NOTE: If you’ve been following along on my bathroom addition project (these posts), I’m taking a couple weeks away from that to help some other clients. I’ll be back to the bathroom soon to add marble tile floors and some hardwood in the hallway…

I always enjoy projects that result in a major positive transformation at a home, especially when it adds functionality. This week I’m helping some clients in Smyrna who wanted me to open up the wall between their kitchen and dining room and install a wood countertop.

I’ve also completed similar projects for two other neighbors down the street in this newer community. See them here:
Project with Red Oak Countertop (click here)
Project with Heart Pine Countertop (click here)

Each project has been a little different. With this one, there are three main differences. First, the kitchen wall has been covered with wallpaper. This means that I’ll need to work from the dining room side and be super-careful not to damage the wallpaper as I’m removing framing and opening up the wall.

The second main difference is that these clients want me to install small recessed lighting fixtures above the bar. Normally, you would have a beefy header across an opening like this and installing recessed lighting would not be possible without some major creativity. In this case, the wall is NOT load-bearing, so I won’t need the header and I’ll have room for the lights.

Lastly, these clients want me to add a decorative post on the end of the bar, not so much for structural reasons, but they simply like the look of it ( and want to do something different than their neighbors :).

Anyway, I’m looking forward to this project. Stay tuned to watch the progress.