Sorry this post has been a long time coming but, well, I've been busy. Very bloody busy.
Anyway, as promised the little tricks we used to save hundreds of dollars on this bar set-up are posted and explained below:
A quick refresher on how the bar turned out, the placement of everything and the de-cluttering of the back-wall:
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| Almost Finished |
Importantly for us was a way of displaying and storing our stem-ware without the need for shelving or other items of furniture that just add cost and take time to source. Here is how we achieved our wall of glass:
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| These hanging stem-ware rails are amazingly useful, glasses stay dry and dust free without the need to fix shelving or attack the rear wall. |
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| As many of you in the industry may have realised, glass rails are surprisingly expensive. All options are ceiling mounted and require existing shelving or cost over $60 per rack for wall-mounted. These pictured above are literally $4 from K-Mart, we grabbed the hacksaw and some decent sized metal brackets and voila, problem solved. |
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| Here is our pretty little Art Deco Diana mirror. It took a lot of hunting but for $425 she certainly saved money in the long run. We found her in a suburban bazaar hanging above a cabinet full of old medical equipment. If you can still find a second-hand shop that hasn't been raped by the local fixie-riding tosser brigade (hipsters) then treat it like the goldmine it truly is and start digging. |
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| This is the mirror we were originally going to have custom made with aged glass and silvering to give a faux antique look. It was the cheapest quote we could get at around $1300 including delivery. |
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| Here's how we tested the layout and the bare steps that we later filled with bottles. The lamps we found in the same place as the mirror and are just a cheap plaster cast of an original Deco-design but at $30 each that's fine by me. |
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| The step for the bottles was made from composite post timber. Essentially it's lots of pine glued together and then cut to a uniform size and shape. A good hardware or timber place will stock it at around $150 per 4M length pre-primed, plus cutting to size and delivery means just under $200. Some 50c steel brackets, PVA Glue and another can of our hammered brown metallic spray paint soon has a step formed. |
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| another angle showing the gap that slightly un-even cutting to size will inevitably leave. Some cheap filler left over form the previous owners solved that hassle. |
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| Almost finished! |
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| Remember when working with PVA and spray paint, wipe and dry the surface to get rid of any glue residue before painting. |
A $60 corner shelf from the same bazaar as the mirror and lamps and there you have it, one finished, funky bar conversion for under $2000 including paint, wallpaper and some small furnishings.
