Hysterical Home Bar Makeover

When I first walked into my friend's bar, Tony had a few milk crates and a closet door. I just about laughed my butt off, but he was happy. To be honest with you, it was down to earth and just what the doctor ordered.

I straddled up to the bar and sat on a wooden ten dollar discount store special. He reached in his cooler and threw me a beer. I do believe we were in heaven. But, that was back in college. We've come a long way since then.

But if I wanted to do a makeover, I know exactly how I would do it now. My friend Tony feels the same way. In fact, I just recently visited his home and he showed me his bar. It was beautiful. But, the funny thing is that he started it with the old milk crate and closet door setup he had back in college.

When you have a few milk crates holding up a closet door, the first change you are going to want to make is on the stability of the bar. With enough foresight, you'll give yourself some room behind the bar for other additions later. Then, build yourself a frame.

Use 2x4s to build yourself a rectangle on the floor, the length and width of the bar that you eventually imagine when it's finished. Extend your structure upward with 2x4s spaced about every 18 inches. Cut them the height of the bar you want. Finish off the frame with another rectangle on top for support.

Some people would actually build the structure sideways and then put it in place. But remember, you're having fun. You're not a professional bar builder. And when it's done, it's going to look great anyway because all of the blemishes are going to be covered.

Once your structure is in place, keep the milk carts in the structure of the bar for nostalgia purposes. But, turn them sideways. They are going to work out great as shelves in your home bar when it's all said and down.

You can keep the closet door in place. Tony did. He kept it as a part of his bar by using extra support under and additional support to the sides. I can still see the old scratches that were on the door years ago. He actually finished the door so that any old blemishes remained visible. But, the bar still looks great.

Then, Tony went to the local hardware store where he found cabinet doors. He purchased seven of them. Three actually became cabinet doors on the backside of the bar. The other four were used for decorating the front and one side facing outward from the wall. I thought that was the simplest idea in the world.

Think about it, and this could only come from a guy like Tony who will take the easy road every time. The 2x4s fill the gaps between the cabinet doors. When you open the cabinet doors on the inside, milk crates hold party favors. A refrigerator in the middle of the bar holds some pretty cold beer. The only thing Tony splurged on were the bar stools that he sits around the bar.

A bar doesn't have to be the most extravagant room in the house. You can start small and eventually build yourself to extravagance as you go. There are people in this world who want it all now. But, there are those among us who can take their time and achieve perfection.