{DIY} Coffee Bar

If you have ever had to bake on your stove, had no room for clean or dirty dishes on your kitchen counter, let alone leaving your coffee maker on the counter, you will love what I'm going to show you. 

On Monday, Melody showed you some amazing family pictures that our sister Sara took for them (she took these ones too. Call her if you are local and want some family pictures!). Sara also got married this past summer and she and her husband moved into a tiny rental house. Cute, but tiny, with little kitchen counter space.  

The kitchen did have a space that had nothing in it. The previous owners used it for a small eating area, but Sara and Aaron decided to put their dining room table somewhere else. So that left an awkward space in the kitchen. 

They decided to use the space to build a small coffee bar with storage below.
(Have you noticed that designated coffee spaces are really popular right now?) 

Our dad owns a kitchen cabinet company, and these cabinets were leftover from a kitchen reno. In other words: free! 

Aaron took the doors off the cabinets and sanded down everything before painting the doors and trim with latex paint in Espresso.

With the counter top, Aaron rounded the edges of 2x6's* and glued them together. He then took a belt sander to boards and stained the boards before putting a glossy varnish on top. 
*update: Aaron actually cut off the rounded edges of the 2x6's. Since I'm not a  carpenter, I didn't know the difference. Oops!* 

After accessorizing the space with bars and hooks from IKEA for their mugs and different types of tea (Sara loves her tea), the coffee bar was open for business!

I love the transformation from those old cabinets to this beautiful, much needed counter space!

What's your favourite part of this great DIY project? Can you believe that the handles on the cabinets look completely different, although they are the same?