The Kitchen Window

The Kitchen Window
Antique Milk Bottles with Herbs and Flowers

Welcome!

Welcome to the Frog Hollow Farm blog! I've been blogging since January 2010 and have switched from Blogger to Word Press, but I'm back to Blogger because, for me, it's easier to use. My husband and I live on a little farm in Northwest New Jersey. We have some chickens and a very large vegetable garden with asparagus and raspberries, and rows and rows of sunflowers, snapdragons and zinnias. Traveling, entertaining, gardening, spending time with family, studying Italian, blogging and reading keep us busy and happy. With all of this going on, moving towards a simpler life seems almost impossible but it's definitely a daily goal.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Dresser Bar on the Back Porch for Summertime Entertaining

We entertain all summer long at Frog Hollow Farm, and with the addition on our wrap-around porch three years ago, entertaining has become so much easier. 

One thing that I have always done both in and out of our house is move things around - I am constantly moving furniture looking for just the right combination of sitting areas and places for food and a bar. 

The good news is that I think the porch is finally finished as far as figuring all of that out. We have a large farm table with 6 red ladderback chairs as the main sitting area, and several sitting areas all around the porch, including both small couches and chairs as well as large beautiful rocking chairs loaded with comfy pillows. 

My focus for this post is the bar area I just set up for the summer.  I found an old dresser in our garage that I thought would work just perfectly - I loved the color of the wood and the contrast with the rest of the porch furniture - and using an antique wooden piece of furniture in an outside sitting area seemed like a novel idea.  Having a covered porch allows for protection from the elements - we'll have to take it inside over the winter. 


You can see the entire piece centered under the kitchen window.    An old basket held the all-purpose wine glasses that we use for most everything - they are stock items from Crate and Barrel - I usually end up buying 24 of them each year around the holidays - they are inexpensive so when they chip or break throughout the year I don't feel so bad.  After awhile the finish on these everyday glasses tends to dull, so new sparkly glasses are a must!


The large glass jar with the spout is from Pottery Barn, and worked beautifully for our White Wine Sangria.  I filled it up right before our guests arrived, having to of course sample the sangria before serving it ;).  The wine bottle to the left of the glass jar is an old bottle from FHFB's family - I love the look and it's a colorful accent on the bar.


This old copper bucket worked so well holding the chilled white wine and proseco.  We found this recently at an antique shop on Route 9 in Cape May, New Jersey.  It was raised up off of the floor on a small plant stand for easier access. I love buying antiques that are simple, functional and beautiful.


Since there isn't a ton of space on the top of the dresser, I decided to use the two small drawers on the top to hold some specific items, like a corkscrew, bitters, shaker, a towel and small bottles of juice and alchohol (we had one person who loves gin martinis, so I needed to have the  ingredients easily available).  We always like to serve our guests their first cocktail or glass of wine, but having the bar area set up and easily accessible allows everyone to serve themselves cocktails, soda or water throughout the evening. 


Beer glasses and plastic cups for the kids were placed in the second small drawer, lined with a vintage checked placemat.

This bar will stay in place throughout the summer.  When not in use it still looks like a significant part of the porch with the addition of a colorful coleus plant.  We keep the large glass jar and the round basket out all of the time - just rinsing them off carefully before using them each time. 

Thanks for stopping by - I'm linked in to Seasonal Sundays over at The Tablescaper 
Foodie Friday over at Designs by Gollum 
Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch!
Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home 
Friday Foods at Momtrends 

Metamorphosis Monday at Between Naps on the Porch!

Ciao, bella!
xxoo

19 comments:

  1. Great idea - thanks for sharing!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. THIS is the coolest bar EVER. I Love it and am bookmarking this page to come back to when we finish our patio!
    Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea with us.
    Susan

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your set-up, it looks very welcoming! Happy Sunday:@)

    ReplyDelete
  4. HI FARM GIRL, TELL FARM BOY HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, FROM AUNT RIZ. LOVE YOUR BAR, VERY UNIQUE, IT LOOKS SO VINTAGE, YOU SET IT UP SO NICE. "YES"
    I'LL HAVE SOMETHING TO DRINK, SOMETHING COOL AND REFRESHING, IT IS SUPPOSED TO GET HOT AND HUMID,
    BUT I DON'T HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT.. :)
    HAVE A GREAT DAY, LOVE YA, AUNT RIZ

    ReplyDelete
  5. lovely...lovely...lovely

    wish i was there with you

    :-)

    sending love,
    kary and teddy
    xo

    ReplyDelete
  6. SO creative, I love it. That would work inside a house too. Your colors and items work so well together. Needs to be in a magazine!

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  7. Ooh, this is great! I'm going to use this idea, and I even have an old dresser I never thought to convert into a bar. Thanks for the inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That's a great idea. I like the idea of re-purposing furniture too. I use an old baker's rack for the same function on our covered porch.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This is the best bar I've ever seen. Crafty AND gorgeous. If I only had a porch, I would copy this idea immediately!! How creative!! Brava amica mia.

    Ciao
    E xx

    ReplyDelete
  10. I wanna' come to YOUR house! LOL

    Just beautiful....I so love it when items are repurposed for another live.....you have done a wonderful job here.

    hugs,

    Jo

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a great bar! I love the idea of the drawers being open to hold things. I have 2 different beverage containers with spouts, but would love to have that wicker stand to place under one. The entire vignette is so charming.

    Thanks for being a part of Seasonal Sundays.

    I'm off to check out your white wine Sangria recipe.

    - The Tablscaper

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a clever idea -- and so practical too!

    ReplyDelete
  13. It smacks of summer....all so very pretty...love that decanter on it's "basket" pedastal.
    Shel

    ReplyDelete
  14. Lovely setup! Cozy and inviting! A perfect country style.
    Hope to see you on my blog:)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love a big screened porch and just have to have one with each house we've owned. Your dresser is a fabulous idea that I just might have to "borrow." Happy Foodie Friday.
    Sam

    ReplyDelete
  16. I just love this creative idea! We have a wrap porch that we use to entertain too! What a fabulous idea to use an old dresser for a bar. This is an idea I must copy! And I have just the space below my kitchen window on my porch! One of the best ideas I have seen in a long time! I'll let you know what I come up with!!
    Yvonne

    ReplyDelete
  17. I found you from the Friday Foodie linky, what a lovely post. This city girl would feel right at home on your porch. I hope you can swing by Momtrends and link up this great idea. We do a recipe linky called Friday Food:

    http://www.momtrends.com/2011/06/friday-food-farmers-classic-pickle-event/

    ReplyDelete
  18. That's a great idea & it looks fantastic too!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments are like little treasures, I cherish each and every one of them! Frog Hollow Farm Girl reserves the right to edit or delete all comments that are offensive, hateful in nature, or attack other visitors to this blog. All potential spam comments will be deleted.