The Steen Style

Our hallway bar cabinet houses our extra and special glasses. Our everyday glasses are in the kitchen but this is the perfect spot for those glasses we use when company is over! It was once a desk nook but we have turned it into a nook for entertaining.

This is where we started two years ago and where we are now. I am so glad I took a ton of pictures the day we closed! It is really fun to look back and see what we were attracted to and how we’ve made it our own. The green room was their dining room that we turned into our second living room. I still love our navy spray painted bar cart!

With the help of Conner’s dad, we easily ripped out the desk. It was a pretty quick process and didn’t damage the wall except for a small spot – very lucky. You can see how the floor polish didn’t make it to this spot when the brick was laid. Luckily we ripped those out so you can’t see it anymore!

Once the wood floors were finished, we painted the walls and the cabinet. Originally, I wanted to replace the doors completely and change it up (remember when I couldn’t make up my mind and needed your help?) but then I realized it was easier to just paint the doors and put on new hardware. Give Conner props – he painted them on his own when I was at a fundraiser!

Since you would still be able to see inside, I wanted to jazz up that space as well. I gathered these supplies, looked at this tutorial and got to work.

I measured the inside of each shelf and cut the cardboard down to size. Unfortunately the shelves are not removable so painting them and measuring them for this to fit was not the easiest. Luckily, the glasses were going to cover most of it and the doors will be closed so it is not perfect by any means! I think in some spots, I just ripped away the cardboard when it wouldn’t cut…definitely not a straight line on these panels!

As I finished each section, I placed (read = shoved) the fabric-wrapped panel into the back of the cabinet. It really confused Conner when I was painting the inside and only painted the shelves and sides. This step was his “Oprah aha-moment.” So funny when you can see something in your head but can’t explain it until it happens. I was loving it already and couldn’t wait to finish!

The next update was hardware. The old stuff was not pretty. It was total 80’s and needed a little upgrade into the modern era. These euro bar pulls from myknobs.com were just the right touch. I made sure to find something that fit in our original holes and sure enough – they fit like a glove!

At first, I couldn’t stand the metal on the glass but once the new hardware was on, it instantly made the metal brighter and shinier! I love it now. It works perfectly with the chrome pulls.

Once the hardware was on, it was time to brighten up the inside and highlight our pretty glasses. There are 4 LED lights in these shelves and they work perfectly! Each has an on/off button and once on, automatically shut off after 30 minutes. I put two on the top shelf to reflect down and the other two are on the wall on the left side to shine across. They simply stick to the side with adhesive and twist apart for easy battery replacement. Love! (And no, I don’t paint the inside of my cabinet doors. The secret’s out!)

I love how the lights reflect in the glassware and highlight the fun fabric in the back. I wanted to make sure the greens and blues we have in the rest of the house flowed into here and this was the perfect way to do that! I don’t have a link to this fabric – I actually found it at a local fabric store. Let me know if you are local and want to know where!

Here is one last look at our before and after. In total, we spent $100 for this project, which is more than I wanted to spend but the lights took up most of that amount and were totally worth it (they were $14/each – whoa, mama!).

Next up in this space? Some wine storage next to Conner’s kegerator!