If you love the idea of having a home bar but are not sure how to get started or what kind of bar you can or should be going for, here are some questions to get your gears turning:
- How much entertaining or drinking do you like to do?
If you plan to use your bar a lot and it will even replace some nights out at a regular bar then don’t be afraid to spend or budget a little more money because you will be saving money in the long run and besides you’re going to end up loving it.
- What kind of bar theme will you be going for?
You should definitely think of the theme you’ll ultimately be going for before you go buy a piece of furniture or something like that and what will look good in your home. If you’re starting from scratch with a basement project than you have a clean canvas to work from, but if you’re home his kind of modern, then maybe contemporary piece of bar furniture is what you should aim for. There’s obviously no rule to this, but something to keep in mind when you’re weighing out price, looks and functionality before you buy.
- Do you have a lot of indoor or outdoor space to devote to a bar?
With a lot of space, you really have the ability to do any kind of project you want. You can have a bar with tv’s maybe a pub table, or a pool table or dart board etc. That’s the great thing about having an entire room. However, you’ll definitely have to have the budget to support that type of vision or you will just end up with a half finished project which really defeats the purpose of having a bar if you can’t enjoy it. Make sure you’ll have enough money to stock and accessorize your bar right to set the theme and make it functional. If you can’t do that then the project is sort of a fail…
- Do you have the ability to tap into plumbing near a bathroom, kitchen, laundry room etc.?
If there’s an area in your house you can tap into plumbing and would like to have a wet bar, that is something definitely worth considering. Wet bar’s really do add a huge level of convenience especially if it won’t be very close to another water source. Having water right there to clean things up and rinse glasses etc. can really be an awesome feature. It’s just a bit more work to get this accomplished but will likely be well worth the investment! Also, always, always, always figure out your plan for having ice easily accessible. Last thing you need is to be going back and forth to fill up glasses or ice buckets. If you have no close by place for ice, then I highly suggest at least getting a small icemaker.
- Do you have a descent budget for obtaining your bar as well as stocking it etc.?
If you do have a large budget then of course you are obviously golden, you just have to figure out what is truly practical for you and your space. If you want to go all out then go all out, but I wouldn’t recommend getting yourself into something you’re not truly prepared for or going to benefit from. If you’re not handy, then maybe you want to consult a general contractor and/or someone good with wood working. The contractor can help with things like planning for plumbing, drainage, electricity, lighting etc. so that is always a good choice. Then depending on what you want maybe, you can find a prebuilt bar that will fit your needs in the area or you can start building one to fit! Great thing about a large budget is you can keep going and shop for all your appliances, accessories and alcohol whenever you want. One thing to note is that if you are going to have any built in appliances, make sure have a space in the bar adequate for any appliance you might get. If you know which ones you want, get the measurements first and then build out your bar accordingly.
- Are you in a hurry to get your bar setup or do you have time to devote to a larger project?
Basically if you’re in a hurry then you’ll pretty much want to shop for some nice home bar furniture pieces. Go to furniture stores and find something that suits your style, space, budget etc. There really are some nice prebuilt home bars out there and probably something nicer than you can build or have built. Even the smaller two or three seater bars can be pretty nice. I would just make sure you have adequate storage and that it has the little things you might want like foot rails and arm rests etc. Those are always important features to me!
- Are you handy or know someone who is that can help you design and build a custom bar?
If your handy or have a buddy or two that are handy, then you may enjoy the process of planning and creating your bar from the ground up. Then you can really take pride in ownership of the project. Some really like that, others just want the bar and could care less. Besides not all situations require something custom and many times would be considered overboard. But the point is you may know exactly what you want all the little features and everything that you want your bar to have which may be hard to find in a pre-build. So if that’s the case and you have the ability, going custom is definitely cool. You will have more of a story about it to tell at your bar as well!
- Are you short on space, time and money?
If you’re short on space, time and money no worries you can still have a perfectly good home bar you’ll just have to get creative! You may have to just setup more of a makeshift style bar or recycle another piece of furniture or bargain hunt a bit. Maybe you already have some Ikea furniture that you can reuse or some glass shelving that you can make cool with some cheap up lighting for LED lighting or something and then store your glasses and bottles on them. Make sure you check out places like Ebay or Craigslist for deals on furniture pieces, stools, tables or accessories or things you can use for your bar to set the theme. Also the local party store can be helpful as well especially if you’re going for a Tiki theme. The shopping around may take a bit of time but that is the one place that you will sacrifice a bit if possible in order to give yourself a decent place to hang out when short on space and on a tight budget. If you are very short on space, but have a bit of money to buy a nice piece of furniture, you may even opt for a nice pub table with a couple stools and then a complimentary cabinet of some kind for your liquor etc. Even a fold-up custom-built for pre-built bar may be a great option for you.
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