Bar Shelf

Partly inspired by this, I became completely obsessed with getting a bar cart. I originally wanted to put a cart next to the wall across form the window, but I wanted it to be small enough to not look awkward in that space. However, as I looked online for hours, I could not find anything that was within our price and size range, and most importantly, in my style (namely: modern, black with silver details). A week or two after the start of my obsession, I ended up in IKEA and I found a black shelf for $7 and I had an idea! Instead of getting a whole bar cart, I would get a bar shelf.

Once again, my lighting and the fact that these were taken at different times is making these pictures seem odd. 

I installed the shelf between the cabinet and window and made it even with the bottom of the cabinet. Along with the two nails in the wall, I drilled a nail through the bottom of the cabinet into the shelf to make sure everything was secure. 

On the shelf in these pictures there is some cognac and a bar set from IKEA. I like the black shelf with the silver touches because it matches the kitchen but is not too over the top. As the zoomed out picture shows, I have also put up a new curtain that matches the kitchen. This curtain used to be in Nadia's room (and was left in the extra bedroom when she moved out) but it matched the kitchen so well I moved it there. It is not obvious from the pictures above, but the dishwasher is new between the before and after pictures. The dishwasher broke down about a year ago, and we ordered a new one (dishwashers are surprisingly cheap!) and Nate installed it by himself. 

Another updated part of the kitchen is the wall opposite the window. We added a wine holder and a pan/pot holder (both from IKEA). As a wedding present, Christina used a picture of Nate and me and made a cutout of it in our wedding colors which is now hanging above the pot/pan holder. 

As you can see from the pictures, we also have a few more things on our fridge since we moved into the apartment! 

I didn't realize how out of focus this picture was. Oops. 

Now, we have a port and a red wine on our shelf and it's holding up just fine. I have been made fun of for this shelf A LOT but I am really enjoying it. I think it worked out perfectly and we ended up saving at least $100 on the bar cart we did not buy.