As aforementioned in earlier posts, our mountain house is blessed with a space
that lies around the corner from the kitchen and adjacent to the stairs that go to the
second floor. Daughter Jen immediately dubbed it the “redneck” bar, and the name was very apt.   My first impression was that it looked like a prop from a Clint Eastwood “spaghetti western”.  In all of its original glory, here it is
(complete with rope lighting that was plugged into a kitchen outlet, via a big
hole drilled in the back of the bar, and through the kitchen wallboard behind
it!  No expense or lack of taste was spared, trust me!)

I wasn’t  sure how I wanted the new space to look, but we really needed an attractive serving area that would provide abundant wine storage, racks for wine glasses, and a place to hold appetizer dishes, napkins, and decanters.  The bar  is technically in the dining room (which is technically in the kitchen and the living room, as well!), so it had to be “dressy”.  Unhappily for him, Dad was tasked with tearing down the horizontal paneling that was originally installed in the bar area. (As an aside, to me, horizontal paneling just says “country”.  It is installed on both sets of stairs; I don’t like it, but with art hung on it, it isn’t that offensive.) (By the way, Dad no longer asks me what needs to be done around the house.  He hates my suggestions, so he consults Greg now, and is so much happier with the jobs he gets!  :>)

Once the space was cleared, we installed vertical paneling, that was salvaged from a misbegotten attempt at turning the garage into a media room, by the previous owner!  The paneling was painted a satin black, a bar top was finished with slate tile, shelves with wine glass holders were added, and an “X”-type wine storage area was added. We also installed a beveled mirror, that was hanging over the vanity in the downstairs suite, behind the 2 lower shelves.  It fit perfectly, and adds a bit of dimension to a very narrow space.

The new bar area absolutely exceeds my expectations, and the project was completed for under $100!  The results are below: