Easy DIY Modern Rustic Basement Bar Refresh

The bar area in our basement had a really cool solid wood live edge piece of what we think is a ponderosa pine, possibly even from our yard. It has an interesting dark grain to it unlike other pines. I liked the rustic look of the wood with the metal brackets and metal paneling, but it all just needed a little bit of love!

The Before

The bar top was worn and scratched, and the metal paneling appeared to have some water damage in spots. As part of the basement renovation I decided to also give the bar area the face lift and refresh it deserved. This meant the bar top needed to be sanded down to its natural state, stained and then sealed.

I laid the bar top over two workhorses and got to work using my orbital sander. I started off with a 60 grit to get the heavy layers off, and then finished it with a finer 120 grit to give it a nice and smooth surface. Even though I was outdoors in open air, I wore a respirator mask because this dust still gets everywhere and I didn’t want to be breathing in the particles of the previous chemical finish.

It took a couple hours to get through all the layers and down to the original state of the pine, but well worth the time and effort in my opinion. Now that the pine was sanded down and bare bones, the next step was applying a wood conditioner which allows the wood to accept the stain more evenly and avoid any splotchy areas.

I applied two coats of Minwax pre-stain wood conditioner and let it dry for 15 minutes before staining. The conditioner alone brought out a much richer color in the wood than I anticipated, so I pivoted on my previously picked stain color and went with a mix of Minwax natural and golden oak. I didn’t want the stain to be any darker than what it was, but wanted to try and tone down the yellow a bit if possible.

After a coat of stain the yellow was still pretty dominant, but I decided to embrace the natural look of the pine and continued on to sealing. I applied 3 heavy coats of Varathane polyurethane in a clear satin finish, letting it dry in between coats. This seals, waterproofs and adds durability to the bar top to prevent stains, scratches and spills.

While the final coat of polyurethane was curing, I started on the metal panels. I prepped the surface by wiping off any dust or debris, and laid them on some scrap cardboard outside in an area that was protected by any wind. I used the matte hammered spray paint by Rustoleum, which gives it a little bit of a rugged and dark grey metallic look to it. I used a flat black spray paint on the steel brackets to cover up all the stratches, dings and imperfections. This took minimal effort and really brought these panels and hardware back to life.

The After

While the bar top took a bit of time and effort, this was still an easy and approachable DIY project that required basic tools, didn’t cost much money, made a big impact and gave this basement bar the glow-up that it deserved. I’m so happy with how the pine bar top turned out. It showcases the natural beauty and uniqueness of the wood grain and I love the contrast of the wood tone against the freshly painted dark grey metal panels.