Home Bars

[Piobaire]

New house has a nice bar. It is not plumbed, but pass through to the kitchen, has great granite counter (a lower working one and a higher bar counter), an under counter wine fridge, and lots of drawer and wall space. The walls are bare. I need to find wall shelves for holding bottles, stemware storage that won't get dusty, etc. Wondering if those LED lit shelves would look good.

So, ITT: your home bars. Post lots of pics. If you have a website that helps equip home bars, post those links.

 

[Lucky Strike]

Here's mine - nothing comparable, it's not really practical at all, but it works very well as a sort of three-dimensional mirror, and we keep some cigars/booze and booze-specific glasses etc. in there. Pictures are from our old flat.

Your set-up seems completely different - generally, I'm not too fond of home bars, but if you can use the "pass through" (is that like a serving-hatch, or more like a doorway?) to the kitchen, it can be very practical for getting finger food/nibbles and drinks out to guests, if you have a larger group in.

What's the rest of the room like? If it's a

If he bar is part of a bigger room, here's two thoughts: I'd avoid absolutely all bar-themed wall decor, and I'm strongly against the LED lighting, unless it's very indirect and discreet.

For any equipment like shelves, I'd find a pro bar/restaurant supplier, and whine my way into buying wholesale from them.

 

[Piobaire]

Yes, it's part of a huge, open floor plan. The kitchen looks out on the great room and has a granite bar height counter facing the great room. The pass is an opening to the bar, which has matching and continuous granite behind the counter, then the same granite at the same bar height counter as the kitchen. The bar faces both my great room (which is indeed "great") and my formal dining room, which flows out of the great room.

I think you are correct about the LEDs. I think you are also correct about bar decorations (yuck and kitchy). There are canned ceiling lights throughout, with a few behind the bar, and I think aiming them down at the shelves is probably how to go. I also agree about getting this done professionally.

 

[itsstillmatt]

I'm very much a proponent of having nothing visible to anybody. Love the LS bar.

 

[Thomas]

I don't know why I'm posting here: our liquor is locked in a closet under the stairway.

I agree with Iamstillmatt in that I prefer nothing being visible.

 

[Piobaire]



I'm very much a proponent of having nothing visible to anybody. Love the LS bar.

My problem is, even though I have quite a bank of under counter cabinets, I just own a crap ton of spirits bottles. I also have stemware to think about and do not want that exposed due to dust.

Hmm, the house is done in custom work...maybe get that guy to make matching stuff for the walls with doors so nothing is visible but the cabinetry?

 

[MikeDT]

TBH I always thought the idea of a home bar was a 1970s thing.

 

[Piobaire]



TBH I always thought the idea of a home bar was a 1970s thing.

Thanks for the valuable insight.

 

[gort]

Love home bar pics. Post now!

Extremely valuable if you do a lot of entertaining.

 

[chrisjr]

great thread.

How about this?



and a few moar

 

[eg1]



Yes, it's part of a huge, open floor plan. The kitchen looks out on the great room and has a granite bar height counter facing the great room. The pass is an opening to the bar, which has matching and continuous granite behind the counter, then the same granite at the same bar height counter as the kitchen. The bar faces both my great room (which is indeed "great") and my formal dining room, which flows out of the great room.
I think you are correct about the LEDs. I think you are also correct about bar decorations (yuck and kitchy). There are canned ceiling lights throughout, with a few behind the bar, and I think aiming them down at the shelves is probably how to go. I also agree about getting this done professionally.

Had not realized you moved (knew you were looking at building a while back, but had abandoned that plan, at least temporarily), so congrats.

Maybe if you posted some pics along with the description above it might help people better understand your layout/needs?

For myself, we have a dry one in the finished basement (as set up by the previous owners), but it is used as junk shelving rather than as a bar. We don't have a proper bar set-up at all -- bottles reside on top of our china cabinet; white wine in a cheap wine fridge beside that; more bottles in a kitchen cabinet; red wine on a floor-standing wine rack (holds 6x4) with assorted wine tools and bottles on the serving-tray-top. I do not recommend this, it's just the cluttered accumulation that has built up over the years ...

 

[Douglas]

Does this mean you've gone and bought that dream home you kept talking about?

Seriously, though, this is a matter of taste. If I were you, knowing that this is already built into your house, I'd keep it simple. I wouldn't want my glassware and bottles out all the time; just pull out what you need when you need it. I'd make some nod towards the fact that it's a bar - maybe keeping a shaker or something out, but I wouldn't go whole hog.

That said, I have no idea what the space is and no idea where your tastes run.

 

[speedster.8]

not really on bars, but wine storage, but re the uncrate link, which lead me to this kickstarter project (now funded)
http://www.getstact.com/

Any toughs on fabricating something like this your self, for a cave ...

 

[SkinnyGoomba]

I keep my stemware in a cabinet. Tumblers, high balls and spirits glasses that are not regularly used are stored on an open shelf, they're never dusty. If there is a faint amount of dust I just give them a quick rinse and wipe them out prior to serving. I have a set of tumblers and cognac glasses on the top of my bar cart to display but also because they're most frequently used. Most of my guests seem to drink cognac or scotch when they are over, probably due to my own bias in that direction.

My bar is also granite and I find the clink of stemware on granite a bit unnerving, I think if I were to chose the material it would be wood.

I've been considering some sort of decent wine storage in the cellar. I've looked into Vino temp.

 

[BrianVarick]

^Let's see some pics of the new place Pio! I like the look of a couple nice bottles out if they are in their own area and not cluttering up a kitchen or something. I would get a silver serving tray to keep a few bar essentials like storing spoons, shaker and some glasses on and then keep everything else tucked away. If you don't have anything out it will just be a boring wall of cabinets.