Help in converting kitchen desk into bar

11 years ago

I would like to take this desk (never used except to dump things on) into a bar. I plan to raise the upper cabinets but are looking for ideas on overall design. I don't want to spend a fortune because I only plan to stay in house another 4-5 years but want to update. Already plan to add granite counter and crackle cream subway tile backsplash. Also going to add a 24" wide beverage cooler on the base. I plan to keep the cherry upper cabinets the same color. Should I do matching cherry lower or go with new distressed black lowers? I have plenty of room to pull cabinets out (stagger) since the desk sits deeply in a cove. The cabinets are 18", 30" & 18" wide respectively. Any great ideas?

Featured Answer

Denise Haller
Original Author

11 years ago

Thank you for all of your suggestions. Here's what I ended up doing.

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Comments (17)

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Dytecture
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
The entire upper cabinetry could probably be replaced with open shelving to save on cost.
Denise Haller thanked Dytecture
Brandi Nash Hicks
11 years ago
We did this ,take the top doors off add stemware holder underneath the top cabinet for glasses,put wine in top cabinets add wine refrigerator to the bottom
Denise Haller thanked Brandi Nash Hicks
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apple_pie_order
11 years ago
If you can still buy the lower cabinets, you can rework them with the 24 inch fridge. I would add another file cabinet drawer, though, because every household needs files somewhere. The pigeonholes in the top will be useful for bar sundries such as napkins or perhaps wine bottles. But if it looks better without them because you want a clean straight run, you can get them moved. More electrical outlets will be needed.
beachlily
11 years ago
Definitely replace upper 30 inch cab doors with glass. Your crystal and martini glasses will look great especially if you install in cab lighting. Add wine holder beneath upper cabs. I'd keep cherry cabs as they are beautiful. Here's a picture of what we did :
Denise Haller thanked beachlily
beachlily
11 years ago
This is not ours but you get the idea...
apple_pie_order
11 years ago
Looks great.
K G
10 years ago
What tile is that you chose? I love it
Lori East
10 years ago
Great job!
Pamela Beste
10 years ago
Hi, my husband and I are doing the same thing to our desk area but having a hard time finding a wine refrigerator that can go under the desk because of the height. What brand of wine fridge did you get and what is the height? Or did you change the bottom cabinet all together in order to accommodate the wine fridge?
Pamela Beste
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Should update
that my husband did raise the height of the counter to accommodate the wine
refrigerator. We bought 46 Bottle Dual Zone Convertible Wine Cooler by
NewAir through Wayfair.com.

We removed the old upper cabinet and bought two smaller cabinets and my husband built a bottle holder and shelf between the two. He also added wood to fill in the extra space between the fridge and wall as well as to the top of the whole bottom cabinet to raise the counter.

We purchased custom etched glass from a company in California.

In a perfect world the next step would be new quartz counter tops, but we're now selling our house and moving, so the new owners can do that. We'll miss our wine/coffee bar. It's been wonderful!

I've attached two pictures of the final product.
tammykavanaugh
4 years ago
What size fridge did you get and where did you get it? I can’t find one to fit
tammykavanaugh
4 years ago
Has anyone used the actual desk size without changing the height of the desk and out a wine fridge or beverage fridge in?
dhdow
3 years ago
Yes a friend found a wine fridge that fit in the desk opening (where the chair originally would slide in - she put the fridge in there. In the bottom file drawer she stores wine and liquor bottles upright. this drawer already had a lock on it to secure legal files so the lock now secures the liquor and wine. She did not change the desk height it looks great- she has bar beverage station created withb minimum changes
Maria Graziano
3 years ago
dhdow,
Do you have a picture to share where your friend did not change the desk height of her desk. I’m trying to come up with a similar configuration to turn my built in kitchen desk into a beverage bar.
Maria Graziano
3 years ago
Here is my built in. All suggestions welcome.
HU-833184118
3 years ago
Amazon has a 29" beverage fridge - need to remove the desk drawer- and you can build shelves in the open space (side of fridge) or the X look to store wine. That's a great space and have lots of options. Good Luck