so many images of bar carts these days has me loving the way it looks anyway. pretty bottles, basket trays, cute little lamps, cocktail napkins with your monogram...you know...you've seen it too.this area is to the right of the front door. the opposite wall holds a mission oak desk with lamps, a mirror, some pretty bottles and a candle...sort of my entry. we put our keys and mail there.
so my problem is that i don't like the way this secretary looks- i think i slapped on some primer years ago (without sanding) and threw on some anthro knobs and called it done. for shame.
i did not care about the inside. look at that shotty work. horrible. fuck you MFAMB!
here are my inspiration pics: the first one is from rita konig's blog. it belongs to her friend in the bahamas. i love how it's sort of make-do-with-an-old-dresser vs. a shiny bar cart. it's homey and inviting and it greets you as you walk in and says, "welcome" -in the best way possible. it says..." we drink here and if you are here you drink too so lets drink!!"
when guests are coming over she opens the drawers and puts various drinking paraphernalia in them...
this one is by tom scheerer for house beautiful and i LOVE the lamp. and just the general organization of all those pretty bottles, citrus and cans..
so my thoughts right now are to take the piece, strip it and then sand the shizzy out of it revealing it's natural wood awesomeness. i am sure i do not want red, orange, yellow, blue or white. i am not opposed to black but i'm not sure black is the perfect foil for all those pretty bottles. tell me i'm wrong. show me some proof.
so, let the discussion commence. don't be shy. i will send the person with the winning idea a bag of chocolate hearts and smarties.
*note to you...the lamp and bowl thing on the wall are all subject to relocation if need be. i.e. don't let those cloud your judgement...or DO let them depending on your brain's ability to see the forest for the trees....
30 comments:
booze it up! That space is totally calling for one of those hot little carts!
go black, it'll bring out the hint of booziness in the bottles. like the badgley mischka house of equestrian tut tuts
http://www.pointclickhome.com/image/tid/4941?mag=PointClickHome&page=6
(photo #7 if this link directs you to main page)
I know you'll take one look at my crazy "this is what you think your house will look like when you're a 7-year-old-girl" house and be all, "Bish, please." But here are my two cents anyway: paint it shiny, shiny black. Get some also-shiny knobs (these: http://tiny.cc/KT3Tq or even these: http://tiny.cc/BBFlF, maybe painted?) and an awesome tray that doesn't cost too too much so you can swap it out when you get bored: http://www.velocityartanddesign.com/ludite-tray-c-750-p-1-pr-24088.html (self-referential!) or http://iomoi.stores.yahoo.net/trays.html (Vampire Weekend-y!)
my 2-cents: it depends...will your bar have the elegant cut crystal decanters kinda set up, or be stocked with containers in bright packaging and eye-catching designs that some marketing department came up with so you'll buy their hooch instead of someone else's. scheerer's setup seems to focus more on color, whereas konig's arrangement seems more "compositional" my preference would be to attend a party at the scheerer house
If you do strip it down to its woody goodness, you could go gorgeously rustic like this one: http://www.homedit.com/markham-console-bar/
liz- love the idea of the card catalog pulls! i am kinda over the shiny shiny black thing. plus for some reason black against our particular shade of gray in that room reads really really dark, depressing corner.. there is not a lot of natural light in that room b/c the porch is covered outside those windows.
but those lucite trays are fucking AWESOME and am seriously in a tizzy about which one to get!
boops- both. i will have some crystal decanters. pitchers whathaveyou mixed with little bottles of pretty packaged things. yes. i am a whore to good packaging.
julia-i am leaning more toward an even lighter finish. that said who the fuck knows what's underneath.
i'm gonna say sand it down and just oil it. let it be all naked and oiled and pierce it with some unexpected knobs. maybe hand made pottery ones, i don't know, let the booze sparkle!
You had my attention at booze. I'm with Jennifer. Sparkly crystal knobs would be so fab!
If the wood is fugly once you've sanded...maybe a pearlized finish/mother of pearl-ish paint technique could give you the paleness you want with some umph?
