A Walnut Wood Home Bar Top was designed by Lauren Tolles of Maison Birmingham for an English Manor in Birmingham, Michigan.
About the Designer: At a young age Lauren developed a passion for all things design, and went on to pursue a career in both architecture and interior design. By establishing Maison Birmingham, Lauren is able to fully engage both of these interests as she utilizes her technical expertise as an architect to take her innovative designs to the next level, making each space truly unique.
Designer Tip: “By embracing the original architectural character of this English Manor we were able to create a new functional kitchen that feels like it has always been there.” – Lauren Tolles of Maison Birmingham
Countertops: 1-1/2″ thick Edge Grain Walnut with Sapwood sealed with Durata® Waterproof Permanent Finish in Satin Sheen. Click here to learn more about this top.
A beautiful cottage with a smaller, yet smart, layout for relaxed lakefront living was designed by Todd Wiley, Senior Designer of TruKitchens. The space features a Walnut Dining Room Bar Top custom crafted by Grothouse.
Design by Todd Wiley, Senior Designer, TruKitchens
About the Designer: Todd Wiley, TruKitchen’s Senior Designer, has been working in the industry for the past 25 years. His passion ignited in college when he started working for a builder and cabinet shop owner. Realizing that he had to immerse himself in the industry to learn, he took a job at local shop on the Lake Michigan shoreline. As his passions grew, he moved on to Standard Kitchen Distributors where he continued to master the trade. This experience gave him the exposure to the systems and process that he was searching for. Feeling like there was more to learn on the design-end of the business, Todd then spent 7 years at a Cascade based design shop. For him, this experience gave him what he needed to further pursue his passion and open his own design shop, which is where he is today.
Todd Wiley, Senior Designer, TruKitchens
Designer Tip(s): “The dining area bar sits along an interior wall that faces out to a beautiful lake. The mirrored backsplash below eyelevel feels like a window pulling natural light into a potentially dark corner of this open main floor layout.”
“The inset cabinets in a clean line door style and unique custom paint color paired with the wood countertop blend cottage and contemporary.”
Edge Grain Walnut Bar Top for a Dining Room
Cabinet Manufacturer:Grabill Cabinetry in custom paint match on inset Lacunar door style
Other Items, Comments, Advice: Interior design by Vision Interiors, Builder is Devries & Onderlinde Builders, Architect is Visbeen Architects, Photography by Ashley Avila Photography. Click here for additional project information!
A Zebrawood Kitchen Bar Top designed by Roberta Wilson of Design Matters is the highlight of our Custom Wood Countertops blog this week; featuring the industry’s most talented and innovative designers throughout the United States and abroad.
Roberta Wilson of Design Matters
About the Designer: Roberta Wilson is Passionate about design! She loves all things design and particularly enjoys working on projects of varying styles. Having spent her childhood in rural Montana, she has an intense appreciation for the outdoors and loves to incorporate items with inherent natural beauty and interest into her designs feeling that they provide a sense of peace and comfort to interior spaces that can oftentimes be lacking.
Designer Tip: Changing materials and/or adding a rug or paint color can help to visually define a space and provide indication and direction as to the functionality of an area.
Other Advice: “Don’t be afraid of a little color!”
To see more spaces designed by Roberta and the team at Design Matters, follow them on Instagram @designmatters.design. Visit the Countertop Image Library on our website to see more designs featuring Zebrawood Kitchen Bar Tops.
Breakfast bar tops are a brilliant way to add extra living space into the kitchen. They are the little perch where you start, and often finish, the day. Most designers choose a solid wood countertop for breakfast bars. Unlike stone and metal, wood is a naturally warm surface that is perfect for sipping morning coffee or enjoying ice cream.
Despite its name, a breakfast bar isn’t just a spot for morning coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. This handy feature, which can be as simple or ornate as your kitchen is, fulfills multiple roles: a cocktail party buffet, a kids’ homework station, extra dinner party seating and more.
Most breakfast bars are designed to sit higher than the kitchen countertops, but they have been designed to align with kitchen countertops as well as even sitting below them.
Designs with Breakfast Bar Tops
Walnut Breakfast Bar Top
The cooking and eating zones on this kitchen island designed by Todd Wiley of Tru Kitchens have been ingeniously divided up, thanks to different worktop materials. It’s a simple trick that makes it instantly feel less like a workaday kitchen and more like a multi-functional space. For the breakfast bar, a Walnut countertop was designed to fit perfectly around the other countertop material.
This half-wall could easily have languished as wasted space. However, Kitchenscapes saw an opportunity and put it to work with a simple Walnut All Heartwood counter, fun blue tile and bar stools that creates the perfect spot for coffee or cocktails.
