Remember this fabulous kitchen we revealed a few weeks back? Today we're sharing a peek into our client's living room where we were able to incorporate a built in bar per this client's request! But first let's look at a quick before so you can see where we started...
As you can tell from the before photos, this area was begging for improvements. We knew immediately the angled wall had to go. Our client rarely used the fireplace and the (too) tall mantle coupled with the wall angle itself made the tv placement awkward at best. While we were developing plans for the kitchen it made the most sense to incorporate our client's request for a bar area in the living room rather than the kitchen. Our client is not only a terrific chef but a talented mixologist so we wanted to give him a separate dedicated space to keep the bar action where more people will be congregating (and imbibing :) Plus our client was already using the bookshelf area for his assortments of spirits so we knew he would be comfortable with this location.
You've seen the before...now let's take a look at the finished area...drumroll please....voilà!
For this open concept floor plan we pulled the same aesthetic in from the kitchen, with a mix of stain and paint and similar styling as the appliance garages and lower cabinets in the kitchen. I really love the warmth of the wood stain don't you?
As you can see, our client used this move to upgrade and enlarge the television. Under the TV, we opted for cabinets with open shelves inside (our client is amazingly tech savvy and has the A/V equipment to prove it). What you can't see from these photos is a custom open channel in the back of the built ins for proper equipment ventilation. To the right of the television we designed a custom bar cabinet with doors that recess. To add fun and ambience we used a smoky mirror on the back wall then lined the shelves with LED lights, which our tech-savvy client programmed to put on a show with the flick of a remote.
Underneath the hard liquor area, we utilized built in wine drawers on one side and a couple of storage drawers...a short one up top for small spoons and glasses with a deep bottom drawer that's perfect for taller bottles. Forgive me but #crappyiphotophotosaremyjam....
We were able to put some fun in functionality while infinitely improving the aesthetics and style in these two adjoining rooms Some would call that a win win...I like to call it double happiness.
Bottom line: Don't be afraid to think outside the box especially when your space doesn't truly work for you and how you live in your home. If you need help designing the home of your dreams, reach out now as our project schedules are filling out for 2022.
Gorgeous photos above by French Blue Photography.