bar – Melodrama

IKEA VALJE Shelf Turned Colorful DIY Home Bar

Published on August 11, 2017August 12, 2017 by Krys13 Comments

I’ve been redecorating my living room (and entire apartment tbh) and needed a new home bar set up. I’ve been using a bar cart for a few years, but I needed a better set up to store my liquor and glass collection. A bar cart wasn’t going to cut it anymore, so I went on a search for a cabinet. I’m no stranger to an IKEA hack, so I took a trip to IKEA and spotted the VALJE shelf and liked the size and set up of the shelves. It reminded me of some mid-century pieces I’ve seen in my vintage home decor magazines. It took about two minutes for me to figure out how I would transform it.

Paint. Quick and easy.

I didn’t take step by step photos because the process is really easy. All you have to do is spray paint the leg pieces gold and then put it all together by following the IKEA assembly instructions.

When it gets to the part where you insert the backboard, mark a line where the vertical shelves divide the board and then use paint to make the different colored squares. I got house paint samples in custom colors from Lowe’s and painted the cardboard side of the backboard with a few coats. Then insert the backboard and finish the remaining assembly instructions. If you already have this piece you can just carefully paint in the squares.

That’s it! Done!

I stocked it with liquor and filled the shelves with my favorite bar accessories and vintage glass collection.

I love the way it turned out! I used colors that would tie in with the colors used in the rest of the house. It’s one of the first things you seen when you enter my front door so I had to make sure it was good.

Cute right?!

Stay tuned for more home updates and DIYs!

DIY Decor: Metallic Gold IKEA EKBY BJÄRNUM Bar Shelves

Published on September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 by Krys8 Comments

One of the main challenges I always have while decorating my apartment is finding the decor I envision, at the prices I want. Neither of those are ever easy. Either I can’t find what I have in mind, or when I get close, somehow it’s the most expensive item in the store. I can drool over those high ticket items all I want, but let’s get serious, I’m no Rockefeller.

But it’s ok! This is where my handy-dandy DIY skills get to shine. This is where I get to do my favorite task of trying to figure out how to get the look I want for as little money as possible.

For example, I wanted to expand my home bar area by adding 3 shelves above my bar cart. I wanted them to be gold to match said bar cart. My search pretty much turned up empty except for one option that was almost the right dimensions (from a store that will remain nameless) for over $100 per shelf. My other option was an IKEA favorite of mine that I’ve been keeping my eye on for a bit, and it just so happens that the EKBY JÄRPEN/EKBY BJÄRNUM combo was the perfect size, style, and price I was going for. The only drawback was that the brackets are only available in aluminum. Womp, womp.

EASY FIX.

The right choice for me was clear and I’m glad I made it. Did I want to spend $300 on shelves from Unnamed Store, or around $60 for IKEA shelves and a can of spray paint? Um. DUH. The way I see it is if I can spend $60 total on a DIY version and use the extra $200+ toward other fun things like going away for the weekend or, I dont know, paying my bills, you’re damn straight I’m taking that route.

Let’s all just take a moment to reflect on the magic of spray paint. All I did was spray the brackets and screws with metallic gold chrome paint and it completely changed the vibe of the shelves. Done and done. So easy.

I styled them with the help of my growing glass and bareware collection, and a DIY framed print.

Shelves: IKEA
Paint: Montana Gold – Metallic Goldchrome
Glassware: Baigelman Glass, Crate & Barrel, Target, Vintage
Bar Cart: Target
Chair: Vintage DIY
Floor Lamp: IKEA
Dresser: Vintage DIY
Lamps: Target

DIY: Stamped Metal Decanter Tags | 12 Months of Martha

Published on September 22, 2015September 22, 2015 by KrysLeave a comment

I’ve always loved the look of bars with fancy liquor decanters adorned with pretty tags naming what liquors they contain. They always remind me of scenes in TV shows and movies where someone grabs a bottle and aggressively pours a shot of some sort of brown liquor into a glass. Then they either shoot it down or just sort of roll it around in their hands while looking very pensive. It’s very dramatic, and I’m all about drama. It’s also super classy and vintage and I’m all about that too. What I’m trying to say is I like decanters with tags and I wanted to add some of that flair to my bar at home.
I always see decanter tags at flea markets, but I never seem to snatch them up. Probably because they’re either too expensive or they’re not the right style. Recently I added some shelves and revamped my bar, so I picked up some new liquor decanters and decided to DIY some decanter tags using my new Martha Stewart Crafts metalworking tools.

Here’s all you have to do. It’s super simple and it took me less than 20 minutes.

Tools I Used-

Martha Stewart Crafts Metalworking Metallic Sheets
Martha Stewart Crafts Metalworking Alphabets Stamp Kit
Martha Stewart Crafts Metalworking Tool Kit
Martha Stewart Crafts Metalworking Awl

All you have to do is just cut a piece of metal to your desired dimensions and shape. I did a simple rectangle shape. I wanted my piece to be a little thicker, so I simply cut it to twice my desired height. That way I could fold it over and the metal would be doubled for more heft.

Then I simply stamped my letters right into the metal. I used the awl to make the holes for my cord and to deepen any letters that didn’t get stamped deep enough. You can also use the awl to add more detail or filigree if you want.

Simple! Done! Think of all the things you can use this technique for. Gift tags, food labels, etc, etc, etc.

Be sure to check out my other 12 Months of Martha projects and keep up with me and the rest of the #12MonthsofMartha bloggers on Instagram!

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