So a Guy Walks into a Bar...

Yeah, I don't really have a good punchline, but I do have a DIY project that will inspire you to have a drink!

Progress on the house along quicker than we'd hoped, and quicker than our checkbook would like to admit. Closet is done. We're in the process of replacing light/fan fixtures that were all the rage when Michael Jackson was telling us "Who's Bad." Paint is being slapped on all the trim and most of the walls downstairs. But I'm still finding ways to save some cash with a little DIY. On a related note...the wet bar upper cabinet is done. We needed a place to store the liquid courage and related bar ware, so I decided to take on a combination cabinet and wine rack..

I obviously wanted to keep the wine rack exposed so I could show off my fancy vino collection. Classic vintages like a 2010 Macaroni Grill chianti weren't meant to be hidden behind cabinet doors. But for aesthetic purposes, I wanted a cabinet door on the other side. Not just any old cabinet door, mind you, a re-purposed window cabinet door, courtesy of my friend and fellow recreational sports all-star, Mitch. He was replacing the windows on his house and, being an occasional blog visitor, knew I would have a use for what was otherwise going to the dumpster.

Using the exact measurements of the empty wall space and the window-turned-door, I drew up some plans. I built it mostly prior to installing so I could troubleshoot it and make adjustments on the ground (HIGHLY recommended, you know, for sanity's sake).

Important Note: Making cabinets is not for the average (or intelligent) DIYer. They can be a massive bitch, especially when walls are not square/plumb.Umm, not that I experienced that or anything.

Here is a pic of how the cabinet looked when I started the install.

The frame and wine rack are plywood. If you can build a box, you can build the frame. I wish I could tell you the wine rack was that easy. I had to take a refresher course on geometry to figure out the angles for the bevel cuts. Im not even kidding. When was the last time you Googled "how to find sin, cosine and tangent" or "Pythagorean Theorem?" In summary, if you want to duplicate this wine rack design, do yourself a favor and stick with a square. That way, you know your angles will be 45 degrees all day long.

After adding some trim to make her look prettier for the prom, and attaching the cabinet door, here is what it looked like:

Complete with masculine touches like servingware and a cake stand. Oh, but I wasn't done there, folks. Notice how bright the counter space is? Well, thanks to my brother-in-law, Bradley, I got a Philips LED under-cabinet light. Might not seem like a big deal, but look at the difference:

The countertop will get a granite upgrade soon, and the walls and cabinets are in the process of being painted. I'll update with more pics when it is (completely) done.

SEXY UPDATE: Granite countertop is in, tile backsplash and painting is done. Voila.