Sunday, August 7, 2011

Baker's Rack Outdoor Bar

Hello everyone, I hope you are all having a wonderful summer weekend and before I begin I want to give a huge shout-out to Susan at "Between Naps On The Porch" for doing a lovely FEATURE POST about my little outdoor sun room! She has really done a nice job and I can't thank her enough so please head on over to sneak a peek at MY LITTLE SUN ROOM !!!


A few weeks ago, I was out perusing garage sales on a Friday when I came across an old Baker's Rack. The people putting on the sale had it listed for $120.00...not what I was willing to spend considering it was in pretty sad shape so I walked away however I kept thinking about it the rest of the day thinking it would make a great outdoor bar for my side porch. 
Fortunately I had taken their phone number "just in case" it didn't sell and when I got back home I called them and sure enough it hadn't sold yet so I asked what their absolute bottom of the barrel price was. They told me to make an offer...so I did...$40.00! 
Yep a pretty low offer but the thing was in really poor condition and needed a ton of work and honestly I didn't think they'd get anywhere near their original asking price of $120.00. Well needless to say they declined my offer and said they'd wait to see if it sold over the weekend...
And as you can see it didn't sell, I think because it was priced too high and anybody that saw it didn't see the potential it had all they saw was a big rack that needed work.
So you guessed it, on Sunday evening I got a call from the sellers asking me if I was still interested in it and of course I was and best of all they accepted my offer of $40.00! So here it is...



Now remember I said it needed work...well that was an understatement!

 The front of each shelf had this ugly brass strip on it that was all beat up and just plain outdated...

The butcher-block top was stained and scuffed up and smelled awful!

And as you can see, once I started peeling off that strip with my putty knife, it was caked with really gross goopy stuff...it was just disgusting!




I peeled all the ugly brass stripping off...all four shelves worth!

then gave her a good bubble bath with lots of soap and water...
then sanded the front of the shelves where the brass strip was; it was affixed with what looked like 
sticky tar! And just for the record...Mark's hands are all over in the pics but the reality was I DID all the work once the photo shoot was done!

sanded the butcher block top...
 what was amazing was this top turned out to be solid oak!

and re-stained it...


then masked and repainted the front of the four shelves with a gray primer then finished with a matallic Pewter Rustolium where...shall I say it again...that ugly brass strip was! 
This part was really labor intensive because I only wanted the front of the shelves painted...
 and we ended up with this cool outside bar area!


Remember that brass strip in pictures 4, 5 and 6? Well here you see its gone and in its place a nice Pewter finish...


Funny thing...I never make mixed drinks in fact I don't know how really and I have rarely ever purchased alcohol except wine...most of what you see has either been given to us as a gift or someone brought it to a party we were having and left it here. So I'm well stocked but have no clue as to what to do with it but our next party will sure be done in style!




I just love how it turned out although I still need to do a little tweaking because it looks a bit plain and I still need to order a piece of glass for the bottom. But it looks so much better than it did when I brought home!



Cheers everyone and please jump on over to 
Bunny Jean's blog hop for
Its the lastest rage! Thanks again Bunny for hosting!












20 comments:

  1. It looks fabulous. Such a great piece. I love the new finish. Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  2. As I started reading I thought awk, then as I got further down I thought oh, that's pretty neat.
    Love MIL

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow Terry! A fabulous metamorphosis! Your elbow grease really paid off.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's a fabulous redo, you're purposed it perfectly and what a bargain! Really a big Wow! Thanks for stopping by. Jane

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow that is an amazing transformation! It looks great. I really love your screened in deck too. Thanks so much for visiting.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ummm...is that actually YOU doing the sanding? Cuz-I was noticing your white tube socks!?!;>)

    What a GREAT makeover! Unbelievable really! And a GOOD buy at only $40. even if it did need a ton of work. It looks like it was an expensive piece to begin with.

    Have a great week-xo Diana

    ReplyDelete
  7. What an amazing transformation! I love how you stuck to your guns on the $40 offer... is sure wasn't worth the $120 asking in the condition it was in! But now you've brought it to a whole new level (probably much nicer than it ever was!). Enjoy it!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I was so glad to see your fabulous screened deck because a relative has been considering one but wasn't sure how it would look. Well now I can show him how nice yours looks. You must be a very determined lady to wait until the bakers rack became available to you! It was worth the wait. Very nice job! Shannon

    ReplyDelete
  9. The finished piece is amazing, well done! You truly found a diamond in the rough as they say! Thanks for sharing. We hope you will consider helping kids with cancer by linking into the Miracle Makeover party this coming week
    at www.designgivesback.com. Together we can change things! We appreciate you.

    Love,
    Sherry, DGB Team

    ReplyDelete
  10. quite lovely!
    Pink Hugs,
    Dee

    ReplyDelete
  11. That is a WONDERFUL makeover. You have a great eye for seeing potential

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow!!!!! I see Mr. LBV was a busy man! I love his hands in all the pictures! That is fabulous and how wonderful for you to see what that piece could really be. I would have walked right by! You are very good!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is great, and the after is amazing. I was trying to think how to do an outdoor bar and you gave me a great idea. I am off to craigslist to start searching for a bakers rack. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. And the date of the next party is???? :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Boy that looked like a lot of work, but well worth the effort! I think the pewter finish is great.

    I host a party on Wednesdays that is a showcase for bloggers with less than 500 followers.... and I would like to invite you! (the linky is open now)

    xoxo BunnyJean @ BunnyJean's Decor and More!
    www.BunnyJeansDecorAndMore.blogspot.com

    I am # 141 in the Met Monday party.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi there...stopping over from Bunny Jeans. I did see your sunroom featured...it's lovely. And your hard work paid off for your outdoor bar...looks great! Laurel@chippingwithcharm

    ReplyDelete
  17. Now THAT is a bar!! (And I don't even drink)

    LOVELY!

    Visiting from Bunny Jean's Linky Party (Bunny Hop)

    ~Suzanne in IL

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks for coming to the Bunny Hop party. I hope you can make it again nest week ;)

    I also became a follower.. I thought I did that last time. I had this problem with most of my party girls. Maybe I was just too quick...like a Bunny ;)

    xoxo BunnyJean @ BunnyJean's Decor and More!
    www.BunnyJeansDecorAndMore.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  19. You really turned an ugly duckling into a swan! Perfect bar for your entertaining!
    xo Cathy

    ReplyDelete
  20. Awe, you are all so sweet, thanks for the words of encouragement!
    Terry

    ReplyDelete

A penny for your thoughts...