Help me design a bar/buffet?
Hi all!
You gave me lots of good advice and feedback in my previous thread cheap and cheerful oddball dining room.
We have finally decided to do a floating credenza along the back wall to serve as bar and glassware storage.
Back wall - where the barn window is.
Current "solution" - expedit. Not quite enough storage.
My thought is to use kitchen cupboards to achieve a floating credenza like this:
And maybe do some open shelves above.
Here are my problems: EVERYTHING. I have no idea how to design this thing!!
Here's a photo of my kitchen - it is immediately open to the dining and has shaker cuboards, beadboard panels on peninsula.
Given that context,
* What kind of cupboards should I buy? Shaker? What color?
* How long should the credenza be? The wall is 106".
* Should I center credenza on the wall? Or run it into the corner?
* How high should it be mounted? Table is 30" high.
* How much room between bottom of credenza and floor?
* Should I take go minimal with the open shelves?
Or do like the "Wall o'shelving?" (I did always like the idea of a library/dining combo)
I need so much guidance. Please help! If you do have some ideas, thank you very much in advance.
Comments (21)
Annie Deighnaugh
9 years agoI think you need to find some inspiration. Have you been nosing around houzz.com?
I think you also need to do some measuring to figure out just how much storage you need. Right now it looks as though you are running out of room due to all the bottles you have. Also it looks like not a lot of glassware...do you need storage for more? Also consider how much surface space you need for mixing drinks, ice bucket, etc. You want it to be both attractive and functional.
Is there any reason you want to float it? That does mean you lose potential storage space....
Do you have room for regular base kitchen cabinets? If so, we have a pullout that is very functional for bottle storage...
Normally I would think of glasses on open shelves above...maybe with the wine glasses upside down on the under shelf cleats. But with so many bottles, maybe putting them above would be better.
[Craftsman Home Bar[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/craftsman-home-bar-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_12302~s_2116) by Seattle Architects & Building Designers Board and Vellum
I don't really see bar/library as coming together so much...though I can see a brandy and snifters in a library...
pps7
9 years agoI love open shelving, I really do. I have it in my kitchen. But personally, I wouldn't do it in the bar. Unless your stemware gets used every week. I would do glass front cabinets to the ceiling. 106" is a lot. You could do 2 30" cabinets with open shelves in between if you really want open shelves I'm not sure I'm loving the floating credenza idea. You are losing storage space and you will need to clean under there. But if you really love the idea, it will work. I would put it so the top is counter height-36".
I see pretty stained cabinets in a similar style as your kitchen. Counter surface could be anything you love but were too scared to use in the kitchen such as a white marble. You could use some really pretty hardware to add some bling.
I think you can go into the corner. You will love it. We use ours all the time.
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Help me design a 48" bank of cabinets to look like buffet/hutch
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Comments (7)Rockybird, yes it is in a visible area, the dining room. To me it is similar to having a china hutch in a dining room (which is common) but is more useful because it has additional counter space. Is there a specific reason you don't like it or you just don't like the idea? I would be open to hearing constructive criticism and ideas, since I am still trying to make the design better. weedyacres, The entire wall is 134", to the left of the window is 47" and to the right is 48" I have thought about a buffet, but we really need storage for 8 place settings of china, nice silverware, quite a bit of glassware (beer, red & white wine, champagne, martini, margarita, rocks...we like to use the proper glassware for what we are drinking), plus our booze which is currently being stored in 10 cases. I just don't think that only a buffet is going to cut it for all that storage. Plus my husband has a nice bourbon collection and we would like to display some of it rather than have it behind a cabinet door. Also the window is only 30" off the floor and I really don't want to put a piece of furniture that is taller than 25" in front of it....See MorePlease help me design my kitchen
Comments (14)Thank you all so much for your input! I have been thinking hard and spent half an hour this morning standing in the middle of my current kitchen... That thinking and standing has changed my mind in regards to a proper dining table. I am now considering a smaller island and an extendable dining table which will normally sit quetly by the wall but when needed will jump out to the empty space and stretch perpendicular to the island. Disregard the photo frames and shelving on the walls, I don't really have them, was just playing with the software. I can't change the pictures now as I'm at work and the software is at home... For now I've only made that island smaller and added the dining table "placeholder". mama goose, you've just opened a whole new world to me, I'm now in love with stud bay storage! Will definitely