Here I Am

It’s about time… I’ve been telling a lot of people about this project, and it’s finally done! I added the last piece yesterday evening, and here’s the promised blog post. This one was a ton of work; it took three weeks (working on weekends at my dad’s garage) and overall probably ~25 hours or so. First, here’s the finished product!

Dimensions

• 3.5 feet across
• 6 feet 3 inches tall
• 1 foot 4 inches deep

Supplies

• Tools: Sandpaper, drill, drill bits, paintbrush, table saw, belt sander, wood putty, glue, too many others to mention
• Paint – I went with the darkest brown that they had, same colour as the dresser overhaul I did
• Halogen under-counter ights- I got these from home depot ($30 for a set of three)
• Mirror – garage sale for $5, and I know a guy who works at KW glass who cut it for me
• Total cost including the base unit: ~$200

Now for the gritty details. I bought this hutch from kijiji for $100. It’s an antique (hard to tell but I’d guess 30-40 years old) but solid wood so in decent shape. I borrowed dad’s truck and grabbed it from Elora, brought it up north, and separated the top and bottom. Next, sanding sanding sanding. Off to home depot for some paint and primer. The primer took a long time to dry, so I had to head back to Waterloo for a work week and continue the next weekend.

There were four projects to tackle next. First was the compartment in the main section where I can make the drinks. It was open, like a fixed drawer with no top, so I decided to cover it up but with a hatch on hinges that I could open to access the storage space. Some intense interior painting, but it worked out really well! Pics:

The next piece was the mirror in the back. I had to pry the backing off of the unit, slide the mirror in, and reattach it. During this process, I added some contact cement to keep the mirror and place, and put in some 1×1″ pieces of wood on either side to keep it firmly in the back. The mirror is obviously crucial for the bottle display Oh yeah and that’s my dad…

Third was the wine rack on the bottom. I had originally wanted to do something fancy like a big “X” where I could stack the bottles… but cutting angled wood to fit inside an existing unit is an absolute nightmare, so instead, I opted for a simple shelf but with a catch. “Catch”, no pun in tended – it’s a little riser in the center that will allow me stack bottles up one side or the other, or to stack them in a pyramid centered on each side. Check out the pic to see what I mean! I’m also planning on getting my own wine made, which should give me 30 bottles that will need to age for 4-6 months. Well, now I have an awesome place to store them, and nothing looks better than a wine rack that’s full to the brim!

Finally, the lights. This was an optional piece but an exciting aspect as it really sets the whole thing off and adds that extra bit of class. I found simple under-counter lights at home depot with really easy wiring (basically just plug the three lights into a central box that has another cord with a switch. These weren’t that easy though, as I needed to drill holes for ventilation over each lights, and have them placed at the perfect spots so as not to be visible and to provide indirect lighting. It worked out great, and I hid the switch just on the inside of the trim on the right side over the counter surface.

That’s pretty much it! Of course there was a lot of fine-tuning, some challenges on the way fitting the extra pieces in, and I had to remove a shelf originally that had sunken nails (fffuuuuuuu). The last piece arrived via UPS yesterday – a hanging wineglass rack that set off the left side beautifully, and leaves a nice space for making the drinks. I hope you like it!

Voila!

Drinks anyone?