Before & After: Waterfront Bar

by Little Yellow Couch (Karen Grant & Zandra Zuraw)

Turn a bookcase into a bar for your beach house (or for your regular house if, like me, your beach house is only a dream! :-)

before after waterfront bar, decoupage, painted furniture

Karen and I love a good Before & After project. I found this little number at a thrift store and was drawn to its small size, figuring it could be a quick turn-around. Plus, I'd been thinking of making a summer cocktail station. (For my imaginary-future beach house, for which I've been collecting odds and ends for years so that I'm fully prepared to move in as soon as the opportunity presents itself).

We were particularly excited to try out Cari Cucksey's new line of paint which she's selling under her RePurpose brand. We met Cari at the Country Living Fair in NY and fell in love with her colors. For the bar, I chose the Grand Hotel Flowers Red, thinking it would offset the interior, which I already had plans for. She also sells a terrific primer and sealer.

Tips:

* Always take an extra few minutes to sand your painting surface.

* Cari Cucksey and her team have also created a

* When lining the shelves with maps (or other decorative paper), measure and cut the side panels, adding 1/4" to the interior side and bottom edges. Then measure and cut the back panel, adding the top of the shelf so that you have one continuous piece.

* Brush decoupage glue (I used Mod Podge) onto one side panel at a time and lay your map on the glue starting at the top edge and rolling it down, smoothing the paper as you go.

* Cover the back and top of shelf panels after the sides. Use a bone folder or edge of a credit card to smooth out any air bubbles.

* Add two layers of Mod Podge on top of the paper surfaces and then a final layer of shellac to seal.

I made a paper garland of signal flags, each flag representing a letter of the alphabet. I took some liberties with the shapes so they wouldn't all be rectangular to spell out "Happy Hour" and hung them over the bar. I want guests to feel they can mosey up and help themselves to a drink before dinner as everyone gathers to relax on the porch. (Again, this is all happening in my imaginary beach house. For now, everyone will have to make do with just the bar and good conversation amongst friends).