Hi Friends!
If you caught my plate wall blog post (1970’s Gallery Plate Wall), you know I’ve been busy freshening up my dining room. It had a “vintage cottage” style like the rest of my house, and I recently swapped out some of the furniture for a more eclectic, 1970’s vibe.
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One of the pieces that had to go was my DIY Liquor Cabinet:
It was never intended to be a permanent piece. It was a fast and cheap DIY project because we needed somewhere to store our booze. It worked great for the previous cottage look, not so much for the direction I’m going in now.
I wanted to find something like this:
Or this:
I had a very clear vision of the right piece. I was looking for clean lines, ideally mid-century modern in style and it needed to fit into a pretty narrow corner – not more than 34″ wide. The first one was already spoken for when I messaged the seller and the second one was in another state.
I was out thrifting one day hoping to stumble onto something similar when I decided to detour into our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore. I have a purchased a ton of stuff from them but haven’t stopped in since before COVID hit. It’s a tiny store, so it’s unusual for them to have much furniture – they really focus on building materials, fixtures, cabinets, and appliances. It was unlikely they would have what I was looking for, but I was in the area anyway – and I’m so glad I did!
The store was jam-packed with stock, and for whatever reason, they had quite a bit of furniture. I was beyond thrilled to find this for $35:
It was wobbly and needed to be shored up, the sweet vintage knobs would have to GO and it was missing the upper shelf:
Still, it would work perfectly for what I wanted to do… it just needed some love. The cupboard has these cute little cubbies and luckily the shelf in the larger compartment is removable so I can fit tall bottles in.
My husband (aka The DRG) came home and eyed it with suspicion.
HIM: “It looks like the Brady Bunch”
ME: “That’s exactly what I’m going for!!!”
HIM: “That was NOT a compliment”
I picked up new knobs at Hobby Lobby and happened to catch them on a sale week, so they were 50% off – just $2.50 each. Most of their knobs are farmhouse style, but these chunky gold pulls had just the look I was after.
I picked up an unfinished wooden shelf at Lowe’s for 10 bucks:
We cut it down to size and I used the scrap to test stain colors. I knew this was going to be the only tricky part of the whole project. After much trial and error, I realized stain alone wasn’t going to work, so I ended up painting it a warm tan and then rubbing on several coats of Minwax “Honey”. The shelf is about at eye level, so the only part you really see is the edge, but I managed to get it pretty damn close.
I topped off the bar with a groovy, 1970’s inspired graphic from Etsy. The votive holder needed something behind it with color, and this pattern works perfectly. If you’re interested in checking it out, go HERE. It was a digital download, so it’s super affordable.
I added wine glasses, a burnt orange vintage ice bucket, a cool wooden corkscrew, and I dropped a new plant baby into a brass planter. Eventually, it should trail down the side of the bar.
You know, if I don’t kill it.
And here’s the finished product:
This corner is super challenging to take photos in, I’m not sure why. It always looking like there is a haze, no matter how much editing I do.
This is the price breakdown:
ReStore Bookcase – $35
Pine Shelf – $10
Knobs – $20
Total – $65
I already had the paint and stain, and the missing hardware was in the drawer, so the whole project came in at just $65! Other than waiting in between coats of stain, it didn’t take any time at all.
I have to find something to hang on the wall to the left of it, but overall I’m pretty happy with this project.
I LOVE my groovy little MCM bar… can I pour you a cocktail?