Upgrade My Liquor Cabinet

September 12, 2022 10:12 AM

So we have an Ikea Besta with glass doors that hails from the year 2014 in which we store liquor cabinet things. I wish to have something nicer in which to store said things. The size factor of the Besta (47.25" Long, 16.5" Deep, 25.25" Tall) is particularly good for our space - longer by 33-50% would be fine but a deeper option is not workable. Thoughts / ideas / help finding something cool to replace it?

I find that googling "Liquor cabinet" or "bar cabinet" returns a bunch of results for things that are smaller than our current footprint, which is not helpful. We store a small amount of glassware (I can specify how much if that would be helpful), 12-15 bottles of wine, and one whole side of the Besta is currently full of liquor bottles. The balance of my admittedly too-large stemware collection is in a kitchen cabinet, and I am not looking to rehome it. I do want something at least partially enclosed to keep the pets away from glassware.

Our style is sort of MCM meets industrial - the big couch is a Joybird and is tufted. The small dining table to which this piece is adjacent is glass-topped and has lovely slanted wooden legs. The chairs are the new Tabitha Brown dining chairs from Target.

I don't care if it's glass fronted like our current option is, or if it has a decorative front. We have a large piece of art hanging on that wall so nothing very much taller would fit the bill at all. I really don't want to buy another piece of flatpack.

posted by Medieval Maven to Home & Garden (4 answers total)

I don't have any specific recommendations but estate sales are an excellent place to pick up something that's solid wood and costs very little. If you're in the US, https://www.estatesales.net/ might be a good resource to find a sale near you that has what you want. They don't list prices so you have to go to see how much something costs. And if you really like something and think you might want it, show up as soon as the sale starts on the first day!
posted by dawkins_7 at 10:41 AM on September 12, 2022

I think you'll have better luck looking for a 'sideboard' or 'buffet', as those are generally much wider than liquor cabinets. This is a neat-looking one that might fit with your decor.
posted by hydra77 at 10:55 AM on September 12, 2022

About 8 years ago, we bought this at Crate and Barrel.

https://www.crateandbarrel.com/maxine-bar-cabinet/s318685

We certainly didn’t spent $2k on it, though! (And we wouldn’t spend that much money)

We love the design, but the doors are a little crooked now— it’s definitely a “modern” piece of furniture from a quality standpoint.

All that said, it’s great! Maybe you can find this model on Craigslist?
posted by gregvr at 2:29 PM on September 12, 2022

There are *so* many bar carts/dry bars/buffets/sideboards in MCM-focused antique stores. It’s just a type of furniture whose popularity has waned so there’s a glut of them. Chairish would be the way to go if you don’t have many good ones nearby, and you can filter and set up saved searches by dimensions.
posted by supercres at 4:27 PM on September 12, 2022