Project Basement: Bar

Okay, I know I haven't posted much about our basement progress in a while so I thought I'd update on another "room" that's been completed (mostly).  We've been using the basement quite a lot now that the carpet is in and the television and Dan's computer have moved into their respective rooms, but I never realized how handy it would be to have a little kitchen/bar down here!  We bought a fridge and it's so convenient to have downstairs!  I know the exercise is good for me, but I gotta say that I really enjoy being able to stay downstairs and not have to climb up the stairs everytime I (or Dan, or Josh) wants something to drink. 

I think this took the longest to finish.  All the wordwork and tiling that went into this little area was really time-consuming, but I have to say the overall result was well worth the wait.  Dan did a fabulous job building this from the ground up.  The cabinets were the only thing that was already "pre-built" but Dan still had to install them.  Major props to my man for his work, I helped when I could, but the entire design and layout was all Dan.

Before we got started.

With the drywall in.

As you can see, we didn't have much to start with.  The picture on the right is what the place looked like when we bought the house.  The picture on the left shows the area with the drywall installed.

Once the drywall was in, Dan started laying down the tile.  We wanted to keep things as uniform as possible downstairs, so the tile in the bar is the same that's installed in the bathroom downstairs, too. 

As soon as the tile was layed down and the walls were painted (I did that myself!) it was time to install the cabinets.  These cabinets were the same style as what we've got in the kitchen upstairs -again, going for the uniform look- and I think Dan did a great job putting them up.  I did help lift when needed, but most of the time I just stood back and watched my man work. 



Cutest little bartender ever!

The next step was to put in the backsplash tile and the countertops.  Again, I have to give all the credit to Dan since he did most of this by himself.  I think the backsplash turned out really great and I love the eight little accent pieces we put in (even if Dan grumbled about cutting more tile), it really makes the wall stand out.  We could've gone fancy with granite countertops, but we decided to just go the same route with what we had upstairs.  I figured since we didn't have granite upstairs, we didn't really need it downstairs either.  It would've looked nice, but I don't think the cost was worth it, and it is nice that we've got the same countertops upstairs and downstairs. 

After all the tile and countertops, Dan started working on what the outside of the bar would look like.  I think it turned it so pretty.  It's so simple looking(not quite the right word, but I think you catch my drift) and yet it really flows well with the rest of the room.  I love all the wood, and I think it matches perfectly with the cabinets.  The woodwork really helps to make this area stand out in the room.  I'm really happy with the way the bar turned out. 

Ta-Da!  Our finished (almost) bar!  We (when I say "we" I mean Dan) are still doing work down here, so a lot of the cabinets are holding tools at the moment, and the sink doesn't have running water yet, but all in all this room is done!  Mark it off (sorry, inside family joke)!  My only real complaint is that I wish we had tiled a few feet on the outside of the bar, so when we finally got around to buying some barstools they wouldn't be placed on the carpet.  I'm told that I was asked if I wanted tile on the outside and I said, "no."  Frankly, I don't recall that conversation so it couldn't really have happened...right?  Anyway, if I did say no to that, I wish I hadn't...hindsight I suppose.  I still really like how this turned out, and am totally pleased that I found a handy-man to marry.  I can't imagine all the money we saved by doing just this small area ourselves, but I'm sure it cost us less than half if we would've hired someone to finish it for us.  Now I'm trying to decide what kind of decorations to put in here, but I've got plenty of time for that.  Right now I'm enjoying the super-big fridge and the extra counter space I have (except when it's time to clean it)!  I hope you enjoy seeing all the work and progress we've made as much as I enjoy using this room!