Blank Space turned Beverage Center BEFORE

So. We had a blank little area at the end of our row of kitchen cabinets. We decided to make it into a little beverage area after we scored an amazing deal on an under-counter fridge. Bonus: getting all of these beverages out of the main fridge gives us more room there for fruits and veggies. Anyway, here is the boring blank area:

The fridge showed up quickly. And even more quickly, we loaded it up!

The plan: a butcher block counter, and some rustic shelves or cabinets above. Thanks to a gift card to a local home improvement store, we got the counter for $0. We had looked at very high end butcher block counters, but decided to go with this one and if it doesn’t work out, fine, we can always upgrade.

I love the look of dark walnut counters. So we tested some stains.

From left to right: Dark Walnut, Mineral Oil, Cherry, Golden Oak.

Turns out, the walnut didn’t really mesh well with our cherry cabinets and gray walls. The others skewed yellow (blech!), so we went with the Cherry stain.

We went back and forth about open shelves or cabinets. Wanna see how it all came together?? Click here.