When Covid hit, we found ourselves buying craft beer from local breweries to help support them in the same way we did when everything was open. We quickly found ourselves needing a place to store numerous crowlers and 4 packs so we could continue to have food in our refrigerator. Honestly, the takeout from local restaurants was also taking over this space.
We always knew that we wanted to have a mini fridge one day because we had planned on building a bar in our basement; however, when we outgrew this space and knew it wasn’t going to be permanent, we needed to find a new location where we could make it work.
We have had this kitchen cart since we got married. It was the first piece of furniture we actually saved for (money was tight – I was in school, and Adam was the only one working) and bought as a married couple. It originally fit our aesthetic in our one bedroom apartment full of Adam’s furniture. Think black leather couch, beautiful black and oak table, oak coffee table – I think you get the idea. We had had it in our kitchen for awhile, even though it didn’t really go with anything because we needed the storage.
One day, I decided to cover the top with some marble contact paper, spray paint the hardware, and then I did some measuring. I realized we could use the top of the kitchen cart and some scrap wood that we had in our storage closet from deconstructing our old sliding door to build something new to house our mini fridge and even replace the rustic wine rack we had hanging above it.
I knew that we wanted the mini fridge on the side against the wall due to the vent on the left and the outlet being there in the corner. Based on the manual that came with our fridge, it recommended not enclosing it, so we left the back open and left enough space at the top to be able to open it and have some clearance for ventilation. We painted the legs the same color as our table legs, and measured for shelves on the left to house our bar necessities.
Next it came time to build the wine/whisky rack. I knew how many wine glasses we had, and the overall look that I wanted, so Adam did some math and we started cutting our scrap wood to layout the overall design.
After we got the layout where we wanted it, it was time for pocket screws, wood glue, some wood filler, and paint. I decided I wanted a more modern look, so we went with the same color as our bar cart and table legs.
Once it was all together, I knew I wanted something more than just bottles/glasses on the shelf so I made a print, used an old frame, and added some battery operated twinkle lights. These are perfect to turn on for entertaining – especially during the holiday season.
This project cost us nothing due to utilizing things that we had in storage and i feel like it made a huge difference in our space.
Have you ever built anything from scraps, if not, are your wheels turning?!
Manda Beth 