It is Monday morning, and here I am, sitting in the pub.
“Isn’t it a bit early for that?” I hear you ask. Well, I’m not making judgements about the life choices of other people, but yes, admittedly it IS rather earlier than usual for my cute little bottom to be warming the barstool of my local watering hole.
…And this establishment is as local as they come, since it is located in my very own basement.
The reason I am sitting down here on a Monday morning is because I am plotting my next DIY project, and having a little bit of a daydream.
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Mr Maximalista and I did not set out to become the type of couple who has a pub in their basement.
I mean, believe me, we are far from abstemious tee-totalers (again, not making judgements!), but previously, the extent of our home mini-bar ambitions consisted of a couple of well-stocked shelves in the kitchen pantry, and a spot on the shelf next to old cans of paint in the basement.
When we purchased this house in Colorado, it naturally seemed to happen that we would store our stemware and booze in the decent-sized storage area under the stairs in the basement. After a few months, we decided this would actually be the perfect spot to create a cozy little speakeasy.
Which is precisely what we have created — it is adorable!
CREDITS: the marble top is actually my bread-kneading board from Williams-Sonoma, which I set on top of an old kitchen unit (of course, I sprayed it black!) that the previous home-owners left behind. Wallpaper is from Target.
This storage space is the only “unfinished” room in our entire house, excepting the garage: the walls and ceiling down here are bare concrete.
Eventually, when we can afford it, I would like to create a proper bar, with one entire wall of smoky mirrors, spanning from floor to ceiling; then I would like to put wood paneling on the other walls, to create a plush clubby atmosphere.
In the meantime, I have done a little Maximalista magic with trompe l’oeil paint and several yards of fabric to hide the concrete. Mr M built some shelves and a wine rack. Then I went shopping around the house, to decorate the little space.
The linen fabric is from Waverly.
Et voila! The result is our charming little speakeasy, which is an adorable cheap-and-cheerful solution until we have a few spare dollars to upgrade to something grander.
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Remember how I’m always harping on about the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store shops? I’m mildly obsessed with them… and once again, was not disappointed after my latest visit, when I scored 4 unopened boxes of 12” x 12” Italian Rose MARBLE tiles, for $1 per tile!! Amounting to $40, which is an absolute bargain.
Which brings us to how I come to be sitting down the local pub on a Monday morning. I am plotting how to lay these stunning marble tiles on the floor in here.
Best get cracking, then, since we are expecting house guests over the holidays, and I have a lot of preparations in the meantime!!
I shall let you know how this turns out…
Lots of love,
M xo
The English Maximalista 
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