Thursday, September 25, 2008

the barn's bar

It's been far too long since I've invited you over to the barn. How about coming in for a little glass of local white wine. Hop on up to the bar...it's the best seat in the house... ahem, barn. My mother and I deliberated over this bar for ages. The main room is small and we didn't want a table to crowd and clutter the open floor plan. The bar has been better than we could have ever hoped for. We lowered it to counter height, which seems just right. The plank was from an antique/rummage shop. The mismatched brackets, securing it to the wall, are from an architectural salvage store. The bar's surface is wide enough for a place mat, as well as a laptop computer. It seats two perfectly...but this summer we actually had all four grandchildren slurping spaghetti at "Grandma's pasta bar"... and they were quite comfortable!



My mother had the brilliant idea of putting up a little ledge for condiments, candles and napkins.This keeps the dining surface clear and provides a little stage for a couple of rotating vintage pieces. The ledge was originally upstairs in the barn builder's workshop. There are different sized holes all along the length of the narrow board, and we believe he stored his tools in it. What a wonderful way to bring it back to life! The napkins are held in place by a lovely section of an old cigar box my mother couldn't part with.

The little red house is an original toy from my grandmother's nursery school. My mother kept it by her side during the years she was searching for her first home (to buy)...a symbolic little reminder of what she wanted and where she came from. What's so amazing is its resemblance to her dream home...her little barn.

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14 comments:

  1. What a lovely domestic scene. I love to see children enjoying good food. The bar looks great and I love the miss matched stools. The little shelf is also a great addition.

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  2. I love the bar! That barn really is the most gorgeous space.

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  3. you and your mother are the perfect design team . O always love reading the background to the items so wonderfully placed in the barn. I am really excited to see what happens to that magical space when winter comes around.

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  4. I love The Barn.

    Oh how I love The Barn.

    I keep looking at these posts so I can visualize my dream just a little bit more clearly.

    I love that your mother kept that little house by her side to keep her vision in mind.

    Did I mention that I love The Barn?

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  5. What a neat idea! It's a great space saver! I love the ledge idea too!

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  6. I am serious when I say this..."I want you and your momma to come to my home, gut it, and work your magic." You are design divas to the highest level!

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  7. This is perfect, everyone should have a bar in their house.
    I have a friend who's father even made an entire room into a bar, with three tables with two chairs each, and lamps, and the actual bar with drinks and all. Maybe it's too much, but it was lovely.
    And this? It reminds me of eating at my own grandma's place, when I was little and she fed us in a table that was folded and put against the wall, so it looked like a bar. I was always staring at this big old painting with a field of poppies on it.
    Wonderful memories!

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  8. it's great to gather all the kids for pasta and they all enjoying their meal so very much (i guess, grandma food is always good, hu?). Lovely idea!
    thanks for visiting me!!!
    Hugs,

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  9. sigh, I love trips to the barn. The pasta bar sounds delightful, I'm sure there will be many more, probably sundae bars with all your yummy toppings.

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  10. You two are amazing. I guess you have both the eye and the touch.

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  11. Thanks so much for your kind words! It still amazes me how much loving this barn gets! I'll try to get another barn post out soon:)

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  12. This I love! In fact, I think I love everything about your barn. Your barn is swell. And I especially love the art piece above the bar, what is it's story? Maybe I missed it in the post, I'll have to go back and have another looky...

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  13. What a sweet picture of the four kids enjoying dinner at the bar. The whole place, such a well loved and meaningful place.

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  14. these are such wonderful pictures...they really capture the rustic yet functional essence of the barn!

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