The Dreamer’s Bar

The screen is blank. As I stare at the curser before me, I am paralyzed by the task of finding the perfect words. How do you properly describe a project that lived inside a craftsman’s head for the past 20 years? Now it lives outside for everyone to see. A bar designed and built by the dreamer.

You almost have to adjust your lens when you first see it. You can’t expect the latest trend or some crazy use of color. You must instead understand the link from the past to this very present moment. The scale and detail that creates lasting architecture that will stand for 100 years. Unchanged. There is drama in its darkness.  There is mystery in its light.

What invites you to this place to drink and talk with friends? The answer is complex. This is not your typical basement bar. It’s nestled into the front porch, stealing its long length from a little more than half of the old screened in area. There are original glass French doors that lead directly to the formal dining room. Light comes from all sides, yet the mood is dark.

The beam ceiling was created from a dying white oak that stood in the front yard for 180 years, long before the historic home was built. Leaded glass gothic arches in the doors and backlit stained glass in the ceiling speak historically. Churches erected hundreds of years ago inspired the intricate details.  The brass sconces are very old and the drop down TV is very new. The counter top, bent sheets of brass, crafted by the artist himself is continually polished to a bright shine. Even the bar stools had to be searched for for months then modified to perfectly fit the vision. The floor is marble, heated to stave off the cold from the crawl space below. I could go on, the details are without end, This was written by the dreamer’s proud wife, who, turns out found a way to fill the page after all.

Watch the renovation story here

http://karrbick.com