Black, with crystal knobs, a crystal decanter and glasses on a silver tray. A lamp like the one in the last picture ( seagrass tray picture) A mirror with a black frame above the secretary. Are you going to leave the secretary open?
pale paint undercoat of course...
I say strip it and then stain it a very dark but not black wood color... brownish. I am liking gray and brown lately. ALSO, the pulls that you add are key, think hard.
Strip it, stain it light gray, matte finish for a top coat, and paint the inside (insert color of choice) lacquer. Finish with a dangle-y knob. Beauty.
i am agreeing on the stripped wood suggestions. beeswax, and done. some citrusy color inside (is hot pink citrusy?) the room doesnt have enough wood/natural textures, so you gotta have some. some kind of glinty knobs--i would downplay them and go with classic, simple metal. cuz its all about the bottles of booze and accoutrements.
I love warm natural wood with cool paint tones. Maybe a mirror with a gilded frame as a tray? Like the mirror above the dark wood dresser in your post. Rustic + ornate + girly= MFAMB
logistical question. will the "desk" pull down part of the secretary hold the weight of a tray of booze.
If you go black, I'd paper or put fabric on the inside with a bright pattern. It would be a nice surprise when you open up the bar.
I have a very similar chest that I painted a glossy black a couple of years ago and I painted the interiors an yves klein blue, so when it is open it looks really cool. I stole the idea from the Grange showroom.
This sort of reminds me of a tall hutch that Anne Turner Carroll turned into a bar in a Cottage Living a few years ago.... she painted the inside a peacock-y blue, while the outside was stained.
However, you don't want blue.... so I'm going to have to think a little on this.
My initial impressions are that I LIKE the white - or at least the lightness of it. Maybe a pale pale shade of gray white?? But the inside should definitely be a different color, but maybe not such a strong contrast as a black would be. A (the right) yellow would be fab.
I have been reading you a while and have to say this is my favorite post to date! Anyway.....I kinda like the idea of a gray brown with a high gloss coral interior.
I second the other anon's question about the weight of the booze. After carefully inspecting the picture, I did not see those handy little sticks of wood that you pull out to support the weight of the lid when open. Because the worst thing in all the world would be for the booze bottles to break when the tray collapses. You would cry fat tears of heartbreak. And probably go to hell for sins against the gods of booze.
In other news - I fully support a light exterior and shocking coral inside. Or perhaps some cool wallpaper, though those cubbies would be a bitch to paper.
susan
i love rita konig's idea of pulling out the drawers and using them to display decanters. My only concern is that a secretary isn't all that sturdy (I personally broke mine by putting too much weight on it), so beware of that (maybe you can reinforce it when you use it for booze). Otherwise, I can't wait to see it!
p.s. did you see "Little Green Notebook's" project to gild a side table? I gilded the mirrors in my room, and they look great! If you don't want to go with the original wood, I think it would look fab and glam against your grey walls!
last thought, and i swear i'm done...
what about a bar tray like this?
http://high-heelfootinthedoor.blogspot.com/2010/01/double-take-ja-butler-tray-table.html
i LUUUURV it!
here's the thing. i am going to re-do this piece anyway and b/c it's been in the family since i was a little girl it is somewhat sentimental so i will keep it forever. do i need to use it for the "bar" not necessarily..but i aim to try.
also, i will keep the booze on top. little things inside and when company comes i am sure it will support a pitcher of water and a bucket of ice.
i think....
I've been seeing these tabletop bar trays EVERYwhere lately...I LOVE it!
First off I want to thank you for coining my new mantra: "we drink here and if you are here you drink too so lets drink!!".
And I am stealing the idea of opening the top drawer of the buffet and using it as an extension of the bar - why didn't I think of hat? Now I just have to find a place to put my cocktail napkin collection.
I keep my hooch on a gorgeous wooden lazy susan from pottery barn but now you have me giddy over the tray idea.
And I love that you are thinking of turning this sentimental piece into a bar. I am sure it will break much ice both literally and figuratively for years to come.
it'll bring out the hint of booziness in the bottles. like the badgley mischka house of equestrian
Work from home India
that last bar is awesome!
You crack me up to the max. Definitely best Golden Globes recap I've seen ever in bloggyland.
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