These 30 Home Bar Ideas Are the Epitome of Class
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Nightlife in 2024 is no longer about “getting crunk in the club,” according to a handful of TikTok creators who say today’s young people prefer an intimate apartment gathering over a night out on the town, NBC News reported. While a casual bar meetup is always diverting, a night in can be equally glam—that is, if you have the right setup.
Whether you’re a whiskey collector at heart or prefer a growing assemblage of vintage Cabernets, a libations pitstop in the form of a home bar adds class to any home. It’s a vital home fixture when it comes to entertaining guests or hosting a dinner, showing off your impressive liquor collection, as well as storing your glassware, cocktail tools, and a good recipe book.
“I love the resurgence of home bars and the eye-catching impact they deliver,” says Houston-based interior designer Benjamin Johnston, who says he gets requests for a home bar moment often. “They instantly elevate any interior, especially when you include standout elements through lighting, backsplashes, colorful cabinetry, and architectural barstools. Who wouldn’t want a bit of a speakeasy vibe right at home?”
A home bar can be a simple, chic bar cart stocked with the essentials, or an entire themed wet bar room, bedecked with a counter, stools, sink, dishwasher, and beverage storage. It can even live as an accent to a living room, or as an offshoot of the kitchen, Houston-based interior designer Mary Lambrakos’s home bar of choice. “Blending a bar seamlessly with the kitchen not only streamlines functionality but also enhances the visual aesthetics of the space,” she explains. “Thoughtful features such as an integrated Champagne bucket or petite sinks sized specifically for wine glasses ensure an added level of adaptability and accessibility.”
Ready to give your space an elevated home bar moment that rivals the local watering hole? We’ve tapped our favorite designers to share our favorite one-of-a-kind home bar ideas. The drinks are only half the fun.
Low-Light Home Bar
When you’ve gone ooo, it’s time to hit play. This home bar, a chic and convenient backdrop to this country lodge’s game room, is a fitting way to facilitate some fun. Interior designer Vicky Charles gave the resortlike loft a vintage games table and a fully stocked cocktail bar. Game on!
Black Marble Home Bar
You needn’t sacrifice your first child’s bedroom for a dedicated home bar. This chic version, located just around the kitchen corner, serves as a multifaceted addition to the room. “A well-designed home bar enhances the room’s aesthetic, bringing sophistication and style to the space through carefully chosen materials,” says Texas-based interior designer Ginger Curtis, who designed this dark and moody bar moment. “Opt for high-quality materials such as wood, marble, or granite for the bar countertop and shelving. These materials not only look luxurious, but also add durability and longevity to your home bar.”
White and Bright Home Bar
“Beyond the convenience of having all the serving utensils and cocktail ingredients in one place, a bar also serves as a destination and talking point,” says Colorado-based interior designer Nadia Palacios, who says her firm generally designs bars to be glamorous, like this chic white and bright bar, using bold materials such as marble and brass. “We also like to feature interesting pieces like antique mirrors to elevate these spaces into true jewel boxes within the home.”
Tiled Home Bar
A home bar can add sophistication, functionality, and a touch of luxury to any room, whether it’s a dedicated space or integrated into a living space. Just ask Southern California–based interior designer Denise Morrison, who gave this space a personalized touch. “In this home bar we incorporated a fun and interesting tile to add visual appeal to the space while also providing practical benefits such as durability and ease of maintenance.” It helps that her client’s favorite spirits are housed in art-worthy vessels. Cheers!
Colorful Home Bar
If you, like Rebecca Gardner, live in an apartment “the size of a nipple” (her words), give your space a multifunctional bar moment. In this Greenwich Village apartment, a closet is reimagined as a full bar, complete with a vintage crystal tumbler filled with Gardner’s house drink, Earl Grey Bourbon Punch. A lamp, ice bucket, and glassware adds bar vibes that prove bigger doesn’t always mean better. We’ll drink to that!
