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1.13.2020

re-purposing new furniture

industrial style, rustic style, farmhouse style, diy decor, home decor, decorating, wood furniture, furniture, repurposed, repurposed furniture, bar
let's talk a bit about re-purposing furniture, shall we?
(and no, i'm not talking about using junk or chalk painting something...)
case in point: this bar in our home.

because the thing is, re-purposing furniture isn't JUST about repainting or rehabbing.
it's not always about making something old 'new'.
sometimes, it's about seeing the possibilities in a brand new piece - 
and using it in a brand new WAY.

this piece was never intended to be a bar. honestly? it wasn't even sold for use in a house.
it was sold at Costco as... you aren't gonna' believe this! keep reading!
before i 'splain, here's the background story:
our house has very wide hallways (one of the things we love)
and the hallway off of the kitchen has an alcove on one side. (check the photo at the top of the post to see)
because it's in close proximity to the kitchen / dining / living room great room area,
and we love wine, it is the perfect location for a BAR.  there's another reason, too:

across from it, there's a coat closet - that isn't. nope. we put shelves in it.
it holds Mom's extensive collection of barware, entertaining miscellany, and yes, booze.
the wine is stored in a wine fridge  - that used to sit on the floor.
friends, the older we get, the harder it is to bend down and read labels to select a wine!
so we determined that whatever piece we selected to use as our bar needed to be wide enough
to hold that wine fridge on it - up OFF the floor.

we looked for MONTHS to find a piece that worked - at furniture stores, vintage shows, thrift shops.
nothing was right: wrong size, wrong finish, wrong style.
then one day we walked into Costco, NOT looking, and boom. there it was.
 the RIGHT piece. in life size and full color, sitting there in the electronics section (???) of Costco:

(great price, too!*)
stopped us in our tracks! we looked at it, at each other,
and then i looked at the price sign and the box, and saw the word 'Workbench'. and i laughed.
because if you know me, you know that one of my very favorite things in life
is using things in ways that were never intended to be used...

* this was in 2017.



industrial style, rustic style, farmhouse style, diy decor, home decor, decorating, wood furniture, furniture, repurposed, repurposed furniture, bar
'workbench'??? nope. BAR!

once home, assembled, (upside down, i might add, so i asked a neighbor to help me flip it up onto its wheels),
i rolled it into the house and right into that hallway alcove.
it's just the right height to open a bottle of wine or mix a drink,
it stores serving items well, and it looks FABulous!

it's also a nice place to add decorating details each season. right now, it's holding some fun red accessories:
industrial style, rustic style, farmhouse style, diy decor, home decor, decorating, wood furniture, furniture, repurposed, repurposed furniture
everyone who sees it asks where we found such a 'cool industrial' piece!
(the men who ask always utter a shocked 'NO!' when i tell them what it was sold as)
personally, i think it would also work well as a kitchen island or a buffet / sideboard.
again - it's about looking at things in a new way.

by the way, that SIGN over our bar? it's a 'restyle' project!
i simply applied my favorite faux rust paint treatment
to a wall-hung 'wine cork holder' (so it would fit our decor!)
and attached it to a plank of salvaged wood that i painted the word 'BAR' on.
it hangs between two mirrors (previously paired with a matching dresser, in another home) above the bar.   
i'm itching to re-do it with 'bar' in LIGHTS, tho ;)

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