And back to the bar we go. While the bar has been in place since the Fall, we spent the past few months refinishing the rest of the garage space with paint, a new floor, neon lights and a dart board to create a fun summer hangout. But Dan’s never working on just one project at a time, which means he was also building storage and seating for the bar itself.

Bar stools
Our projects always start with a little bit of research, where Dan finds a DIY project, customizes it with his own ideas, and comes up with a master plan. The bar stools were no different. In all, he was building eight bar stools, four for the bar, and four that could float around the garage and eventually be used with pub tables.

Each stool would be made with 2x2s for the legs and 1x12s for the seat. The first step was to cut all of the wood to length, which was done all at once for the eight stools.

Now that we had eight sets of puzzle pieces, it was time to put them all together with a bunch of nails and screws. Don’t worry, Dan added a few extra to each for added support/stability.

As for the top, Dan used his tool, the router, to round out the edge and give it a more finished look. And just like that, the bar stools were assembled.

We’re kinda going for a rustic/industrial look in the garage, and so far, I think we’re heading in the right direction. And because of this, Dan decided that the bar stools would be painted black. And while I was skeptical at first (as I am of a lot of projects), I think they look great and are starting to complete the look of the garage itself.

Bottle racks
What would a bar be without a place to store the alcohol? Sure, there’s a ton of storage hidden behind the bar. But with our big mirror on the back wall, what better place is there to hang a bottle rack? Which only meant one thing, more DIY!

This one was pretty straightforward. The idea was to make the bottle rack the same length as the mirror, so it could sit directly underneath and the bottles would reflect in the mirror itself. Dan used a 1×6 as the base, and two smaller wooden strips that would hold the bottles in place.

Once assembled, we finished it off with red mahogany stain to match the bar itself. L brackets were used for installation, as I’m sure over time we’ll add to the collection and the bottles will start to weigh the rack down. These brackets will ensure we don’t end up with smashed bottles, and wasted alcohol, all over the floor.

Eight bar stools and one bottle rack later, and the bar is ready to go. It gets its first big test this Saturday when we have our extended family over for the first time. 75 people with a forecast of sunny and 88. Sounds like the perfect ingredients for putting the bar to good use, and testing the sturdiness of those bar stools of course. Fingers crossed =)