Modern Home Bar
While a home bar in a closet feels edgy, Ohio-based interior designer Tanner Morgan dares us to think even further outside the box (or in this case, kitchen). “The addition of a bar to a space, whether it’s a dressing room, living room, or ancillary area, enhances the function and purpose of that space, encouraging one to linger in a now self-sufficient section of a home that was once purely functional,” Morgan says, whose team did just that in a lounge area of a recent project. High contrast black and white motifs create a dapper look.
Under-Stair Home Bar
A home bar can be a welcome addition to any space, whether tucked away in an unused nook or the room’s focus. “I believe that all rooms should have several functions,” says Houston-based interior designer Courtnay Tartt Elias, who saw in this house’s entryway an opportunity for a home bar with bold colors and exciting hardware. “Detailed millwork is always a beautiful addition, and cane cabinet insets allow for easily hidden appliances that require airflow and storage for necessary barware,” she adds.
Pink Bar
Just as a glass of rosé can tickle the soul, a home bar can bring energy to a room. In this colorful room, Houston-based designer Benjamin Johnston unleashed his color-happy design eye. “Here, a bright pink home bar beautifully complemented the living room’s colorful, midcentury elements and stunning curvilinear couch,” he explains. “We used decorative items like throw pillows to connect the color story. When tied into a kitschy design, the home bar felt organic and lent a welcome dose of luxurious leisure.” Cin cin!
Beach Bar
When designing a beach house, obviously the bar area is the most important part. After bringing in sea-blue finishes clad in lushly glazed lava tiles and bright red local libations (spritz anyone?), Casa Muñoz’s Mafalda Muñoz and Gonzalo Machado designed a home bar that makes this chic Ibiza escape a real-life fun house. “[The homeowners tell me] they feel they lead different lives there, more fun lives,” Muñoz says. Cue the disco ball!
Warm Wood Bar
This chic home bar, tucked away in the corner of a room, doubles up as a bookshelf and a bar. Another Johnston design that ensures easy access to supplies while also contributing to the chic appearance of the space. Talk about bookshelf wealth!
Outdoor Home Bar
Truth: A backyard situation isn’t a proper hangout spot without a bona fide bar cart. This chic drink station atop a weather-withstanding support—Emily Henderson transformed a Target potting bench into a festive drink display—completes any outdoor soiree. Add candles and florals for a extra ambience.
Kitchen Bar
While this bar in New York City’s restaurant called Holywater—stewarded by the two nautical-obsessed, second-generation restaurateur brothers behind New York’s iconic shipboard restaurants Grand Banks and Pilot—is a commercial space, it’s so homey it could almost be someone’s living room. And we’re taking all the notes. “I tapped into three things I love most about bars: atmosphere, escape, and potential. We built those out in a personal, almost autobiographical way,” says Alex. The cocktail bar boasts artfully layered photographs, paintings, works on paper, and nautical memorabilia that create a lived-in feel that would translate into any home with absolute class.
Hidden Treasure
Creating a multipurpose wall is the easiest way to craft a home bar without undergoing major construction. This hillside Malibu home, designed by Silvia Kuhle and Jeffrey Allsbrook of Los Angeles–based Standard Architecture, has an organic modern design. The inset niche shelving is by RH, Restoration Hardware, and the wallpaper by Gucci in the Tian print serves as the backdrop.
Color Splash
In Tatyana Miron’s Manhattan apartment, pops of color highlight every room. In her home bar, the custom cabinetry is painted in Railings by Farrow & Ball, and the sink fittings are by Waterworks.
A Warm Welcome
The Florida apartment of interior designer Fawn Galli has a modern and tropical flair. The high-rise apartment’s water views complete the urban but colorful four-bedroom apartment. The bar overlooks Lake Boca and is clad in handmade tiles and raffia paneling. The table lights are by Verner Panton, and the vintage planters are by Willy Guhl.
Mixology Zone
It wasn’t called “happy hour” for nothing. The joyful patterns and saturated color combinations in this dream Hollywood house create a jocular overdose (we can’t speak for alcohol content). Here, a gold-lined Caesarstone counter is complemented by vintage Jean Royère stools in a Loro Piana mohair, all boldly encased with wallpaper by Bullard for Cole & Son.
