Kitchen, morning kitchen, or wet bar

nurseangel

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I don't want to spend a fortune, but we are thinking about converting our male cat's 750 sq. room into a place to watch television, since he now gets along with the females. We don't drink, but bars are pretty. I would really like some extra storage, too. Cabinets. What do you think would be a good option for convenient snacks and sodas? Also, to add value to the home. Winchester Winchester , I know you're out there. I'd like as many opinions possible. This is going to be a slow process, building whatever we build. We are just looking for a nice place to relax.
 

susanm9006

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A fun project! I think some cabinetry on one wall, regular lowers, bookshelves or cabinets with glass doors on top. A bar sink on the counter and an under cabinet mini fridge would be useful. A place to keep soft drinks or to dump them out. Maybe a coffee maker if that is a room you would use to have coffee in the morning.
 

MoochNNoodles

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I think a wet bar with a small fridge would a be a great investment! You could add a coffee spot or anything really. We aren't drinkers either but I've got this dream floorplan that has a small wet bar area with a counter in the basement and daydreamed about it being a place for snacks and drinks for movie nights or the kids with their friends.

What is the room "supposed" to be used for? Is it supposed to be a bedroom or anything like that?
 
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nurseangel

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The room is totally open with the exception of two columns, where a bedroom could go. We could count it as a third bedroom if we ever sold the house (for a nice, cold place). That part has an 8 ft. ceiling. The other has a cathedral ceiling. We bought a small freezer and sort of decided it needed a something to go along with it. I am currently saving for a mini-fridge with glass doors. The larger room will likely end up being a den for us. Right now it is like a basement; it gathers boxes of things that we have nowhere else to put. :lol:
 

Winchester

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I like the idea of a wet bar. Cabinet space, not just for glasses and such, but also for a bit of extra storage space (storage space always seems to be in short supply in homes). Bookcases for a bit of a library. A sink, but you shouldn't need a big sink. A small fridge, nothing exotic (I like your idea of one with the glass doors....nice!). A small microwave for popcorn and such. A coffee/tea bar! Oh, and lots of lighting. You need to be able to see well, especially if you decide to use it for crafts!

Check out the Billy bookcases from Ikea for all kinds of ideas. We used them in the Shed and I love them. You can put doors on them, you can paint them, you can make them a little nicer with detailing and lighting.

Our kids' new house has a finished basement with a huge den. The inevitable big-screen tv with the required furniture. They have their Saturday night movie nights there and game nights. But they also have a small kitchen down there, right off of the den, complete with cabinets, sink, fridge, and stove/oven. Our granddaughter uses that area for her baking experiments. She has her favorite cookbooks, a large pantry supply, bakeware, etc. I'm rather jealous, to be honest.
 
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nurseangel

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Thank you to everyone! The vote seems to be for a wet bar. I keep thinking about stained glass and then finally realized why. The longterm care facility where I work has stained glass windows here and there. I have been in a house trailer that had a wet bar in the living room and it added so much to way the room felt. They had a little chalkboard up like some restaurants do with the specials of the day. The little freezer we have is tall but doesn't take up much room. (Right now it is between two big pictures of African animals, so it looks a little lonely and out of place.) This project will be a little bit at a time and somehow I want it to fit with my Victorian Gothic taste. My house was starting to look so spooky that I added a white TV console and a beige curio cabinet painted with leaves just to lighten the place up. Outside = normal house. Inside = The Munsters, without the cobwebs, I hope. :lol:
 

MoochNNoodles

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My grandparents always had an OLD gas stove in their basement. Only one or two burners worked. But they lived in a region where AC wasn't common but sometimes it could get HOT. That basement stovetop was where Gram would cook bacon or something light for supper in hot weather. I think she used it for canning too. Grandpa made his sausage down in the basement and cleaned and put up his fish catches for winter. They had big utility sink and one of those old red top chrome tables. It wasn't fancy; but in their small house it was functional. They had an electric stove upstairs so having that backup was good in power outages too.
 

susanm9006

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My grandparents always had an OLD gas stove in their basement. Only one or two burners worked. But they lived in a region where AC wasn't common but sometimes it could get HOT. That basement stovetop was where Gram would cook bacon or something light for supper in hot weather. I think she used it for canning too. Grandpa made his sausage down in the basement and cleaned and put up his fish catches for winter. They had big utility sink and one of those old red top chrome tables. It wasn't fancy; but in their small house it was functional. They had an electric stove upstairs so having that backup was good in power outages too.
My grandparents cooked all meals on the basement stove, only using the main floor stove morning coffee. And when I moved into this house I inherited a small electric stove in the laundry room. It comes in hands for Thanksgiving when the turkey takes up the whole main oven.
 

Margot Lane

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Secretly pleased the vote went wet bar. I was holding back my opinion, b/c really, I think it ought to be YOUR decision! I’m trying to imagine what a Munster Wet Bar will be like, so, when you get there, post pics!! Will the bartender be a crawling hand?
 
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