Have a cocktail on an Ivar bar

When Steve sent me these photos of his Ikea bar hack, my first thoughts were, “Where’s the Ikea?” On closer scrutiny, yes, it’s there, hidden under layers of Home Depot panels.

A few years ago, I moved into an apartment with built-in bookshelves, and didn’t need my Ivar system shelves any more.  So I built a bar cabinet out of them!

First I stained and finished them to match the dining table, and installed a stemware rack from The Container Store.  The enclosed sides, swing shelf, and back panel are all wood I had cut at Home Depot or a lumber yard.  The halogen lamp kit is from Home Depot, too, as is the majority of the hardware.  I secured the middle three shelves to the frame with L-brackets so I wouldn’t have to worry about a crashing-glassware disaster.  The glass-door Ivar cabinet at the bottom holds more stemware and barware.

I’ve mixed many a drink on that swing shelf and now I’m in a different apartment with a different dining table and bookshelves (Billy, of course) – but the bar came with me!”