It is almost St. Patrick’s Day and for me that makes me think of three things:
ONE. My amazing father-in-law Pat thinks the day is a celebration just for him
TWO: Wear green or someone WILL pinch you, I think I own exactly one green shirt for this day
THREE: People love to drink.
You could go out to the bars, but if you are old like me 🙂 you tend to want to stay home more these days! So what if you had a killer bar of your own at home? Some kitchens have great built-in bar, or I have a lot of friends with great entertainment bars in their lower level. But don’t boohoo if you lack either one of those. Here is the easiest DIY you will run across. No cutting, no nailing, no painting. And if you have 44″ of free space in your house, this will fit!
Best of all, this bar make-over starts at just $1, with most of the items clocking in well under $20.
So let’s BYOB: Or rather, “bring your own bar”….
Cocktail Art  Wine Glasses  Wallpaper  Charger  Bottle Opener  DIY felt coasters  Bookcase  Barware Set  Bowl
To start with, I found this great (inexpensive) bookcase from Target ($130). To save time and money, it comes in delicious colors like apple red and turquoise. However, feel free to sub in with any Ikea piece, small bookshelf, or buffet! If you are a super DIY-er, you can always add casters to the bottom of this to move around. But I think I would just plant this on a wall and keep it there!
To jazz it up, I have an update that doesn’t take any special skills or power tools. I found this modern, geometric wallpaper from Lowe’s of all places. Simply install the wallpaper on the back of the bookcase for a pop. You are going to have gobs leftover so think of where else you might like this beauty (inside of a linen closet, a powder room, or even frame for some artwork!).
Use these open shelves and top of the unit to add in all of the goodies any bar needs:
-Liquor and Wine Bottles
-This inexpensive barware set ($25, Amazon)
-This fun botte opener (only $6.99!) you can install on the side of bookcase (okay, so I guess you might need to bring out one tool-sorry!)
-If you know me, you know I am a HUGE fan of the Dollar Store!
It might be my favorite store in the world. I am there every.single.week.
A couple of years back we were hosting a large dinner party for 40, many more people than wine glasses I owned. I looked into renting them, but discovered I could BUY them for the same amount at the Dollar Store. I have owned them for years, they are dishwasher safe, and not a one has broken. So at $1/each you can stock your bar full of these beauties! (PS and stop on over for a glass of wine at my pad anytime if you live in the GR area)
-I found this amazing DIY felted coaster project at Inspired by Charm, how adorable are these? But you can pick any fun coaster in it’s place if you need these ASAP
-These Williams and Sonoma wood chargers ($20/each) are a little pricey if you are using them to set your table, but all you need is one: corral your liquor bottles right on here
-This gorgeous footed dish from Anthropologie is less than $7…use it for nuts or snacks. Or I would leave it out empty to collect beer bottle tops & wine corks
-My absolute favorite thing to do in a bar area is to find some fun, whimsical bar art, this cheeky “Old Fashioned” print is only $13!
So there you go, bring the party to you this year and BYOB! Want some more bar-lovin’ inspiration?
**This is the DIY bar in my home, check back in the future for a post on how I did this update for next to nothing!
Have fun and share your bars, DIY ideas, and more over at my Facebook page…I would love YOU to inspire ME!
P.S. See my BYOB Moodboard along with a million other great ideas over at:
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