The joys of visiting a cocktail bar go way beyond the libations. It’s just as much about the company, the atmosphere, all the equipment. At home, a thoughtfully designed bar can create a similar feel and serve as a special place for after-work drinks and parties with family and friends.
“A home bar is just very festive, collective, and inviting,” says Andrew Suvalsky, an interior designer from New York. “When you set up a bar, you show that you care about entertaining and helping people have an experience.”
And because a home bar is often tucked away in an inconspicuous place, it offers an opportunity to take design risks, said Leslie Martin, a founder of M&M Interior Design, a company with studios in Chicago and San Diego: “It’s kind of a powder room where you have the option of making it a bit of a jewelry box, they’re often behind closed doors, so you might as well get big.”
Ms. Martin and other interior designers shared advice on how to create an impressive home bar.
Find the right space
A built-in home bar doesn’t have to be big. Sure, if you have a basement, you might be able to build one that resembles a large English pub. But smaller is often better. A bar that makes a statement in an unused alcove or cabinet, or adds it to a small hallway or kitchen cabinet, can produce compelling results.
In a Manhattan apartment, Mr. Suvalsky added the functions of a bar to a few nooks in the living room, which he clad in copper and marble. M&M once found space for a bar in a short hallway between a dining room and a powder room.
New York-based architecture and interior design firm Studio DB often goes even smaller. In an apartment on Park Avenue, the designers built a bar in a closet so small and shallow that others may have simply lined the space with drywall. “We were able to find this little nook in the living room that was an unexpected space, at the back of a linen closet,” says Britt Zunino, a partner at Studio DB.
If there isn’t an extra closet, a closet — or two — may work well. When designing a sunroom in Bronxville, NY, New York-based interior design firm Carrier and Company added bar features, including a sink, faucet, and refrigerator drawers, to a pair of custom freestanding cabinets that resemble antiques.
“They look like nicely painted cabinets,” says Jesse Carrier, a partner with the company, but they can be opened to support poolside parties.
Make a statement
A home bar is an ideal place to use bold paint colors, wallpaper, and materials that you might be nervous about using elsewhere. While designing a bar in a Brooklyn mansion, Carrier and Company coated cabinets with vibrant blue lacquer and covered the ceiling with dazzling gold-and-white marbled wallpaper from Calico.
“We really went bankrupt,” said Mr. carrier. “It was meant to be very lush, bright and cheerful.”
M&M installed aubergine-colored cabinets in a bar lined with tortoiseshell-patterned wallpaper; in another home bar, the company used aqua green cabinets under a ceiling covered in striped wallpaper. In both cases, “we just wanted the bar to be this ‘wow’ moment,” Ms Martin said.
Another way to add a decorative flourish is to install an eye-catching backsplash, said Joe Lucas, the founder of Lucas Studio, an interior design firm in Los Angeles. For a home bar in Agoura Hills, California, Mr. Lucas terracotta tiles from Waterworks decorated with graphic hand-painted stripes and triangles.
“It attracts people,” said Mr. Lucas. With so many wallcoverings and decorative tile products available, he added, “the world is your oyster.”
Embrace some sparkle
Add shiny, reflective surfaces for a touch of glamor that can withstand wear and tear. Mr. Carrier likes back walls made from aged mirrors and sometimes he adds glass shelves.
“There’s a practical element to them because they’re water and alcohol resistant and easy to clean,” he said. “But it also adds a little sparkle. Aged mirror is really nice for an evening cocktail hour, especially when you light a candle.”
Many designers like gloss-lacquered cabinets and high-gloss wall paints for similar reasons: Not only do they add shine and reflection, but they’re also easy to wipe clean if splashed by an errant squeeze of lime.
Plan for display
Cocktail glasses, champagne glasses, ice buckets, bottles and bar utensils are often beautiful things. To display them, you can use open shelves, wall cabinets with glass or metal mesh fronts, and pretty trays that can hold the various items on the counter.
“Collecting many different types of glass and placing it in an open-fronted or glass case almost always looks very special,” Suvalsky said, regardless of whether the pieces are fine crystal or cheap glassware.
A shelf or tray can hold a selection of attractive bottles, Ms. Lucas said, while regular bottles can be hidden in a cabinet with a sturdy door. “So many of the liquor bottles are beautiful now, with all the mezcals, tequilas and gins,” he said. “It’s really nice to have that out.”
Vintage ice buckets, cocktail shakers, tongs, coasters and other utensils can also double as decorative accessories when not in use, he stressed. And framed art, hanging in the room or just sitting on the counter, helps round out a collected look.
DIM the lights
There’s a good reason most cocktail bars keep the lights down: it creates a calming atmosphere that makes people and objects look their best.
Instead of flooding the bar with ceiling lights, consider using decorative pendants and sconces, or wall cabinets or shelves with built-in accent lighting. Mrs. Martin likes to use picture lamps on the wall that illuminate works of art and give an atmospheric glow.
“It’s all about mood lighting,” she said. “With a bar, you don’t want to turn on a flashy light that will destroy the moment.”
If your space doesn’t have electrical boxes in the right place for wired fixtures, a plug-in sconce or table lamp might work just as well.
LED bulbs should provide a warm white color temperature of about 2,700 Kelvin rather than 5,000 Kelvin that mimics daylight, and it’s preferable to have your fixtures on dimmers so you can control the light throughout the day.
Consider plumbing and appliances
A home bar doesn’t have to be equipped with a faucet and sink or have appliances like a wine cooler and ice maker. But depending on your habits and budget, they can add to the experience.
“It’s really nice to have a small sink, if you can squeeze it in,” said Mrs. Zunino. “We tend to look for a small decorative sink,” she said, with a hammered nickel or copper finish, rather than a stainless steel sink, because your sink won’t withstand the daily abuse of a sink. sink. “It’s a bit more unusual.”
All devices should be tailored to your drinking habits, Mr. Lucas said. If you’re a wine collector, a wine cooler is a nice touch, but if you’re more interested in cooling beer, soda, and mixers, a regular refrigerator or refrigerator drawer might be a better choice.
But Mr. Lucas didn’t hesitate to recommend adding an ice machine, which he considers one of the most important luxuries in a home bar. “Some customers say, ‘No, we don’t need it,'” he said. “But I can promise you that you will never regret it.”
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