basement planning: the wet bar

A post is coming soon on the progress we are making on the basement. We are currently in the process of obtaining our building permit, which first requires us to get all of our estimates on paper for anyone who will have to set foot in our home, including the electrician, the plumber, and the HVA/C contractors. Once we have selected each, we pass their info on along with our application and we will be on our way.

In the meantime, we are thinking ahead to what we want to do in each room. It’s amazing how early-on you have to have many “finishing touches” decisions made early on so you can plan wiring, drywalling, and a number of other things accordingly. So while decorating seems a little premature right now with several months of building looming ahead, I’m on a mission to gather inspiration and ideas.

As a refresher, here is the general layout of our basement space. This little L-shaped nook when you come around the bottom of the stairs is where we plan to put in a wet bar. We had a vision in our heads of a couple of cabinets for storing liquors, mixers, and barware, space for a mini fridge/ice maker, and a little bit of counter space for setting out snacks when entertaining. God bless Pinterest, the site that always seems to know what you’re thinking and then offer up something ten times more awesome.

Here, we like the wine cubbies and the space they made for a microwave (because what is a movie room without popcorn?) This is also about the size of sink we were thinking of – great to rinse a glass, but doesn’t take up a whole lot of counter space.

Here is another set-up about the same size as what we have to work with. And while we’re vascillating about the style route we want to go, we like the little bit more traditional cabinets and the cool rubbed look on the dark paint. Page is all about installing some under-cabinet lighting similar to this. The dude gets way too excited about lighting projects. What can we say, he’s a mood-setter.

This last one is narrower than what we would do, but it’s fun to see what it could look like in white to match our trim. We talked about putting in a remnant piece of granite for counters, and some more nontraditional ideas like recycled glass or cement. Even with a mere few feet of counters needed, the costs can climb quickly. We ended up stumbling on a cool tutorial for a countertop option that I’ll keep secret for now (and reveal when it hopefully comes together as planned!).

There will be a small section of hard surface flooring around the bar area, that we will also duplicate near the entry out to the patio and into the half bath. We have loved the tile in the upstairs of our home so much we thought about repeating it down here, but I’ve continued to look at some other options, like this charcoal grey cork option. Unlike the tile, which can get very cool (especially in a basement) cork stays a bit warmer and is really comfy underfoot. It’s also quite a bit pricier than tile. We have our estimates on paper for the 417 different expenses this finishing project will take, from 2x4s to light fixtures and everything in between. There is no doubt we will have to get creative on some costs to make room for others that we want to splurge on. The floor is one of those things we will wait and see on as our budget evolves.

As much as we love crown molding and hearty cabinets, the other direction we tend to lean is the more industrial/modern/minimalist route. I love the half metal wall here paired with the recycled wood floors. I would love to bring together some “old” and “new” down here and make our own eclectic vibe.

And speaking of old, we were both totally floored by this before and after bar project – click through the Pinterest link if you have time to see the full album of pics. It’s awesome and we love all the reclaimed wood and vintage bar feel.

So many styles and directions to go in…it will be interesting to see which ideas float to the top!