Not all homes have bars, but a bar is a great way to create an intimate space for entertainment, and if you design one into your home, it will become a natural focal point and gathering place.
So if you’re thinking about adding a bar to your home or making some renovations, here are some top tips for success.
Start with the Right Space
First things first, you can design a bar however you want, but the foundation of a home’s bar is the location.
While some homeowners place bars in wide-open rooms that offer a clear view and easy access from anywhere in the home, that approach lacks intimacy.
Our suggestion is to choose a smaller, closer room in your home that, while it may not be a main living area, is cozier, quieter, and naturally more intimate.
Consider placing your bar in a den or in the corner of a larger room, against a wall, instead of positioned near an entryway or along a main thorofare within the home.
You want to create an atmosphere that is welcoming yet somewhere secluded so that any visitors that actually come to the bar or sit at it will feel like there is a distinct sense of space that is separate from the main living area, even if it physically isn’t.
Mood Lighting and Backlighting
Your bar should be well-lit, but not brightly. Mood lighting is more important here than task lighting, as is accent backlighting.
Consider string lights or pendant lighting, and make sure you use bulbs with a warmer color temperature around 2700K. Cooler color temperatures (closer to daylight) may be better for task illumination, but they are harsher on the eyes.
Edison bulbs and filament bulbs are perfect for mood lighting (both LEDs and incandescent bulbs work).
You can also put a backlight behind your liquor (see below) which will add intrigue and sparkle and arrest the attention with a relevant point of focus.
Show Off What You Got with Tiered Shelves
The whole heart and soul of the bar are your liquors and bar tools. These should be on full display for all patrons to see.
Create a set of tiered shelves at the back of the bar (as many commercial bars do) and display your liquors along those shelves.
Either build the shelves with semi-transparent bases under which you can run lighting, or set up accent lights or string lights at the backs of the bottles. This will create brilliant backlighting that will draw attention to your wares.
Backsplash Sparkle
Another suggestion about your display: if you really want to make it pop, consider including a mirror or subway tile as the backsplash.
Both of these surfaces are highly reflective and will throw off the accent lighting that you incorporate into the design of your bar.
This will draw more focus to your display while also supplementing the mood lighting you disperse around the bar, adding slightly more ambient light.
Don’t Forget the Saddle Barstools
Finally, you need a place for guests to sit. We recommend backless saddle barstools because, while you can sit in them, they encourage people to stand, which welcomes more visitors to the bar.
Escaping the closed-off feeling that you need to “sit or get out of the way” can make the bar feel more welcoming and will invite people to join.
That’s the sort of atmosphere you can cultivate with backless saddle barstools.
Go Your Own Way
While these suggestions have been carefully curated to help homeowners design a very specific style of home bar, there are many other design trends and schools that can be used for the same purpose.
This should be a fun and overall enjoyable experience – if you have your own creative inspiration, run with it, and only pick and choose from these suggestions as you see fit!
