Scavenger Chic

Upcycled Cabinet is now a Coffee Bar

• By Joan
• September 11, 2024
• 2 Comments

Upcycled Cabinet is now a Coffee Bar

Welcome back friends.  We’re back to the farmhouse for my next project which is creating a coffee bar for the nook where this old Hoosier cabinet is currently sitting.

This was the listing photo for the kitchen when my son bought this property last year.  The owners took the Hoosier cabinet with them, leaving a nice little nook, perfect for a coffee bar.  My assignment was to find a cabinet that was not so wide that it blocked the pantry door, just to the right of the cabinet,  and as high as the remainder of the kitchen counters, not including the desk that it sits next to.

Keep in mind that this photo is somewhat distorted.  Real estate photographers like to use wide angle lenses to create an illusion that the space is larger than it actually is.  In this photo the refrigerator and the Hoosier cabinet appear abnormally wide.

I was able to find a cabinet that was perfect for my needs at the local Goodwill.  It was in 2 pieces but I only needed the bottom half for a coffee bar.  Hopefully you’ll see the top half in a future project.

By the time I got around to taking a picture of my current find, I had already filled in the holes from the old hardware.

The original piece was a cool old bar, probably from the 50’s.  All of the glass holders are much smaller than the glasses we use today but I’ll be keeping that wine rack.  I also left the mirror still intact in that top piece.

For ease of use, I took off the door on the left side of the coffee bar and found a wood scrap large enough to use as a shelf.

You can also see here, that only half of the top had been finished, the remainder had been covered by the top mirrored piece.

With the help of a level I added two shelf supports, screwed into the sides of the cabinet.  Use strips of scrap wood, about 1 1/2 ” in width.

Cut the shelf to fit.

 I spray painted  the interior of the cabinet with black satin paint.

The sides of the cabinet were given two coats of  dark green Behr chalk paint to match the kitchen island from a dresser I had completed earlier that now sits in the center of the room.

All that work, and the cabinet was still about 4 inches shorter than the kitchen countertops.

To the top of the old bar I added old 2×4’s mitered at the corners. 

This is a side view of the 2×4’s.  I ran them thru a table saw twice to add a little routed detail to an otherwise plain piece of wood.  This is the same treatment I had given the center kitchen island.

The 2×4’s are screwed to the top for permanence.  They’re not going anywhere.

The added 2×4’s are painted and waxed to match the existing cabinet.

More old wood is added as the coffee bar countertop.  To hide the screws, I predrilled  half inch holes about a half inch deep.  Use these holes to attach the top to the base.

Use wood glue and 1/2″ dowel pieces to fill in your screw holes.

Thin pieces of scrap wood nailed on with finish nails hide all the rough edges.

Sand well.  The only thing you have to do now is seal the wood in a finish of your choice.

I used my vintage antique wax and an additional coat of clear wax.  Both were painted on with the excess rubbed off.  Buff with fine steel wool when dry.

The coffee bar now holds a coffee maker,  french press, K cups and a K cup coffee maker.  Everything you need to make that morning cup of Joe.

The knob on the cabinet is the same as I used on the kitchen island.

This is how the kitchen now appears with the coffee bar tucked in the corner.   I could also see the coffee bar with the matching white countertop but mine was FREE and recycled!  Free is always good.

Until next time, stay inspired.

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