Adding A Padded Bar Front To Your Bar

  • 2-6 hours
  • Beginner
  • 50-300
What You'll Need
Staples
Cardboard
Fabric of choice
Brass nails
Padding material
Scissors
Staple gun
Braided trim
Handheld sewing machine
What You'll Need
Staples
Cardboard
Fabric of choice
Brass nails
Padding material
Scissors
Staple gun
Braided trim
Handheld sewing machine

A bar front is the visual core of the entire bar setting and if you are fascinated by the vintage '60s look, a padded bar front might be just what you're looking for. Apart from the aesthetic factor, padding your bar front is also a great way to refurbish a tattered bar while protecting it from further damage. Padded bar fronts can be designed using various fabrics and their look can be manipulated for more contemporary fashion preferences.

Furthermore, nearly all types of bar fronts, whether they are made from metal, wood or a combination of both, can be padded with minimal expenditure to give the bar an improved appearance. If you doubt the acceptability of padded sway bar fronts, note that they are found in conference centers and hotels and other event-hosting interiors across the globe. In many establishments, padded bar fronts are preferred since the fabric can be updated repeatedly to keep pace with ever-changing, ambience-based themes.

Converting existing bar fronts into padded bar fronts is not as exhaustive as some folks might assume it to be. For starters, the materials you will need are easily and inexpensively obtained. The fabric used for covering the bar front can be sourced from surpluses such as used curtains. Cardboard that is needed to create the endoskeleton upon which the padding is stuffed can be procured from electronic stores that tend to stock-up on cardboard-based packing material.

Constructing the Padded Bar Front

Step 1

Measure the front area of the existing bar.

Step 2

Cut-out a piece of cardboard of the same measurement with a pair of scissors. Cut the padding to same measurement.

Step 3

Lay the padding over the piece of cut cardboard. Ask someone to hold the padding on to the cardboard, as you spread the covering material over it and cut it to size.

Step 4

Stretch the fabric at all the four corners and start wrapping it tightly around the padded cardboard. Ask your helper to hold the fabric onto the padding, as you start stapling the sides with a staple gun. To ensure that the padding doesn't move during the time of installing the new bar front, try to hold the padded cardboard and the covering fabric and flip them to see if there is any degree of looseness.

Step 5

Now, that the padded ensemble has been created, hold it against the bar’s front face. Ideally, there should be no extra fabric visible at the edges as it tends to crumple later and spoils the overall appearance. Ask your associate to hold the padding onto the bar front as you start securing it with brass nails. The nails tend to disturb the aesthetics of the bar front and covering them is highly recommended. You can use ½-inch wide braided trim to hide the nails that can be fixed along the edge of the padded bar front with a handheld sewing machine