Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar

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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.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

I moved in for the first strike.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

That face, though.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

And what happened next is a story best told by my face. I’ve cropped the rest out. The face says it all.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
What the hell is this color?
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Turd brown? It looks like turds! Turd brown!
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
What a waste of money. What a ridiculous color. I wonder what’s on TV tonight?
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Maybe I can work with it? I’ll make it work, dammit!
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Ugh. Screw it. I quit. I’m outta here.

The pieces lay strewn across the battlefield. As the sun set in the west, the vultures circled overhead.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

Step 2: Check for predators.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

Step 3: Attack! Aim and fire!

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

Step 4: Attack from above!

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

Step 5: Attack from below!

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

They looked good, so I planed them, cut them to size and glued them together.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

Next, I cut some pieces for the sides, then glued and clamped them.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

I routed the edges with a roundover bit.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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…

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

…then she pressed it into its place.

Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com
Upcycled: Old Chest of Drawers to Wine Bar | DIY furniture makeover| Upcycled furniture | DIY Wine Bar | From dresser to wine bar | Homemade chalk paint | Painted and upholstered furniture | Upholstery | Farmhouse style furniture | Annie Sloan Old White color | Fabric onlay | Painted wood furniture |Transformed furniture | Before & After | TheNavagePatch.com

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48 Comments

  1. 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!

  2. 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!!!

    1. 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!

  3. 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!

    1. 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! 🙂

  4. That really turned out great. I love those wine label collages.
    Thanks for sharing at Funtastic Friday.

  5. 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.

  6. 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

    1. 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.

  7. 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!

  8. 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!

  9. Wow, nice job. I’m building a wine bar in a vintage television console and did a search to get some ideals. May I ask where you got your lights. I know it’s been a while. You do beautiful work and love all the steps you show…big help to me.