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Top Ten Things to Consider in a Home Bar

What features does your dream basement bar have? Dim lighting? A pool table? A karaoke machine? To each his own, but there are definitely some things you'll want to give some serious consideration. Here are our top ten.

Jeff Pelletier

June 21, 2012

I had an uncle who lived up the street from me growing up, who had what I thought was the coolest basement bar. While the parties had stopped a bit before my time, the wood-lined room was filled with photographs of celebrating people all decked out for some holiday gathered around this bar. Martinis, mid-century furniture, and the random shot of a woman wearing a fur coat. The images stayed with me until this day and when I was working on a home bar for a client recently, it got me thinking about how to best deck out a home bar yourself. After all, there’s bound to be some young kid who’ll check out your bar decades down the line and that may just inspire that kid to keep the tradition going.

As they were so fond of saying on Battlestar Galatica, what happened before will happen again.

Gee, drinking AND Battlestar Galactica before I’ve even started really writing! There’s a sure-fire way to show my true colors. Regardless...

Here Are the Top 10 Things to Consider When Planning Your Home Bar

ICE. The rest of the items aren’t in any particular order, but this one is straight up at number one. You need ice. Lots of it. When the ice runs out, the party stops. That’s not very nice to your guests, so keep the ice flowing. Your options here are pretty varied but in the end, you’ll either need a dedicated ice-maker or a freezer. The freezer should include an ice maker and enough space for extra bags of ice because I guarantee you that your freezer’s ice-maker can’t keep up with my Manhattans if you invite me over for a drink!
LIQUOR STORAGE. This one is a bit of a “duh” but still takes some thoughtful consideration. If you have kids you may want to consider locked storage (or a camera! And with a camera, just think of it as the thing that keeps the memory going when your own memory fails!). Otherwise, glass shelves work great and you’ll want to consider a light above the glass shelves to provide some drama.
THE BAR. Now that you have booze and ice, you need somewhere to sit. This can vary wildly and really needs to suit your space. You can even get by with a bar set up more for mixing and storage and use your adjacent kitchen eating counter as the bar area. Whatever you do, allow around 24” in width per person at the bar. And if you’re at typical bar height, the counter should be at 42” above the floor.
THE STOOLS. Find something that works and be sure to consider if you want a back or not. I prefer a back because I tend to sit at bars longer than thirty minutes. Perhaps you’re a 'pound-the-drink-and-run' kind of person? A backless stool will work just fine then. The only other important thing to make sure you’re doing (aside from not picking an ugly one) is to make sure it is the right height. A counter stool is sized for a 36” high bar (typical kitchen cabinet height) and a bar stool is sized for a 42” high typical bar.
WASHING UP. If you can, try and squeeze in a dishwasher. No one likes washing dishes by hand and a dishwasher uses less energy than hand-washing anyway. The drawer units are great (although pricey) as they allow you to store all of your glassware in one drawer and then just transfer them back and forth from dirty to clean (if you have two drawers, of course). And you know why that is even more awesome? Less space needed for glassware storage equals more space for booze. More booze equals more better.
SINK. Speaking of washing dishes, you will want a bar sink. It doesn’t have to be too big although if you have the space I’d recommend one with at least 15” in width. Buy the best grade of stainless steel you can afford and get a coordinating faucet. The higher the faucet the more likely you’ll be able to rinse out tall wine bottles.
LIGHTING. Layers. Repeat that word over and over as that is your mission. It is great to have at least three layers of lighting at your bar. They should all be controllable separately and, please, for the love of all that is good in the world, put them on dimmer switches (watch for the fluorescent fixtures though as they generally don’t get along with dimmer switches unless you buy the sub par dimmable fluorescent bulbs). One layer should be the cabinet lighting (this includes lighting at liquor shelves, under-cabinet lights, and lights inside glass cabinets). The second layer should be lighting above the bar (pendants are a good standby but there are other options). The third layer should be general lighting for the room which provides enough space to see what drink you're mixing. If you have to cut cost, get rid of the third layer and make sure the other two cover your lighting needs.
TRASH AND RECYCLING. This is often forgotten but needs to be considered. Liquor bottles take up a lot of recycling space and there’s often plenty of trash (and compost) at the bar.
WINE. If you also love wine, why not combine your bar with a wine storage area? You can get a small wine fridge that keeps your wine at the right temperature or build in a wine rack. Either way, it is nice to have nearby.
REFRIGERATOR. Lastly, you’ll need space to keep your mixers cool. A lot of people use the bar fridge as extra space for party leftovers or what not. That’s a great added bonus. You’ll want to consider the energy star eligibility of all of your appliances to make sure they’re not drawing a ton of energy. Those ancient refrigerators that are kept in basements or garages often save you money in only a couple of years by getting rid of them and buying a more efficient one.

Perlick makes a great under counter refrigerator.

So, once you have those ten items pulled together you should be ready to have a great bar. I love designing bars as they’re so rewarding to the Owner and such a treat when really done right. Make the bar your own place, give it your own identity, and throw some great parties that deliver amazing memories.

And most importantly, invite me over for that ice cold martini!