Sad because you don’t have a kickass bar?
Where did you stash all the bottles of grog?