In terms of design, bespoke home bars tend to be highly personal and unique to the homeowner. Luckily design professionals such as interior designers and interior architects are able to assist property owners with creating a clear design brief for a bespoke furniture maker such as ourselves. However, whether we work direct with the homeowner or with their designer, we believe there are four key considerations when thinking about commissioning a custom-made home bar:
1. LOCATION
It’s a common misconception that a private home bar is a social aspect of only larger luxury homes. We often design and install bespoke home bars for the main living spaces of private residences of all sizes. As home bars can be recessed into alcoves or made-to-measure as a freestanding piece of furniture, even the most modest living spaces can accommodate a home bar. A home bar can sit or be fitted anywhere there is space for a dresser, sideboard or pantry. Cupboard doors can be designed to retract into the carcass of the bar to leave the maximum space for the flow of traffic around the home.
That said, a home bar is also perfect for homeowners that like to entertain at home and the ideal addition to entertaining spaces such as a media, cinema or games room. For larger spaces, home bars can be designed to fit along a single wall or around a corner in order to create a more social experience when sat at the bar.
2. USAGE
Though this may seem like an obvious thing to consider, how a bar will be used and how frequently, is important to consider due to the requirements for access to electricity, and waste and water pipes to be included in the design. For example, if a bar is simply to be used for a coffee machine or an infrequent glass of wine, a sink may not be required, the bar can be situated in most places and the joinery relatively shallow and straightforward.
In terms of design, bespoke home bars tend to be highly personal and unique to the homeowner
If a bar is for frequent entertaining with a broad mix of soft and alcoholic drinks, and especially if this includes cocktails, then access to water and a sink is essential as is space for an ice machine, wine coolers and wine cabinets, and well-stocked fridges and shelves.
3. SPACE
A recessed or freestanding bar can be surrounded by normal occasional seating. Allow a minimum of 100cm between the bar and the seating to allow traffic to flow to, from and around the bar. A freestanding bar works well for sitting rooms and living spaces, as well as wine tasting areas, as below, and does not have to cost as much as a fully fitted bespoke bar.
“We worked with Origins Design to create a freestanding wine tasting bar for this show home in London rather than a fully fitted bar. As the developer and not the eventual owner of the property, we had to keep in mind that whilst we needed to present a luxury feel, the buyer of that property may want to have the ability to move the bar and prefer to use that room for an alternative use. A freestanding bar gave us the flexibility on budget and design that we needed.” Melinda McGlew, Interior Designer at Coronado Interiors
Larger galley-style, single-wall or corner bars will require a bar counter and bar stools. A comfortable height for a bar counter is between 90cm and 110cm. Space will be required for an overhang of 30cm plus the bar stools, and a minimum of 90cm is required for the space between the bar counter and the back of the bar.
4. DETAILS
For us, made-to-measure home bars are all about the detail and the options are limitless. We’ve seen many design cues being taken from restaurants and hotels that have paid great attention to detail and made focal points of their bars, wine displays and bottle racks.
Wall displays to show off wine collections are not only functional but aesthetically pleasing. For the bar of the luxury show-home in Wimbledon created by Coronado Interiors, the dark stained wood allowed the colour of the wine bottle label and foil to stand out. Recessed lighting on the inside of the central cupboard and along the edge of the bottle rack adds light to the worktop and illuminated the wine collection.
Quartz or engineered marble are suitable materials for home bar worktops and a recessed sink is a practical luxurious detail. Mirror backed shelving space with shelves made from glass are timeless and both allow light to flow through the bar space.
The cabinetry can be designed to fit the design scheme of the rest of the room with an endless choice of finishes from high gloss to textured wood and bespoke handles as the finishing touch.
Have a look at some of the completed projects in our Portfolio to see some of the home bars we have designed and built.
If you want to discuss your or your customer’s vision for a bespoke home bar, our technical design team and craftspeople are ready to discuss your project. Please get in contact or have a look at our Instagram feed to see the timeless bespoke furniture we have made for our clients.