The statement that every man’s home is his castle becomes more understandable as you grow into your 20s and 30s. Crafting a living space that suits you perfectly and sends a powerful message to every guest is essential. This is usually accomplished by filling your home with furniture and features that you like, fit your needs, and ultimately, suit your personality.
If you’ve decided that you’d like to include a bar in your home entertainment area, you may need some ideas to further the planning stage. There are a few simple considerations that will help you refine and adapt what you decide to create, so you can avoid wasting time and money.
What Drives Your Decision?
Depending on why you want a bar in your home, there are a number of features and options that will either become more or less important. Will you install plumbing to make it a wet bar? Will it be a part of an outdoor kitchen or something reserved for the interior of your house? What sort of entertaining do you most enjoy?
A bar can add the right touch to a well-appointed man cave, which is the perfect place to drink cold beer and engage in man time. Or, it can offer finish to an elegantly appointed outdoor grill and kitchen. The function of the bar remains the same, but why you want it changes many things, from location to building materials.
What Are Your Tastes?
A bar constitutes a major feature of any room or area in which you choose to locate it. You’ll want to consider how it will be placed, how it will occupy space and change the flow of your home, and the ways in which you will want to use it. Addressing these considerations can help you when it comes to actually choosing the features of your bar, from materials and storage space to space allocation and bar accessories behind the counter.
The bar should be designed in such a way that it blends harmoniously into the home you have now. Depending on whether you live in a home designed along traditional lines or in a modern loft, certain styles and building materials or color schemes might not be appropriate.
In order to help you navigate through this maze of choices and decisions, and to realize your ideal home bar design, we’ve developed a useful photo gallery of styles and designs for every space.
You’ll find everything in terms of interior design, from small basement home bars to full-scale restaurant bars thrown in the mix. So, browse on through and gather some inspiration and ideas for when it comes to building and designing your own home bar.
Mirror Backsplash
If you have wine fridges in your space, a mirror backsplash can be aesthetically pleasing and can help make good use of even a small space. It adds a touch of formality to the bar area while keeping it simple and clean.
Dress It Up
If you have a bookshelf or an old butler’s pantry, you can easily recycle these items and turn them into a functional part of your home bar.
Add Shelving
If you need more shelving and storage or you want more space to decorate the area, add in the extra shelving above the bar stools. You can display artwork, bar décor, old vintage liquor bottles, wine bottles, or anything else that allows you to personalize the space.
Socialize with a Good Layout
When designing your home bar, you can keep all the clutter very minimal and instead make sure there is plenty of space so that the bar area can connect to the living area to make socializing during parties, football games, and other events much easier.
Make the Bar Area Multi-Purpose
If you have a much smaller space in the home to work with when creating your bar, then think of more creative ways to build the bar but also include additional storage or a dining area to make it more multi-purpose and functional. Open shelving is also a good way to maximize space and extend the functionality of your bar.
Add Lighting
The right kind of lighting in the bar can make all the difference. It can set the right ambiance for your at-home bar. Layering the lighting is easy enough to do and starts with a focus on different lighting types and then building on each type so it complements the other. Recessed lighting, track lighting, and wall-mounted lighting are all good choices.
Basement Bar Ideas
If you have a basement that you want to convert into a more functional space, you can use some of these basement bar ideas to do just that. You can create custom pull-out drawers, create unique seating, use under shelf lighting, and combine warm woods with whites and other clean colors to create an awesome space.
Living Room Bar Ideas
If you don’t have a dedicated space in the home for a bar, you can use a cabinet that you turn into a bar. When the door of the cabinet is closed, it just looks like another piece of furniture in the living room. However, when those doors are opened, you have access to a full bar that is conveniently and strategically placed.
You can do the same to create the same kind of bar in the dining room if you find that you will have more room there. You can even use a closet and tuck the bar away. Also, you should always remember that no space is going to be too small for at least a wine refrigerator.
Home Bar FAQ
Where should you place the home bar?
This is one of the first decisions you are going to have to make when creating and designing your ideal home bar. Some of the more common placements include the kitchen and dining room. However, the basement and living room are also becoming popular as well since these are areas many people choose to entertain.
Are wet bars out of style?
If you are looking to achieve a more modern style home bar, then a wet bar isn’t going to be ideal. They are becoming more of a trend for an outdoor bar rather than an indoor bar at home.
How much space should you have behind a home bar?
When designing your bar, you want to have at least 36 inches of space between the bar and the back bar or wall. This gives you (the bartender) space to make mixed drinks, entertain, and keep your guests happy. You should also make sure you have adequate plugs and outlets to use as well.
How big should a home bar be?
When talking about size for a home bar, the average size is going to be 42-inches high and 24-inches deep. However, you can still customize the home bar to fit into the space you have available.
What home bar furniture should I get?
Depending on the size and the placement of your bar, there are many different pieces of furniture you can get to complete the design, including bar stools, a bar cart, and even a dining table. Otherwise, if you have limited space, you can utilize open shelving or a smaller bar cabinet rather than a full-size bar counter.
If it is going to be meant as a one-stop-shop for entertaining in the home, you can also consider getting a pool table to turn it into a home bar and game room combo.
What bar accessories should you have?
The kind of bar accessories you choose will really depend on your preferences and tastes, but it never hurts to have some basics on hand. Some of these basics include martini glasses, rocks glasses, shot glasses, red and white wine glasses, beer mugs, toothpicks, napkins, a wine rack, and whatever bar décor or bar signs you want to adorn the space with.
