Gorgeous Built-In Storage Upgrades that Will Make Holiday Entertaining a Breeze
The holidays are upon us. For help getting party-ready, we've assembled a portfolio of bars and servers that pack style and utility into the typical untapped spaces in a home.
SEE ALL: 12 Amazing Built-Ins That Will Make Holiday Entertaining a Breeze at thisoldhouse.com
All-Access Bar. This wet bar was designed and built as part of a kitchen addition by handy homeowner and frequent entertainer Aaron Cover of San Diego, California. The doorways on either side were once dining room exterior windows, which Aaron enlarged to create easy passage between the new and old spaces. Structural posts determined the length of the bar, which he fitted with small drawers for corkscrews and other cocktail accoutrements; a double-drawer fridge for mixers under the counter on the left; and, for symmetry, a look-alike panel on the right that tilts out to access plumbing for the sink. In the upper cabinets, puck lights illuminate liquor bottles. Aaron's collection of vintage-look signs announces that this is where the fun happens.
Kitchen Bar. Party guests inevitably end up in the kitchen. So if you give them their own turf, they'll stay off yours. The location of this bar hutch, just outside the work triangle, allows guests to help themselves from the undercounter wine fridge without getting in the cook's way. Painted to match the kitchen cabinets, the unit is highlighted with furniture-like details: crown moldings, divided-light doors, and a glossy wood countertop.
MORE: 20 DIY Ways to Make Your Home Holiday Ready
Radiator Sideboard. Turn a space-hogging cast-iron heater into a server. Boxed out with paneled silverware drawers and a metal grille that allows warmed air to escape, this cover-turned-sideboard becomes a standout piece of dining room furniture.
Tip: Top a radiator sideboard with heat-retaining marble so that it doubles as a food warmer in winter
MORE: 12 Amazing Built-Ins That Will Make Holiday Entertaining a Breeze at thisoldhouse.com