investigate, what a fantastic option. Might work like magic for my cookbooks collection. Also a great idea to have dish drawers facing the DW. The only thing is, I was planning to put power outlets on that side of the island, where would you have them if that wall is all drawers? I guess can stil put them under the seating overhang, on a side of the cabinet with the dishes? A little harder to reach but on the other hand, well hidden from view. Also, rotating that cabinet for dishes to face the DW, would you put some sort of fake "face" on the side that is now on the front wall of the island? Just for visual continuity... Hope this question makes sense. mark_rachel - I don't quite understand. Do you mean, shelving instead of the fridge? Where would the fridge go then? I'm changing the setup anyway and there won't be "permanent" seating there so hopefully works better, please take a look. kaismom - I did think no dining table. I don't think that anymore. Family meals are important. Christmas is important. Yes, I am definitely trying to design not just the kitchen but a space for the family. Please take another look, I've updated the plan. A smaller island and an extendable table. I agree - that large island would be too "permanent" and too "customised" for when we will be selling the house eventually. cpartist - I thought about table-height section of the island. I don't really like this option, but I understand it works for many people. I would love a MW drawer but I spent a lot of time googling and it seems like not a single brand is available here in Australia. This country is my favourite place in the whole world but in some aspects we are just behind the rest of the planet... I will think about swapping the MW with some drawers in the snak area, but this places it quite far from the rest of the kitchen... Worth considering though. Thank you for your overall kind feedback Sophie Wheeler - yeah, I see it now. Please keep ideas coming :)...See Morerobo (z6a)
9 years agoI agree the bottle situation is OUT OF CONTROL. However, my husband has to live here too, I guess, and he just loves having the bottles out.
I have to house 8 linear feet of booze, 12 bottles of wine, and 6 linear feet of glassware plus some barware and linens and stuff (not a ton).
I had considered doing glassfront cabinets above for booze and/or stemware.
The painting installed on the adjacent wall comes to within 10" of the corner. So full depth kitchen cabinets won't work as they would impinge on the painting.
But I COULD do the shallow IKEA besta wall cabinets above. They're 8" deep.
One advantage of doing kitchen cabinets is I can keep the buffet depth to 13" or so, which is an advantage in my tight dining room.
I could do IKEA orsa birch, which would match the floors (maple) and butcher block (birch) and cabinet profile (shaker) but am afraid it would look extremely kitcheny.
Maybe black?
This post was edited by robotropolis on Thu, Oct 23, 14 at 12:12
robo (z6a)
9 years ago
PROBeverlyFLADeziner
9 years agoUse Besta from IKEA. It is designed to hang off the wall with no base below You can combine it with some of the shelves IKEA offers and do something spectacular. It's inexpensive, versatile and looks great when it's installed.
teacats
9 years agoteacats
9 years ago
mtnrdredux_gw
9 years agoteacats
9 years agoBoopadaboo
9 years agorobo (z6a)
9 years agorobo (z6a)
9 years agoHere's a left-handed bar setup
[Traditional Home Bar[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-home-bar-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_12302~s_2107)
Shadowbox floating shelves
[Beach Style Home Bar[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/beach-style-home-bar-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_12302~s_2110) by New York Architects & Building Designers David Howell Design
Black?
[Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Boston Kitchen & Bath Designers Dalia Kitchen Design
- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years agoThis is not your kitchen so you don't want to match the cabinets. No shaker doors in this room. Something more sleek and entertaining.. You have a load of bottles to store and the full depth of the Besta is what you need. I'd advise closed cabinets and mounting the base cabinets high enough that it can be used to blend drinks or serve a buffet. The nice thing about the Besta is that if your needs change in a few years, you can reconfigure the cabinets in a different form.
robo (z6a)
9 years agorockybird
9 years agoI love your kitchen and dining area!
I think you need a sleek floating credenza.
Here is one I really like:
[Contemporary Living Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-living-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_718~s_2103) by Vancouver Architects & Building Designers Portal Design Inc
Or can you also have a separate bar cart?
[Contemporary Home Bar[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/contemporary-home-bar-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_12302~s_2103) by San Jose Interior Designers & Decorators Maggie Stephens Interiors
robo (z6a)
9 years ago- PRO
BeverlyFLADeziner
9 years agoIf you husband wants to display the bottles, (and I suggest that since this is his idea he dusts the bottles) why not turn the color bottles into the art of the room. Place the bottles in a single line on those display ledges sold at West Elm and IKEA.
gsciencechick
6 years agolast modified: 6 years ago
robo (z6a)Original Author