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The Pub at Fawn Meadows
Jan - Jun 2021 One of my projects this past year was to take an unfinished space in our lower level and make it into something fun. My wife and I decided on a pub room and design it like an Irish pub. The room had two walls of poured concrete and two wood stud walls on the interior of the room. Here are some pics and steps:
STEP 1: Faux Brick
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I used the poured concrete walls to create a faux brick wall. First step was masking out a brick pattern and then painting the concrete. The rough concrete makes it look pretty real. It does not fool anyone when you look close but most people assume it is brick until I tell them to look close. Good enough!
STEP 2: Paneling or Wainscoting
I used 2x4 studs to build on the lower 1/3rd of the wall to create a lip for the wainscoting. The top side became a side rail / shelf for as a place to set down your pint of Guiness. :)
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I used Revolution Ply from Lowes for the paneling. It stains well and is more affordable than other hardwood paneling. It is made from Poplar so I used Polar for the entire bar. I stained it using a cognac colored stain which has a rich reddish-brown finish.
Step 3: The Ceiling
I decided to try for a coffered ceiling look. I used the same plywood and the same Poplar 1x3's . Stained the same color as the wainscoting.
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Step 4: The Lighting fixtures
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I could not find a light fixture that I liked. I wanted the pub to feel like a rural or small village pub not a city pub. I also did not want to invest much... I'm a bit cheap... The solution was a set of wire baskets from Hobby Lobby and a standard industrial light bulb base from Lowes. Add an edison style light bulb and Viola! Looks pretty cool I think.
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STEP 5: The Floor
The floor was concrete as this room is in the base of our house. Rather than go through the cost and hassle of a wood floor I decided to stain the concrete. I used Concrete Coatings Vivid Acid Stain. I picked two colors - Caramel and Jade Green. I used the green stain in a few sweeping arcs on the floor first then followed up with the caramel color to fill in the rest. The results were acceptable but not amazing. The cost was great!
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STEP 6: The Back Bar
I made a very simple back bar again using poplar and the same stain as the ceiling and wainscoting. I added a small bar sink and had already roughed in the plumbing for a sink on that wall. I used some LED lighting to lightup the shelves and bottles. All very simple.
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STEP 7: The Bar
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I custom-designed the bar to fit the room. It is very narrow with rounded ends to allow traffic flow around the bar. It is intended as a stand-up bar which is typical in Irish and English pubs. There is a drink mixing counter on the back. It is free-standing and I added leveling feet to it as the concrete floor is not even across the room. It can easily be moved. I plan to add a kick rail at the bottom.
FINISHED
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