Buh-Bye Orange MiniBar!

Remember back when I showed you my Gallery Wall?  I absolutely adore that gallery wall, but the back of this hallway was really bumming me out.  I hated it.  In fact, I gagged every time I walked in my door (okay that's a little bit of stretch, but I probably could have!)

Here is what the bar looked like when we first moved in.  Please be sure to notice the wine bottle border, chipping orange laminate countertop, and weird smell of mildew and old alcohol. Oh wait, you can't smell that... guess you'll have to take my word for it!

And after some pretty extensive (yet still completely FREE) work, I was able to turn it into something I am actually proud of!!

I started by painting the rest of the hallway the same color as my gallery wall. 

Then I got to work on the countertops.  While I had all the pictures to walk you through how I did it, Boog fed my SD card (with 1200+ pictures on it) to the dog.  So you can follow this tutorial... it's probably better than mine anyway if I am being honest with myself :o)

The counter turned out AWESOME.  I used lots of coats of Poly so it's really durable, but I was never brave enough to try it in my kitchen when we had laminate.  Creative Kristi said hers has held up perfectly though!

I knew I wanted a lamp on the bar, but I hated the stretch of cord that had to run across the countertop.  I made a no sew cord cover and I am currently working on about 4 more to cover some other ugly cords in the house :o)  It also covered up the ugly alarm system plug that is hanging out of the wall :o)

You can find a good tutorial for that here.

BEFORE

AFTER

No, I still haven't gotten around to painting my record cabinet.  I can't figure what to do about the fabric in front of the blasted speakers.  So here it sits in it's oak-y goodness.

BEFORE

AFTER

What was once a thorn in my side is now such a calm and peaceful space to walk into.   Too bad all it holds is all of my cleaning supplies :o) 

 I also want to note that this is still a temporary fix. When we begin homeschooling we are converting this area to a built-in desk.  HOPEFULLY similar to this one!

via

I know, I know... now all you care about is that picture.  Gorgeous huh?!  Maybe one day....

Katie

Linky Parties

Tatertots and Jello

Monday

Lines Across My Face, Dittle Dattle, C.R.A.F.T., Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping it Simple, Singing Three Little Birds,

Embellishing Life Everyday, Pinkkopotamus, Around Tuit, Craft-O-Maniac, Life Made Lovely, The Girl Creative, Skip to my Lou,  Between Naps on the Porch

Tuesday

Home Stories A to Z,Not Just a Housewife ,DIY by Design,Project Queen

Wednesday

Ginger Snap Crafts,Night Owl Crafting,Blue Cricket Design,Someday Crafts,My Girlish Whims,seven thirty three

Polka Dots on Parade,Creations by Kara,Sew Woodsy,Goodbye City, Hello Suburbs,Sew Much Ado,

Saved by Suzy,Primitive and Proper, Sweet Peas and Bumblebees, Lil Luna, Fireflies and Jellybeans

Thursday

The Shabby Creek Cottage, Saved by Love Creations, The 36th Avenue, A Glimpse Inside, House of Hepworths

Somewhat Simple, Frugalicious Me, Making it with Allie, The Idea Room, Saved by Suzy, No Minimalist Here, From my Front Porch to Yours, Bear Rabbit Bear, A Creative Princess