How To Turn A Divan Bed Into A Garden Bar

This week, I built a bar! Yes, I made a garden pub from an old bed frame. I have put together a YouTube video sharing how to make your very own DIY garden bar from recycling a bed frame. A few weeks ago, I changed the bed frame in my guest bedroom.

I was going to bring the old divan bed frame to the recycling centre. However, I needed some wood to make shelves, and with the shops being closed, I decided to strip the fabric of the bedframe. When I removed the material from the bed frame, I got the idea to make a bar! The frame was a perfect height and shape to use as a base frame to make a bar.

When you strip back the bed frame, I recommend using fabric scissors to cut through the material. I used pliers to pull out any remaining nails and tacks. I then used a hammer to remove the old castor wheels.

The wood inside was quite rough, so I gave it a sanding to smooth it out.

I had purchased a reed/bamboo screen to cover the bar. When I opened it up, I realised it was see-through. I had to put my thinking cap on and make some phone calls. I was able to get loads of scrap wood from my uncles shed. I used my mitre saw to cut my wooden pieces to size.

I then used my nail gun to nail the wood to the frame. I made sure to nail the top, bottom and middle of each wooden piece to the frame.

I also used the same wood to create a worktop. I used my jigsaw to cut the worktops to the required size. I used my nail gun to tack them down, and I also drilled in some deck screws to secure.

Once I was happy with my frame, I gave a light sanding. I also used my scrap wood pieces to create shelves. I drilled in L Brackets to hang my shelves.

When I went to the hardware shop to get paint, I couldn’t get the shade I wanted. I bought the Cuprinol garden paint in the shade ” Pale Jasmine”. I mixed in some pink acrylic paint to create a pink shade.

I applied two coats of this paint to my bar and allowed it to fully dry between coats.

I was searching for bar stools online. I messaged my local pub to see if they had any broken stools that I could repair for my bar. I was able to get second-hand stools from adverts.ie, from a local seller.

They worked out at €20 each! A bargain for my garden pub. I also used some flower pots from the garden to style and decorate my bar.

You can have a look at my bar in more detail in my YouTube video. I will pop it below. Please give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel if you enjoy this project.

I hope you got some inspiration from this project. It is a fun way to recycle an old bed frame that would normally be chucked away. Let me know if you have a go at creating your very own DIY garden bar. You can share your projects on Instagram by using the #doingadainty. If you want to get more garden inspiration, then hit this link. 

Thanks for reading, Chat soon, Catherine.