Cherry with Sapwood Breakfast Bar Top
This large Cherry with Sapwood breakfast bar top designed by Kubik Builders provides plenty of room for sitting and gathering out of the main food prep space on the opposite side of the kitchen island.
Want to see more designs featuring breakfast bar tops? Visit the Grothouse Countertop Image Library by clicking here.
Reclaimed wood kitchen bar tops are artisan crafted to retain the salvaged wood’s visible knots, cracks and nicks, creating a truly unique design rich in textural details.
Reclaimed Wood Beams for Bar Tops
Reclaimed countertops are crafted from antique barn wood floor boards, beams and siding. Heavily distressed reclaimed wood tops are normally crafted from floor boards and siding. Reclaimed wood beams may have nail holes and insect scarring, but the aged character is less apparent than counters made from barn siding or flooring.
Designs with Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Bar Tops
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Bar Top designed by Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Bar Top designed by J.S. Brown & Co.
Monica Miller, CMKBD, CR of J.S. Brown & Co. designed this Reclaimed Oak wood kitchen bar top for this white, modern farmhouse kitchen. This bar top is simple and functional in design. It is finished with Durata® Waterproof Permanent Finish in Satin sheen.
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Bar Top designed by Studio Snaidero D.C. Metro
Shawna Dillon of Studio Snaidero D.C. Metro designed this award-winning Reclaimed Chestnut wood kitchen bar top. A salute to clean and modern style, the bar top celebrates the beauty of the salvaged Reclaimed oak wood. Finished with Grothouse Original Oil™, this top can be sanded and oiled to look like new.
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Island Bar Top designed by Coastal Cabinet Works
Phoebe Steinhoff-Smith of Coastal Cabinet Works cleverly designed this Reclaimed Chestnut countertop to function as the island top as well as a bar top. It is protected by Durata® Waterproof Permanent Finish in Satin sheen. The beauty of the reclaimed wood takes center stage of this kitchen.
Reclaimed Wood Kitchen Island Bar Top designed by Landmark Cabinetry
Landmark Cabinetry also designed a Reclaimed Oak kitchen island top to include a section for bar seating. This top is sealed with Durata® Waterproof Permanent Finish in Matte sheen for a natural, rustic appearance.
Visit the Grothouse Countertop Image Library to see more designs featuring reclaimed wood kitchen bar tops. To learn more about the reclaimed wood used for crafting tops, click here. Be sure to follow @grothouseinc on Instagram for daily design inspiration!
Our Custom Wood Countertops Blog features the industry’s most talented and innovative designers throughout the United States and abroad. This featured design includes a Wenge Wood Basement Bar Topdesigned by Jim Martin of Jim Martin Design.
Jim Martin of Jim Martin Design
About the Designer:Jim Martin is an independent kitchen and bath designer based in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Jim’s approach as a kitchen and bath designer comes from a career of hands on experience. The skills and knowledge he’s accumulated along the way give him a unique perspective and the expertise to produce great designs and manage projects successfully.
About Jim Martin Design: In 2014, after 13 years working in a design/sales role, Jim started his own company as an independent designer focusing on residential kitchen and bath remodeling. Jim Martin Design serves the client as both the designer and project manager. Unlike many other design/build firms Jim Martin Design has no obligation to particular manufacturers which allows for open collaboration with multiple tradespeople, vendors and designers to better serve the varied styles and needs each project deserves.
A Tip from Jim:“It’s important to consider the significance of how negative space is used. When used appropriately it creates breathing room and helps to accentuate the focal points of your design. When designing, it’s easy to think about what you are putting in, but it’s equally important to think about what you are not putting in.”
Wenge Wood Basement Bar Top designed by Jim Martin Design
A home bar constitutes a major feature of any room. What truly sets a bar area apart is the countertop in which guests enjoy a drink or two and in which you can prepare drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
Here are a few unique and innovative designs to inspire custom crafted wood bar top ideas that will make your home bar area and entertainment space stand out.
Bar Top Ideas: Synthesis™ Bar Rail
Bar Top Idea: Synthesis™ Bar Rail
Stuart Kitchens designed this home bar area featuring a custom wood bar top with Synthesis™ Chicago Bar Rail. Synthesis™ Bar Rail is an integrated Chicago Bar Rail carved from the solid wood that creates the countertop surface. The result is a singular piece of bar, with a grain matched surface that eliminates seams at the molding. This innovation also eliminates the need for unsightly mounting fasteners underneath the bar.
Bar Top Ideas: Upside Down Edge Profile
Bar Top Idea: Upside Down Edge Profile
Glyn Tindall Construction Co. designed this custom Brazilian Cherry wood bar top for an entertainment space in a basement. The distinctive appearance of the bar top is due to the unique idea of using an upside down Medium Roman Ogee edge profile on the bottom edges.
