How to Create a Home Bar
POSTED ON Thursday, April 18, 2019 IN Kitchen
Bring the party to your place with your own in-home bar
updated 10/3/2022
Why go out to a bar with your friends when you can invite them over to yours? No cover charge necessary. You can entertain friends and family from the safety and comfort of your own home, whether you need a gathering place to watch a sporting event or simply an excuse to congregate with friends and share stories while taking sips of your beverage of choice.
It’s no surprise that as more homeowners seek to customize their space, home bars are becoming a popular addition to homes. They offer people virtually everything they’d need for hosting a party, from a big screen TV and wireless internet to food and drinks.
If you’re entertaining the possibility of building your own home bar, we can offer guidance on how to get started and what to consider as you begin the process.
Find a dedicated space for your home bar
The first step toward building your home bar is to evaluate the space you have to work with and identify the designated area where you’d like to place your bar. It is important to have a dedicated space for your home bar, rather than blending it with other aspects of your kitchen, dining room, or basement. You don’t want your alcohol, glassware, and other assorted bar gear sharing the same space as rubber spatulas and wooden spoons.
Having a separate space for your home bar will also help create the desired atmosphere. You may not necessarily want to mix drinks in the same space that you cook and bake. Designating a specific bar area will help you keep it organized. And there is no right or wrong way to go about it. Some homeowners choose to incorporate a wine rack or a beverage center into their kitchen, whereas others are more keen to build a full bar, entertainment area, or wine cellar in their basement or a recreation room.
How much space your home bar requires will also depend on the type of home bar you wish to build. Some homeowners opt to start small, leaving themselves room to grow. The beauty of Bertch cabinets, specifically, is their versatility. They are flexible enough to fit in any space, allowing you to enhance or update virtually any area of your home.
Determine the type of bar best suited for your home
Bar carts have become especially popular among homeowners who favor chic decor. Practical, portable, and eminently stylish, bar carts can function as a suitable substitute for a home bar. They provide a perfect platform for mixing drinks, and can also serve as an open invitation for your guests to walk up and make their own. Typically, the storage space is limited, either by necessity or due to the desired aesthetic. Too much can leave it looking cluttered.
The next step up from a bar cart would be converting a side table, sideboard, or credenza into a bar. Offering more storage space than a bar cart, a console table or row of narrow base cabinets can hold all of the essentials. It also serves as both a functional and decorative piece of furniture.
Then there is the full built-in wet bar, complete with a sink. This kind of setup is certain to impress guests, although the onus will be on you to ensure that you have all of the bar essentials on hand and that your mixology skills are up to par. And by no means does your home bar have to encompass an entire room. Just having a built-in area can work wonders.
Style can make a statement for your home bar
Home bars are frequently relegated to the basement, which typically serve as a space for entertaining guests. This may give the impression that your bar is “hidden away,” but no matter where it is located, you’ll want to make sure the style and design are right.
More homeowners are trending towards simple but sophisticated designs, with an emphasis on the base cabinets and the counter space needed for seating. That might mean sacrificing storage space in favor of style, but open shelving can be appealing due to it being unobtrusive and a great way to show off your glassware. High-end natural stone or quartz countertops provide an eye-catching splash to complement the more streamlined approach.
But then again, you can also choose to make a statement with your bar, opting instead for a fun and artistic look and feel. That can mean bolder colors and artistic patterns, not only in your cabinets and countertops but in the flooring and backsplash as well. This can be especially appealing for wet bars with a backsplash, as the opportunities for creativity are endless.
The right amount of storage space for your stock
No bar is complete without the necessities.
Cabinetry with built-in coolers and under counter refrigerators provide functional storage ideal for home bars, allowing you to keep your supply of beverages chilled and ready to drink. But even those might be too modest for some of today’s homeowners, who are expanding their bar cabinetry to include a wine wall, wine chillers, beverage centers, beer kegerators, and ice makers.
Liquor is best stored in a cool place, out of reach from direct sunlight. Consider integrating tall pullout storage or a corner cabinet with a lazy susan into cabinetry.
Don’t forget that you’ll also need a variety of glasses for your selection of drinks — and a place to put them all. Glass front cabinets offer an elegant storage space that will also showcase your impressive collection of glassware. Under cabinet stem glass holders for your stemware can also free up space inside the upper cabinets for other items.
More traditional style flat panel cabinetry can be used to store snacks and other bar food, or less glamorous bar essentials, that you might want on hand.
Ultimately, creating your own home bar is an opportunity to upgrade your home with a fun addition that can bring both style and function to a space. To get started on building your own home bar, visit our nearest showroom and see our custom cabinetry up close and in person.
RECOMMENDED
TAGS
- cabinets
- home decor ideas
- home projects