Antique Home Bar Design

We have come up with quite a few small home bar designs over the last 30 years but this client asked us to come up with a rich, classic look for their ancient (230 year old), two story stone house. The location was in an older, upscale section of town. Their contractor had used us for some high-end work before and knew of our skills. We were to create cabinetry for a large master bath and likewise for a built-in wet bar in a niche on the opposite wall from the main fireplace in their living room . I told them I would like to see a piece that looked like it had been there for a hundred years or more. What you might see in a very old, private, country club, for instance. Although we do design work when asked to, I particularly enjoy creating a classical look, of woodwork from a bygone era. I love dark greens, copper counter tops and the look of well made, antique furniture so I finally found a small magazine photo of the kitchen in Cameron Diaz Manhattan apartment, that would help them visualize the direction I was aiming for. https://i.imgbox.com/7QRRcLNC Next I had to plan the configuration of cabs for both function and old world appeal. https://i.imgbox.com/ZtwiJBBy original wet bar rendering with amendment notes / A small refrigerator exists behind the lower right door Cabinets installed (pre-finish) and lower rail of door to handle the fridge heat exchange https://i.imgbox.com/7NZOB8RA https://i.imgbox.com/RhKzNcpz I found another pic of a well worn antique piece. I wanted this bar to look like it had existed in their home for over a century (even upon close inspection) so I showed them the kind of aging I thought best https://i.imgbox.com/cIS17tFj After much experimenting, I came up with a finish sample that really looked authentic. On some scraps of poplar wood, I stained and then painted over with a beige color, all those exposed edges that I intended to appear worn through. Then I painted over everything with a dark Hunter green. Next I sanded those worn edges, through the top coat, to expose the stained wood beneath, showing a thin line of the beige existing between the stained area and the green top coat. Then I covered the the whole surface with urethane (to protect and make it a bit more glossy, like a old, oil based paint might. We had our painters do this work but I had established exactly what the finisher would do to get the look I achieved in the sample. We also used hand rolled glass to give it more aging and help obscure those objects stored inside. Here are two, tight, close-up shots to explain what we really did and then wider shots to show the over-all (more subtle) effect it gave. https://i.imgbox.com/B8vw3QvI https://i.imgbox.com/QAPRF7VZ a copper grate was created in the lower right door / sink was created as an integral part of the counter top. https://i.imgbox.com/JQdqWKlA this hand rolled glass has random air pockets and is closer to how old, seeded glass looked https://i.imgbox.com/OsmadPYS LED lights were hidden beneath left and right sections https://i.imgbox.com/wa0abmd9 a home wet bar made to appear vintage. Over-all effect looked very authentic. I am adding this last shot because it shows the copper counter best. https://i.imgbox.com/syOcMkes The copper is unfinished so it will age further. It is known as a live finish. Now I have another nice photo to show for the small home bar designs we have made.

Truly exceptional work! Your attention to detail is what makes this work. I hope you got paid accordingly.

The "aged" finish is incredible, but the detail and craftsmanship in the cabinets really makes it believable. I see so many things that I lament "you just can't build that today," and this truly looks that way. Take that as a compliment... its intended to be!
I love the trim on the upper cabinets and the combination of panels and muntins on the doors is perfect. maybe my favorite detail is the paneled returns on the inside of the upper cabinets. That much detail packed into a small "secondary" area puts it over the top as someting no one would take the time to create today.
Relatively new to the forum, so maybe this is your standard fare... if so, kudos to you, sir! Either way, excellent work!

Very nice work!

Exceptional work! Wow, don't know what else to say.

Beautifully done!

Really well done. Does look like it’s been there for a long time. Except maybe some tarnish on the copper counter top...but that should come with time.

Good lord that is awesome.

I need to talk my wife into green cabinets asap

Well done.