if it were mine and i just wanted to clean it up.

I would paint the top portion white to blend with the ceiling. the lower, the white you plan for the wainscotting, and Yes to the butcherblock top. Make certain to Prime with a High Hide Primer, or you'll be painting many coats. all those knots Will bleed through.

How long until you plan for kids? Knotty pine is a PITA and you may not get a satisfactory look. Unless you and your other childless friends still like to party, I would tear it out and plan for the bedroom IF there is adequate and legal egress for a basement bedroom. Make the basement kind of a guest suite for now and a teen's dream bedroom and hangout space later.

Maybe reststain the wood at bar or paint, add a laminate white counter, two hanging black pendants, 2-3 inexpensive stools, white wainscotting, and floating shelves.

It might be easier to just embrace it and go with a funky 50s cowboy western theme.

Or...design-ideas-to-decorate-knotty-pine-

I think a stain would certainly be less labor intensive and could look really nice.

I wonder what a dark stain would look like?

Or you could even go with a color.

I might not even want to replace the bar top, and instead try to come up with something that would work with what's there. Wallpaper could update the look, certainly.

I would move in and live with it as it is for awhile to see if you ever use it or want to keep it. Don't spend any money doing anything until you're sure. If it was my home, I'd rip the whole thing out.

I'd put white panels over the knotty pine, keep the black tile as it is durable for alcoholic spills and the acidity of lemons or limes. If you use butcher block you'll need to maintain it more than the tile. Add some colorful art, hang a stemware shelf for your glasses.

Haha, I think I'm the only one who potentially loves your bar!

Just to be sure..there is adequate electricity and plumbing/sink already for the bar?

And it sits on a tile floor?

Nope, I love it, too, Janie. I think it’s fun and has a certain throw-back charm.

I wouldn’t throw a bunch of dollars at it if it’s not staying permanently. Getting different bar stools will make a huge difference, as will decor around it.

I’d just wait and see how you feel later. Congrats on your house!

Jinx I see my mom and grandma down there slugging back some Bartles & Jaymes with the cribbage board in all their glory.

If it's a tile floor and plumbing it could be a huge job turning it into a bedroom too.

Michelle do you have any more pics from different angles?

Bartles and Jaymes 😂

Ahhh, teenage memories … (Mad Dog 20/20, anyone?) …

I love the bar setup, also. And I don’t even drink! 😂 Might also be great for smoothies, tea/coffee, etc. I’d bring in some type of sound system for music. ✅👌

So this is just one view. There are so many ways you can go. I used a tool that visualizes tile on the walls (just easier for me :) But this could be a nice look with wallpaper; lots of things you could do with removable wallpaper or paint to really change the look. And I brought in a couple of plug-in wall sconces. I personally like all the wood detail in the space. I didn’t mean to cover the wainscoting; but this could work ok, too - and I’d keep all the rest of the wood detail, as shown.

Current space:

My rough rendering:

I could see barstools in wood and black.

The stool shown below is very inexpensive, and swivels, too!

Plug-in sconce I used:

I like those swivel stools!

And yes, I'd take it slow too - give yourself some time to cogitate 🙂

Since this is just a refresh and not a long haul going to keep spot I would just get a lot of white paint, go with the tile that is there and head for a black/white theme and call it a day. If you prime the pine it will paint up just fine. I would do the bar, the over hang and the paneling. Heck you could even spray the stools and save yourself several hundred dollars. What does the rest of your basement look like? Why this corner for the bedroom? In the future that might be a great beginning for a kitchenette near a basement family hang out space if there's water/sink in the bar.

We have knotty pine in the kitchen that was painted by the PO. So, we did another coat of paint in white and we've had no problems.

If you do want to remove it, there are plenty of people who would take it off your hands.

Thanks everyone! Here is another angle, there is a sink installed on the right side of the bar. It is a walk out so the window is just to the left of the bar if we want to change it into a bedroom someday.

I say glam it up! Prime and paint the pine white; you could fill in the grooves w/ Joint compound if you want to eliminate the paneling style. Get some pendants similar to Maureen's post or shiny/glitzy. Keep the black tile (you could seal the grout w/ a colored sealer if you wanted to get rid of the white). I'd get some barrel back upholstered swivel stools black w/ silver legs and hunt up some shiny/glitzy barware for the top of the bar. nothing expensive. You could probably sell your current barstools to finance the barware :).

Now if glam won't fit the style of the room, ignore what I said. :)

If it has that highgloss sealer on it, I would just get an electric hand held sander and sand it down to its natural self. Make that area a multipurpose area. It could be a bar or buffet for entertaining. Some hanging racks could have glassware and some have plants. Give it a green look. Add art. This wouldn’t cost much. For now I would paint the wall and wainscoting the same color. Add a cozy little seating area off to the side.

Sand wood. Maybe do a waterbase flat clear-coat. Or, add a teaspoon of off white acrylic paint to every cup to cup and a half of flat clear waterbase top coat to mellow the wood but still keep it natural looking.

Inspiration above.

Pretend the wood is the color of example of raw pine halfway up.

If you decide not to paint the wood, there is some good info here on lightening the tone and such for a look closer to Scandinavian.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/blueheronhaus.com/2015/11/01/real-scandinavian-white-washing-and-installing-the-pine-ceiling/amp/

Is there a bar sink there? How do you plan to use it? How much room is there between the stools and the wall where a tv might be hung ? Do you entertain a "bar" kind of crowd -- or do you really want to do so?

That corner has a bit of a "time out" vibe. I'd remove it and invest the remodel funding in getting the flooring you want throughout the basement. You could remove the overhead part or leave it and the lights, painting it the ceiling color, so you can create a small home office nook in that corner.

Would love to hear what you decided to do!

Any changes?

Sure! We ended up painting the bar black and the panneling white! still searching for barstools but we’re pretty happy with it! 😊

Here’s a closer look at the art and shelves we put behind the bar too

Looks great!

Oh good, I'm so glad you came back to show us. It looks nice!