Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar
I had a vision of a black wine bar with a blazing red mahogany bar top – a manly thing wreathed in testosterone and Cuban cigar smoke. I went to Home Depot and browsed through their library of 6.2 trillion colors. After viewing only a few hundred billion, I stumbled upon a promising candidate: Warm Onyx. Warm Onyx.
Now that’s a color name that radiates Manliness but tempered by Sensitivity. It’s the Barry White of paint colors. Aw, yeah. I paint my bar that color, and the neighborhood ladies will be lining up at the front door! Handan will be beating them off with a bat!
I got a quart and lit out for home.
Since it was a complicated piece to paint, I knew that a sprayer was the way to go, but as I’ve said before: I’m all angles and elbows when it comes to paint sprayers. They might as well be sewing machines. But, I bucked up and grabbed the sprayer. Handan was on hand to give me pointers and photograph my folly.
I sized up my adversary.
I moved in for the first strike.
That face, though.
And what happened next is a story best told by my face. I’ve cropped the rest out. The face says it all.
The pieces lay strewn across the battlefield. As the sun set in the west, the vultures circled overhead.
We packed the pieces into the garage, and there they sat for the next three months.
What was I thinking? Black wine bar? Neighborhood ladies in negligees on my doorstep? Cuban cigars? Handan with a baseball bat?
I slapped myself and charted a new course.
Well, if black (or turd color) wasn’t working, maybe white was the ticket. Handan always has some of her world-famous chalky paint mixed up and color-matched to Old White, so I figured I’d give it a try. By this time, I’d also mastered the art of the power sprayer. I’ll give you a brief tutorial.
Step 1: Sneak up on your project.
Step 2: Check for predators.
Step 3: Attack! Aim and fire!
Step 4: Attack from above!
Step 5: Attack from below!
Step 6: Grab a beer and know you’ve just done a helluva great job painting your project!
Handan and I carried the frame back to the basement so I could carry on building the bar tops. I gathered more mahogany scraps for the upper bar.
They looked good, so I planed them, cut them to size and glued them together.
Next, I cut some pieces for the sides, then glued and clamped them.
I routed the edges with a roundover bit.
Then I turned my attention back to the lower bar top. Handan suggested we paint the stencil with patina. I had my doubts, but I deferred to her wisdom.
When we peeled off the vinyl, the stencil shone with filaments of azure light. This paint is amazing – it is the Aegean Sea in a bottle.
I took the two bar tops over to my finishing bench and started applying my secret weapon – the thing that would make the mahogany and the stencil pop. Here’s a little sneak preview.
Meanwhile, in another part of the sweatshop workshop, Handan was applying the wine label collages to the sides of the cabinet. First a little Mod Podge…
…then she pressed it into its place.
Click on ‘Next’ to continue.
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Turned out good Greg but I am going to say something you probably don’t want to hear. It would have been perfect in black! But the stencil in turquoise is beautiful. Love the choice of nobs also. So glad you didn’t rough it up to give that aged look everyone is doing. It looks good and you get the gold star this week buddy!
Thank you, Kat! I also think black would have looked great, but I love the combo of old white and mahogany, too! 🙂
It turned out great! Love the touch of turquoise.
Thank you, Cecilia!
Creative idea Greg, it looks great! Looks like you have fun doing the shoot!!
Thank you, Sandra! Yes, the best part about using a glass of wine as a prop is drinking it at the end 🙂
(And the bottle, too…)
Wow. Before I tell you what a great finished product you did, I have to tell you something I have been wanting to write for quite a while. O.M.G. DO NOT ever give up this blog unless you go pro as a comedian! I laugh till my face hurts! I swear, between the dialog and the pictures I think I will explode from laughter! I not only love the work you and Handan do, I adore you both for your approach to all you seem to do. You talk my talk, you walk my walk!!!
yes what she said xx
Thanks, Chris! 😀
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Linda! Comments like that keep me going! 🙂
Ditto what Linda said. Great way to start my Saturday morning! You need a warning at the top though that reads, “Warning: Do Not Read While Drinking A Beverage”, my computer monitor got a coffee spray. Clever dresser upcycle and gorgeous bar!
LOL! Thank you, Marie!
Once again, you both did an amazing job. I absolutely adore this wine bar. Handan, you’d better get the baseball bat ready to keep the neighbors away. 🙂
Thank you, Susan! No neighbors yet, but Handan is on the lookout! 🙂
You did a fabulous job. What vision you have to come up with this fantastic piece of furniture.
Thank you, Debra! 🙂
Greetings from East TN! I’m visiting this morning from “Inspire Me Monday”. Y’all did a fabulous job upscaling an old dresser to a wine bar. I always enjoy seeing how inventive others can get with old furniture. 🙂 Have a good week and I invite you to hit the dance floor with Curious as a Cathy with sci-fi theme mewsic from my favorite TV shows!
Thank you so much, Cathy, and welcome! I love the music from Stranger Things…and what a great show!
Wow! A lot of work but well worth it. Looks awesome! Visiting from Creativity Unleashed party.
Thank you! Yes it was a lot of work. Too much, really. But, now that it is done, I’m enjoying the result! Thanks for stopping in! 🙂
That really turned out great. I love those wine label collages.
Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday.
Thank you, Kimm!
Love this post and the wine bar turned out gorgeous! Love the blue stencil and the labels. It is certainly a beautiful one of a kind piece you should be proud of. Loved reading this post your writing style is so much fun. I think if I would have held up a router and let out a primal scream it would be because I dropped it on my foot. Great job.
Thank you, Melissa! 🙂
You just crack me up! love your style and your projects always turn out awesome sauce! I would like to invite you to share your pieces and sense of humor at my weekly furniture party Fridays Furniture Fix over at my place!
Thank you so much, Brenda! We’ll see you at the Furniture Fix!
Great job you guys. It’s perfect for storing all that precious cargo and thank for the heads up about the turd color. That did not look good
Thanks, Michelle! Yeah, that color was the worst, but Handan found a way to make it awesome with white wax!
What a difference!! (And I think Greg was having too much fun!! LOL) I’m a little behind but I wanted to stop by and thank you for sharing on last weeks Pleasures of the NW’s DIY party
Thank you, Helen! 🙂
Awesome project. Thanks for sharing at the Inspiration Spotlight party. Shared
Thank you!
Very creative ….both the bar and your writing style. Great job.
Thank you, Denise! 🙂
This turned out awesome! I love to see great upcycles! Great post too!
Thank you, Cassie!
That is a might fine looking wine bar and what a story to go with it – I had to read it all lol
Thank you, Amber!
Awesome project! Thank you for sharing at Ravenwould.
Thanks, Kileen! 🙂
Love the turquoise stencil, where’d yo find the stencil?
Thank you, Yvette! I found the stencil just searching online. I was hoping to email it to you, but now I can’t find it on my computer! I’ll see if Handan can find it on hers tonight.
I have laughed so hard reading this post! I’m so glad someone else does stuff like we do! The wine bar is absolutely beautiful! You have a new fan!
Thank you, Susan! If you like to laugh, you’re in the right place!
Perfect post to cheer me up for the night. Honest, you could just start going to open mic nights at some comedy lounges and telling your stories, Greg. If you can recount them as well in person as you do on paper, you’ll be a hit. Just reading the stories behind every (frankly gorgeous) piece you and Handan make is what really sets your work and blog apart from the many others.
And then the final products are mind-bendingly beautiful like this wine bar. Would have never believed it was that old chest of drawers!
Thank you, Jay! Hmmmm….DIY standup comedy…you may be on to something, lol!