Bar Top Ideas: Super Distressing
Bar Top Idea: Super Distressing
Wood-Mode Inc. designed this wet bar to feature a Sapele Mahogany top with Super Distressing. The distressing creates a charming, inimitable appeal.
Bar Top Ideas: Anvil™ Metal Finish
Bar Top Idea: Anvil™ Metal Finish
For House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2016, Matthew Quinn designed a custom White Oak bar top to be gilded in Anvil™ Argentum Metal Finish. The finish was applied in such a way that shows the White Oak wood grain.
Our Custom Wood Countertops Blog features the industry’s most talented and innovative designers throughout the United States and abroad. This featured kitchen includes a Reclaimed Chestnut Bar Top designed by Alicia Saso, AKBD, of Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio.
Alicia Saso, AKBD, of Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio
About the Designer: Alicia Saso, AKBD, graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a Bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture. For the past eight years, Alicia has specialized in residential kitchen and bath design. “I believe that the most important part of the design process is at the beginning. That is when you form a relationship with your client and learn what is most important to them. Once that is established, everything else falls into place. My goal is to design a space that not only meets my client’s vision but exceeds it.” Click here to read Alicia’s full bio.
About Drury Design Kitchen and Bath Studio: Founded by Gail Drury, CMKBD in 1987, Drury Design’s Client Focused Design™ approach integrates design recommendations, materials selection and construction management into one seamless customer design, project management, and build experience.
Reclaimed Chestnut Bar Top designed by Drury Design Kitchen and Bath Studio
Additional Comments and Advice: The client loved the uniqueness of the Grothouse top since every piece made out of reclaimed wood is individually unique. This anchored the rustic design of the kitchen.
Design by Drury Design Kitchen and Bath StudioReclaimed Chestnut Wood Bar Top for Kitchen Island SeatingKitchen design featuring a Reclaimed Chestnut Kitchen Island Bar TopDesign by Alicia Saso of Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio
See this design and more by Drury Design Kitchen & Bath Studio on their website, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. More designs featuring a Reclaimed Chestnut Bar Top can be viewed on the Grothouse Countertop Image Library. Like our page on Facebook to stay up to date with Grothouse news and announcements.
Rift Cut White Oak Wood Bar Top with Argentum Metal Coating
Grothouse also crafted a Rift Cut White Oak wood bar top gilded with Anvil™ Argentum metal finish, which is a real metal coating that replicates the appearance of nickel silver.
Argentum Metal Floating Shelves
Grothouse manufactured matching floating shelves constructed of a smooth composite substrate to match the wood bar top. The shelves are also gilded with Anvil™ Argentum metal finish. The bar and the shelves are sealed with Durata® waterproof permanent finish in Satin sheen.
Argentum Metal Finished Shelf
Grothouse Wood Surfaces is honored to have been a part of this absolutely stunning design by Matthew Quinn for House Beautiful Kitchen of the Year 2016. To learn more about Anvil™ Metal Countertop finishes, click here.
Grothouse crafts kitchen wood bar tops to fit any style space, whether you strive to achieve a classic, traditional look or a more modern style design.
Kitchen Wood Bar Tops | Design Considerations
When designing a custom kitchen wood bar top there are several generally accepted guidelines that can help you ensure that the finished product will meet your expectations:
• Typical bar height is 42-inches from the floor to the bar surface. Bar stool average height is 30-inches.
• A section of the bar should be 30″ above the finished floor to accommodate wheel chairs if desired. Back bar tops are generally the same height as the front bar, but can vary.
• Home bar tops are usually between 12- to 16-inches wide. Commercial bar tops vary from 20- to 28-inches in width, including a drink rail (or trough) on the server side of the bar. Drink rails are typically 3/4-inch deep by 4-inches wide.
• The minimum bar top thickness is 1 3/4-inches utilizing a flat grain wood. Increased thicknesses are available using a built-up assembly or other construction styles, such as edge grain.
• The front overhang for the patron side of the bar is typically 6- to 12-inches if you intend to have bar stools. For a standing-only bar, 6- or 9-inch overhangs are comfortable.
• Allow 22- to 24-inches of space per person.
Kitchen Wood Bar Tops | Design Inspiration
Kitchen Wood Bar Top designed by John Troxell of Wood-Mode Inc.
This modern style kitchen was designed by John Troxell of Wood-Mode Inc. The kitchen bar top is crafted of Walnut with sapwood in flat grain construction. The wood adds warmth to the room and provides a comfortable seating area and extra counter work space.
Kitchen Wood Bar Top designed by Griffey Remodeling
Grothouse Pastore™ style bar tops are the latest design trend in today’s extravagant homes. This kitchen bar top was designed by Griffey Remodeling and is crafted of Walnut with sapwood in flat grain construction.
