Bookcase to Home Bar Makeover

I turned an old shabby bookcase into a stunning retro gold home bar

Table of Contents

• Materials, tools, and supplies for the bookcase to home bar makeover
• How I upcycled my bookcase into a home bar
• Decorating and styling the home bar
• Tips for making something new using what you already have on hand

Hello! Are you looking to turn an old bookcase into a home bar? Well, I did it. Read on to see how it came out.

I’ve always wanted a home bar. Growing up the 80s, a wet bar was just the height of chic and I guess I never outgrew that. And now, retro is so in, so I decided to make a bar with more of a 70s vibe. And yes, by that I mean that it is GOLD! Am I the only one loving the return of gold?

After decluttering (again) and organizing (again), this year I’m determined to buy less and make do with what I already have. It’s actually been pretty fun so far and has forced me to be a little more creative. Since it’s Dry January, I have the bar decked out with my favorite mocktail ingredients (is it February yet?)

Materials, tools, and supplies for the bookcase to home bar makeover

For this project, I used these things already on hand:

A small, forgotten bookcase with glass shelves and a silver colored frame.

Leftover granite tiles from when we had our fireplace built 18 years ago

Felt furniture pads

I bought:

Rust-oleum metallic gold spray paint

I borrowed:

A wet tile saw with a blade specifically for granite

Ok, I also bought a gold wine rack from Crate and Barrel too!

How I upcycled my bookcase into a home bar

The first thing I did was wipe all the dust and dirt from the bookcase and then I dried it with a towel. Then, I took it outside and painted it with the gold spray paint. It looks so good! The paint is a really gorgeous shade of gold.

Then, I borrowed a wet tile saw with a granite cutting blade and had some friends help out with cutting the granite tiles. They were actually the perfect length, but I had to take about an inch and a half off the sides.

Using felt furniture pads I laid the granite tiles onto the bookcase. This still would have looked great even if I had put the original glass back in, but the granite definitely ups the luxury quotient. I’ve been looking for a use for them for 18 years!

That’s it! I was originally going to put this in my finished basement but it looked so damn good that I ended up putting it in prominent place in the dining room.

Decorating and styling the home bar

I’m in the middle of dry January (is February here yet?) so I have my bar decked out for now with some lovely bottles of Lyre’s non-alcoholic spirits. The bottles are super fun and do look quite beauiful on my new bar. Since wine is really my drink of choice, I decided to buy a matching gold wine rack from Crate and Barrel. It really fits with the vibe and I look forward to filling it up with wine soon!

I also added my giant sequoia pinecone from my travels (why not?) and a martini shaker. Yay, I finally have my home bar!

Tips for making something new using what you already have on hand

I’m guessing that you probably don’t have the exact bookcase on hand plus the granite tiles to make this, but I hope it inspires you to look around and see what you can use. If you’re not the type to store things, Goodwill or the Habitat for Humanity ReStore are great places to find upcycle materials. It’s amazing what a little spray paint can do!

Thanks for reading. Let me know in the comments if you have any thoughts on upcycling furniture, dry January, the Lunar Year of the Rabbit, or any other ideas I may or may not have mentioned here. Stay in touch!

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