Wet Bar Turned Built-In Bookshelf (In Progress!): Our Mid-Project Makeover

This little corner of our home has been begging for a refresh, and we finally decided to take the leap by transforming our converted wet bar into a built-in bookshelf. It’s still in the works, but the progress already feels like a breath of fresh air.

From demo to priming and planning the finishing details, we’re slowly watching this space come to life. While it isn’t finished just yet, I’m excited to share the process so far and what we’re envisioning for the final reveal.

Here’s a look at the Initial Before: This is how the space was when we moved in. The previous owners had a similar idea and chose to add shelves. While this was nice, I didn’t love the look of the shelves for our style. We took them down and used the space more decoratively these past 4 years.

Here below you can see how we painted, added shiplap and hung a basket with some greenery. I was never really certain how I wanted this space.

I went between the idea of something like this or something more built-in. After about two years I started to play around with the idea of making it into a bookshelf. But time and other projects took priority. So we kept it as is.

After Christmas I was thinking about how much I was going to miss the coziness of this space. It really got me thinking about how I could bring in that feeling with everyday decor. That’s when I knew we should go forward with the built-in bookshelf project! I was ready to make this change and Tyler agreed. So we got to work and here’s a peek of our progress so far.