Coffee Bar

 I had a lovely weekend. Shopped for some live edge wood and found just what I wanted!

I am making use of a 34" wide wall just inside the door. This is a lot of space, if you live in 350 square feet. I had an old record table there and it turned into a catch-all for HeWho is loathe to throw anything in the trash can if he can avoid it. Not that he is keeping his pocket lint and receipts that are useless, or the napkin he used. He just prefers not to walk the three steps to the trashcan. Along with his pocket debris are a plethora of hats, some tools, old junk mail. You get the picture.

Also on this wall is the gas line for the portable gas heater. There was a quite useless cabinet in this space when we moved in. It had all manner of little boxed off areas on the inside and an ancient radio and speaker system. It was a catch-all as well. My idea is to put a coffee bar here. This free up some counter space in the kitchen. Also, the portable heater that is only used if the power is out can be housed under the coffee bar, out of the way.

I was looking for a suitable piece of furniture, like a hutch or antique dresser. I failed at that. I did buy an end table with a top that was the right dimensions and I wanted two shelves over it to hold mugs and such. The shelves will be just 24", leaving a 10" gap by the door. My thoughts were to "close" that with another piece of shelving to put hooks for coats and keys.

I hope you can "see" my vision. HeWho could not. He took on that glazed look he gets when I pause the TV and try to communicate with him. He nodded at some points and then looked quite lost as I continued speaking. I turned the TV back on and sort of gave up. I say "sort of" because I never really give up on an idea until it is proven to be a bad one. I am kind of like a dog with a bone in that respect.

I was trolling around on Marketplace and that is when I was hit by inspiration. I knew this new idea would appeal to HeWho. I paused his TV viewing once again and asked if he thought some live edge wood would look good. 

I found some not too far away on Marketplace and the next day we went on an adventure.

We ended up at this one-man sawmill. This was the wood outside, not dried and ready yet.

I loved this shed the man built to cover his $20,000 saw. I failed to get pictures inside the 3 car garage sized facility that held the dry wood and more equipment. I found 2 five and a half feet long boards I liked. They are 2" thick and will make everything I want. $20. I am not kidding. Plus the stuff I pulled out of his free pile.

It is raining and they are still in the truck. I will post pictures later. I had prep work to do. Because there was a cabinet, the flooring was not under the cabinet, but I found a partial box in one of the existing sheds and we got that done today. HeWho cut and I measured and snapped the pieces together.

The wall was in pretty bad shape with screw holes and such, so I wallpapered it and I like the wall paper so much, I wish I had more!

As you can plainly see, the wall had a lot of flaws and I know it shows through the wallpaper, but this will not be visible when I am done.

 You will note that the top turned out much better. The existing wall board is that speckled beige and the wallpaper compliments it. I think I will apply it to that entire wall. That won't be much, since a big set of windows and a slider are both on that wall. It is the peel and stick. It is fairly easy to apply and looks nice when finished. It wasn't that much cheaper than regular wallpaper, but the application does not require glue or water. Simple is a good thing.

Tomorrow will be spent cutting and waxing the wood. I plan to put a coat of epoxy on the "table top" that will hold the coffee maker and supplies. It will be a wet area, so ....