How to Build a Basement Bar on a Serious Budget

Are looking to add a basement bar, but do not have the time and money to engage in a serious renovation project? Roll up your sleeves a little bit, not a lot, and join me in these creative steps. With the help of a little smoke and mirrors, you can put together a basement bar that just might win hearts.

Bring your tape measure and pad of paper down to the basement and create a dimensional drawing. You must locate all of the major floor obstructions, such as the water heater or furnace, and record the dimensions of those areas accurately.

Paint out the entire ceiling including all pipes, conduits and so on. Use a flat white or matte black paint. You will be amazed at how good this looks. I will explain how this ceiling essentially disappears in a later step.

Paint the foundation walls with a waterproofing paint such as “Damplock by Seal Krete”. Your walls will look great once they are completely painted. A product like “Damplock” will greatly reduce the amount of humidity in the space and outright block small cracks that are weeping water. You are on your way to a normal smelling room and not a musty basement smelling room.Most of these specialty paints only come in white. However, it is OK to top coat a waterproofing product such as “Damplock” with a latex paint of your color choice.

Create a nice floor finish fast. Use a concrete acid stain product or concrete color epoxy sealer product. The downside to the acid stain, picture to the left, is that it does not provide a moisture barrier. So, only use the acid stain if you are completely confident your basement floor is dry year around. Once your epoxy or acid stain finish is complete. Go shopping for a throw rug that covers some of the floor. The combination between the throw rug and a colored concrete floor is often very striking.

Initiate the smoke screen process. The areas of the floor that contain the unsightly obstructions are to be screened off. You have several screening options: drapes, shoji screens, painted plywood and life size cardboard cut outs to name a few. Drapes are likely going to be the best choice aesthetically. But don’t let me convince you, be creative!

OK, the shell of the space is in great shape. Now you need to add the fixtures that make the space a bar. First, add a couple fluorescent strip lights to the ceiling, preferably hanging. This is really the only step that requires some technical skills and maybe the help of a pro. You can add other kinds of lights, of course, but the fluorescent lights have the ability to make a painted ceiling disappear when they are the only source of light in the room. If you do bring in an electrician, have her add an outlet if you don’t have an outlet in a good location for the kegerator.

Next bring in a piece of furniture that will function as the bar and bar top. Have fun with this step. You can modify furniture, buy something used or order something online. You just need a free standing bar piece that you can stand behind and serve drinks while dodging kisses of admiring bar visitors. Just look at what Napolean put together in this picture! Ridiculous yet irresistible.

Bring in the kegerator and lounge chairs and sofa. This has to be your last step otherwise you will never finish the project. Hey, have a great time with this space, wish I could see the completed project.