Ideas for built-in bar in need of refurb

[jennipurrr]

I bought a fixer upper house earlier this year.  This built in bar area in the basement (see pic) is original to the house (built in 1961) and pretty nifty.  Not shown in the pic (to the left) is another nook with power and water, but it is covered by a piece of paneling.  I think it was originally a wet bar but it is gone now.  Someday we would like to add a wet bar back in, but that day is not in the near future.  One concern I have with the project is maybe I should just wait until I am ready to do the entire thing.  However, the rest of the basement looks really nice now (fresh paint, new flooring) and this is kind of an eyesore.

It is not especially evident in the photo, but the white laminate is peeling from all the corners, especially bad on the beam going to the ceiling and has multiple stains on the top.  I would love to do something interesting with this space, but I am just not sure what.  DH and I are semi-handy.  We did a number things in our home reno, and have some tools, but not specialty stuff.

I have been googling removing laminate / re-laminating countertops and I am quite nervous because of the beam.  I have also been looking at various options to cover up/paint the laminate...not sure about how any of those will turn out also due to the beam, legs, etc.

In a dream world, I would love stainless steel there.  I bought a roll of stainless steel contact paper and DH made me return it because he was certain it would look horrible.

Any ideas?  Thanks in advance!

[anotherAlias]

If you don't want to rip the whole thing out and put in something new, I'd go for a minor facelift which shouldn't be too hard.  I'd replace the laminate top, cutting out for the beam might be a little tricky but doable(measure twice, cut once).  Then I'd get some wainscoting or beaded paneling to skirt the bottom.  As for the beam, I'd use the same wainscoting to cover that bad boy up.  My friends have a similar setup in their basement and the bar looks pretty cool with a dark laminate top and a lighter stained wainscoting on the base.

[greenmimama]

You could do a poured concrete counter top, that way the beam wouldn't really matter?

I love an industrial look though, then add corrugated steel to the sides and it would be awesome! :)

[Greg]

You could do a poured concrete counter top, that way the beam wouldn't really matter?

I love an industrial look though, then add corrugated steel to the sides and it would be awesome! :)

I was going to suggest a concrete top as well.  If you did it in two pieces with a mitered (diagonal) joint that bisects around the post/column, it could be done pretty well.  +1 to the corrugated steel for the front and sides.

[ArcticaMT6]

You can get a pair of butcher block counter tops from Ikea and fit them to that space.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/10472/

Make a pair of templates out of cardboard first so you don't ruin the countertops. I would put a 45 deg  miter through the corner, and cut out the square for the beam with a jigsaw. If you use a straight edge to run the jigsaw along, your cuts will be square instead of wavy which will look better. Alternatively, you can also use some 1/4 round trim around the beam to cover the edges so you don't see any gaps or wavyness.

[ritchie70]

You can get a pair of butcher block counter tops from Ikea and fit them to that space.

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/10472/

I don't know if you ever tried those but my experience trying to cut it was extreme frustration to say the least. I have pretty good tools and could barely cut it at all much less straight. Wound up ruining it, throwing it away, and buying a custom chunk of laminate countertop at Home Depot for under $100.

[ArcticaMT6]

I have not tried them myself, no. But, I have the tools to make them on my own which is what I did for my workbench (30" wide x 6' long by 3" thick solid oak).

I have some friends that used them and didn't have any problems though.

[bogart]

We have a similar bar in our kitchen and installed its surface ourself; it's large tiles, crammed as closely together as possible, and grouted. There's a rim of wood installed around the edge, flush with the edge of the tiles; it's great.  We had the bar built (but installed the tiles ourselves) and had it designed to equal multiples of the big tiles we wanted, so very little cutting; you could work out what tiles would achieve this for you and perhaps craft a border (if needed) to make it work. 

I also did a similar bar in an old single-wide I used to live in, but smashed (most) of the tiles into small(ish) pieces and installed them in a free-form sort of way.  I liked that too.

Tile is easy and durable, and it's nice because you can plunk hot stuff straight down on it.  If you need a few fancy cuts to accommodate the post, you could likely get those done for you at a Lowe's, or similar.

[soccerluvof4]

I would do the tiles as well. You could by some bigger ones on sale and cut them in 1/4s if you wanted as well. For the front i would go to home depot in the cabinet dept. Order a skin to your liking and get raised door panels to attach for a raised panel look. Make it look like a million bucks on the cheap.

[jennipurrr]

Thank you for all the ideas!  These will be great to explore.  I had not really thought of tile and that might be the best/easiest option.