Finally, you’ve scored off-campus housing near Ohio University or Ohio State. You’re ready to live life to the max — no RAs holding your hand or telling you what to do. If you’re 21, there’s nothing that makes a place feel like your own more than a DIY home bar. Your apartment or rental house is the perfect place to relax — and your own bar brings the party to your house. You can also control who’s pounding beers with you better at home than in a public bar. Here are eight ideas to help you build your own amazing bar for next to nothing!
Rolling Bar Cart
Purchase a kitchen island with wheels. Ideally, you want a large shelf for mixing drinks and cutting fruit. A towel bar is nice for having something to clean up spills and wipe your hands. Put bottles underneath and mix the drinks on the counter. The best part is this bar is portable — it can go anywhere in your apartment, even on your front porch for the classic Athens or Columbus porch party. You won’t be able to hold a lot of liquor bottles, but that shouldn’t be a problem since most college students tend to not keep a lot of full liquor bottles sitting around.
Convert an Old Cabinet
Hit up one of Athens favorite thrift stores such as Habitat’s ReStore, Goodwill Industries or the New-to-You Shoppe within an easy drive of your Athens apartment or house. In Columbus, you have your choice of dozens of thrift stores from which to choose. Purchase any old cabinet. Give it a paint job, maybe even splash on some art if you’re the creative type. Store glasses, bottles and an ice bucket inside. Mix drinks on the surface. Since you can close the doors, you can hide the party until it’s cocktail hour. That way you aren’t staring at liquor bottles on a Tuesday afternoon when you’re trying to study.
The DIY Pallet Bar
Have a couple old warehouse pallets? With a little handiwork, you can craft them into your own perfect DIY bar. Nail two pallets together, joined by interconnecting wooden boards. Add wood underneath for a base, as well as extra wood on top for a serving area. Remove a few boards from the pallets to allow room for bottles. Arrange in an artful way. Paint your new bar so it doesn’t look like it came from a warehouse. This is the perfect bar if you have a rental with a yard, as many Athens rental houses do. Set the bar outside for spring and summer parties.
Diaper Cart
Once their kids are out of diapers, people throw out diaper carts all the time. Believe it or not but a diaper cart with a little DIY tenderness makes the perfect bar. Storage areas underneath that typically hold diapers can hold bottles or glasses instead. This shouldn’t need to be stated but yes, take the time to perform a deep clean on said diaper cart.
Old Bookcase
Bookcases make wonderful bars with a little DIY love. Install storage areas for bottles on one shelf. Dedicate one shelf to glasses. Store wine or beer on another. The great thing about this option is that if you run out of liquor you can place books in the bar/bookcase. Better yet, line up some books about drinking and making drinks!
Wooden Cable Wheel
With minimal carpentry skills, a wooden cable wheel (the kind that phone or electric line technicians use to transport cable and wire) can be transformed into a very cool bar. Hollow out the middle for an ice bucket. Remove boards in the center to allow room for shelves for bottles. Hang glasses from the bottom. Use the surface for serving and mixing drinks. Decorate your new bar however you like.
Old Trunk
An old storage trunk can become the coolest DIY bar with a little love. Set the trunk on its end, propped with the trunk open. Install shelves inside to hold bottles, glasses and to mix drinks. As with the other ideas, make sure you give the old trunk a good cleaning before using it for consumables.
Old Dresser
By removing drawers and replacing them with shelves, any old dresser can become the coolest bar in Athens. The top can be used to mix drinks. Bottles and glasses can be stored on the shelves that replace the drawers.