Old Cabinet Turned Industrial Liquor Cabinet/Bar Cart
There are a few reasons why I’m so excited that this project is done.
First, it freed up some room in my garage.
Second, I love the way it turned out.
And third, this cabinet belonged to my grandmother who passed away in February. She was one of my biggest fans and loved to reinvent and redecorate, so I know she would be proud.
You probably don’t remember when I originally set out to revamp my dining room.
It has taken me forever to get this room done, mostly because I didn’t have a definite vision for it. This industrial liquor cabinet changed that!
Once I took on this cabinet, I got the motivation to finish the dining room makeover once and for all.
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So, today I’m going to show you how I turned this sad cabinet into the most magnificent bar cart with gold and copper details.
Ain’t it pretty?
This was my first attempt at spraying a piece of furniture and I think I’m already addicted to the HomeRight Finish Max that made it so simple and gave it a really professional finish. Let’s do a little side by side to see where we started.
Like I said, this cabinet was in my grandmother’s home and I always loved it. The detail on the doors makes it interesting and there’s a hidden drawer inside. The dark color wasn’t going to fly in my dining room though, since my table is already really dark and so are my floors. So a bright white was the perfect choice here.
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Tools And Supplies For DIY Bar Cart
- Electric sander
- Paint sprayer: I used the Home Right Finish Max.
- White paint: In order for this cabinet to be super wipe-able and not collect dust I used a bright white paint in a gloss finish.
- ½ inch galvanized pipe and fittings:
- I used ½ galvanized pipe cut to the sizes of the three sides of my cabinet
- 4 galvanized floor flanges
- 2 elbows
- 2 three way corner fittings
- 2 half inch nipples
- Gold spray paint
- Metallic contact paper: I used copper metallic.
Preparing the cabinet to be Painted
The first thing I did was take the doors off and the drawer out and give it a good sanding and cleaning. I used an electric sander which made the job pretty easy and then did the small spaces on the doors by hand.
Painting the Cabinet with a Professional Look
Then came the fun part!
I got to use my new paint sprayer for the first time! This thing is seriously awesome. It doesn’t require anything more than an outlet and works like a charm to get a really great finish.
That is me smiling away, cause what girl doesn’t love a paint sprayer?
In order to cover the dark wood color I did 3 light coats of paint.
The sprayer even got into all of the tiny spaces on the doors without dripping.
Between coats of paint I worked on getting the other parts of the project ready.
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Adding Pipes for an Industrial Detail
I wanted to add some personality to the cabinet and make it really unique. Since we planned to use the cabinet as a liquor cabinet and sideboard it made sense to add a little industrial detail to the top.
A railing like you would see in a bar was the perfect detail to add.
I used ½ galvanized pipe cut to the sizes of the three sides of my cabinet, 4 galvanized floor flanges, 2 elbows, and 2 three way corner fittings, and 2 half inch nipples.
I gave them a coat of gold spray paint before putting them together.
Tip: Cutting thick pipe like this doesn’t require you to buy a special saw. Just ask an associate at Home Depot to cut it and prepare it for you right in the store. (Be sure to go with the measurements you need!)
After assembling my railing, I marked the holes for the screws.
Be sure to use screws that aren’t going to go through the top piece of your cabinet. To make sure they aren’t too long, just hold up your screw like my handsome model is doing here.
Then attach the railing to the cabinet.
Adding detail to the inside of the cabinet
I love adding hidden details to my furniture makeovers.
Now that the outside had some personality, I had to add some fun the the inside so I lined the back of the cabinet and the inside of the drawer with metallic copper contact paper.
I also added some fun detail to the front of the drawer in gold as well!
I used gold embossing powder and a stencil to create this awesome raised and reflective pattern on the drawer front. I go over all of the steps of how to emboss furniture in this post.
I love the unexpected pattern and color on the inside and the small knobs were sprayed to match the railing on top.
And there she is in all her glory!
It is the perfect spot to display some fun accessories and it is super useful for storing our liquor and glassware.
I just know that my Noni would get such a kick out of the fact that her cabinet will now be in my home for years to come and she would be the first one to toast to it with a scotch old fashioned with a cherry.
Cheers to another idea coming to fruition! Or bottoms up. Or up, down, pound! Whatever suits you 🙂
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