Hints of Blue
This London house designed by Adam Hills and Maria Speake, who together run Retrouvius, created a Georgian-style home using mostly repurposed materials and textiles. In the bar area, the vintage chairs and pillow are upholstered in fabrics made by Dashing Tweeds. The drawers are fashioned of salvaged teak originally used for flooring. Bottoms up!
Cocktail O’Clock
This bar moment in a 1920s Toronto house (redesigned by Colette van den Thillart) was the fresh look the homeowners were going for in their living room. The gold cabinet offers a bit of glam, while the vintage chair creates an air of sophistication. (Because we know you’ll ask) the wallcovering is Le Paradis aux Mille Fleurs by Pierre Frey.
Silver Accents
Gotham and cool collide in this Notting Hill neighborhood Victorian townhouse designed by architect Timothy Haynes and designer Kevin Roberts. Hosting and entertaining were a main focus for the couple who reside in the home. Right off the entrance, a custom bar is lined with a mosaic by Gregory Muller.
Art and Drinks
Nothing elevates a bar area more than a statement sculpture. In this three-story, two-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of Amsterdam, Studio Piet Boon’s creative director Karin Meyn has sculptures (plural). The living room’s modern built-in bar has a Gaggenau wine cooler and is stocked with glassware by Piet Boon for Serax. The sculptures (from left) are by Lars Zech and Lieve Rutte.
Hollywood Setting
Mood lighting is making the moment in Todd Feldman’s vacation house at the private Madison Club in La Quinta, California. Designer Kovac Design Studio added stools by RH, Restoration Hardware to the custom bar of American black walnut, and mesh curtains (compliments of Whiting & Davis).
Marble on Marble
The owners of this home decorated by Julie Dodson of Dodson Interiors believe that the bar is the center of the home. “The marble bar and wall grab your attention and draw guests into the entertainment,” Dodson says.
Egyptian Energy
To give this pass-through hallway a sense of purpose and personality, Doniphan Moore incorporated a beverage station and wet bar. “Attention was paid to every surface,” he says. “From the lacquered Macassar wood veneer cabinets inlaid with brass to the silver leaf hand-painted paper with engraved symbols that conjure a hot Egyptian vibe with what I think is a very unique use of color and materiality.”
Make It Purple
Philip Gorrivan of Philip Gorrivan Designs believes that sometimes homes have too many closets and not enough bars. “Here in this small sitting room in Palm Beach, I repurposed a small closet to create an unexpected paper and leather-wrapped bar niche, taking inspiration from Brazilian and Italian modernism,” he says.
Statement Chairs
The summer home of Daryl Simon and her husband, Irwin, in Bridgehampton, New York, is far from a traditional Hamptons house. The game room’s bar area features stools by Pierre Paulin in a Maharam fabric, countertops from DuPont, custom cabinetry painted in Philipsburg Blue by Benjamin Moore, and pendants by Lumfardo.
Cozy in the Library
In this Connecticut home redesigned by Thom Filicia, a doorway to another room was transformed into the hot spot of the home. “The sisal carpeting extends into the space, while the mirrored walls and glass shelving make the otherwise small mixing station bright and inviting.” The pendant is from Vaughan Designs, and the English clawfoot bench and the artwork are the clients’ own.
In the Sky
In the gallery of this Upper East Side apartment, Workshop/APD dedicated a sliver of space in the wall for a home bar. Ombré glass vessels by Holly Hunt decorate the otherwise muted bar. All proof that sometimes, less is more.
A Pleasant Surprise
A hidden bar is always a fun surprise. Nadia Khan from Sheraton Interiors created this bar for a home in Surrey, England, with solid stained oak cabinetry and Carrara-style marble worktops. “The bar itself was designed in an alcove and can be closed off behind the Crittall-style doors,” she adds.
The Ideal Corner
This minibar designed by Maros Designs is all about creating a mood that feels romantic and lush. Sometimes all you need is a corner bar to make a room pop, like this one in the kitchen. “The crane wallpaper from Milton & King was the perfect addition to attract the romantic side,” says designer Jessica Maros. “The gold accents and soapstone countertops brought the lushness into place.”
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