Take Your Dry Bar from Drab to Dazzling

When Pete and I moved into our current home, we were downsizing from much larger houses. This home suits our current needs fine but lacked a wet bar and proper storage options for all of our barware. What is one to do? Well, first things first and that means giving a ton of stuff away. Admittedly, I adore stemware but in all truthfulness no longer needed the large collection I had amassed over the course of twenty plus years. With three daughters ranging in age of 19-24 there was no question who was getting it all. So I packed up a box for each of the girls and then took inventory of what was left. And you know what? I immediately felt better. Although I've never been a pack rat, simplifying just feels good. The older I get, the less "stuff" I want. I looked for several months and nothing jumped out at me. Impulsive shopper...not here; I never mind waiting for what I want. That was the next problem. Usually I know just what I want but this time I didn't. We ended up purchasing an iron piece that is classic and modern at once. The piece was inspired by the lines of French Directoire furniture and I just love it. When it arrived, the holidays were approaching so I just threw everything in and closed the doors and vowed to deal with it later. And so I did...finally. It worked for the best because I realized I needed more storage than the shelves permitted. Acrylic risers were going to be my best option as I really didn't want to "see" the added shelving. With the help of Google, I was able to track down the exact size for my unit! I ordered from ShopPopDisplays and was so pleased. I highly recommend...everything was packaged so nicely and the quality is excellent. Everything is easily accessible now and visually pleasing. 

My tips to a visually pleasing and functional dry bar. Edit. First get rid of anything and everything you don't love, need or use. Next, take inventory of what you have and spend a little time thinking of how you want to arrange things. Third, purchase the items you need to get the job done. Last, have fun playing with it. It can be functional and visually pleasing. Put swizzle sticks in a glass. Open all those straw packages and place them in a mint julep cup (or something).  Display your pretty cocktail linens. Group like things together and keep your most used items easily accessible. Corral all of your liquors and place them on a large basket or tray for cohesiveness. Do the same for your olives, cherries, mixers, etc. When your items are organized and accessible, you will use them more~truth! Then pour yourself a drink and enjoy the fruits of your labor!