Currently, the word "bar" means not only the place of sale of alcohol and snacks to it. He is also called a separate zone in the house, where various alcoholic drinks, devices for making cocktails and dishes from which these drinks are drunk, are located. Today, the bar in the apartment is an indicator of material well-being and good taste of the owners.
For whom and for what?
Without such a detail as a bar, the apartment is not enough for those who appreciate high-quality alcoholic drinks and prefer to use them in a cozy home environment, beautifully and comfortably. It’s also inconvenient for those who like to have fun parties and friendly gatherings at home. A bar for bottles in the apartment is required to perform the following functions:
- Storage of alcoholic beverages. In the house, connoisseurs of quality alcohol always have a stock of various drinks for every taste, which are consumed little and with pleasure. If guests are often in the house, it is also better to always have a supply, and not to buy alcohol immediately before their arrival.
- Making cocktails. To pamper yourself and your guests with cocktails, you do not have to go to a bar and overpay there for the opportunity to drink in a noisy and uncomfortable atmosphere. Comfort lovers who prefer to mix cocktails at home will also find their own bar in the apartment useful.
There are two types of home bars - stationary (located on one permanent place) and mobile (mobile).
Stationary
This option is suitable for fans to host frequent parties or corporate meetings with a large number of guests. However, only owners of a country house or a very spacious apartment can afford it.
The device of a stationary bar in the apartment involves the installation of a bar counter, a rack for bottles and dishes, as well as the purchase of various devices for mixing cocktails. If the area allows, a separate room can be allocated for this purpose. The design of the bar in the apartment includes the use of special lighting, mirrors, slate boards, various posters and the mandatory installation of decorative shelves for barware and appliances.
Furniture for a home bar
Mandatory attributes of a stationary bar for bottles in an apartment are:
- Bar counter, tall and narrow. It should be illuminated by lamps hanging from the ceiling. Its countertop can be glass, wooden, marble - there are an infinite number of options, it all depends on the design of the room. If the bar is located in the kitchen, the counter can be used as a dining table. With its help, you can separate the kitchen area in the studio apartment.
- Bar stools - high, corresponding to the height of a particular bar counter, always with a footrest. The material from which they are made should be combined with the design of the rack.
- Directly bar - rack, located behind the counter. Bottles of alcohol are placed on it. For its manufacture, wood and glass are usually used.
Under the counter are usually shelves with utensils and appliances. The bar must have a portable refrigerator with ice.
Stationary minibar
If there is no possibility or need to allocate a whole room for alcohol storage, you can arrange a stationary minibar in the apartment. By type of construction, it can be:
To equip the built-in minibar, the most unexpected empty places in the house are suitable:
- niche in the wall;
- free space under the stairs;
- empty opening;
- free space between the rooms in the apartment, for example, between the kitchen and the living room;
- the space between the roof bevels.
In any of these places you can install a rack or shelves for bottles and utensils, arrange a bar-style zone with mirrors, lights, posters - creating the appropriate atmosphere.
Upholstered furniture can be used to place the built-in bar in the interior of the apartment, for which armrests, backs or specially built-in niches are usually used.
Cabinet bar
As you can see in the photo, the bar in the apartment is most conveniently arranged in a closet.
The easiest way to do this is by painting the free shelves of the cabinet in contrasting colors, installing a mirrored rear wall and LED lighting and placing alcohol bottles, dishes and appliances on the shelves.
Closed stationary minibar is a cabinet standing on the floor or mounted on the wall. Behind its doors the contents of the bar are not visible. Such a cabinet fits perfectly into the interior and can become its additional “highlight”. The hanging cabinet must be securely fastened. Do not make it heavier by placing foreign objects on top so that it does not fall, and all the bottles stored in it do not break.
Open minibars are rare, since alcohol does not tolerate sunlight. But, installed in a place protected from the sun, it can bring originality to the interior.
The size and configuration of the minibar depends on the size of the room and the availability of free space in it. This can be a combination of floor and hanging open and closed cabinets like a cupboard, or a combination of a built-in floor cabinet with open glass hanging shelves. You can also use a low cabinet like a chest of drawers called a credit card as a minibar.
In order to save space in a small apartment, the bar can be arranged in the form of a wall-mounted transformer cabinet, the outer wall of which is tilted, turning into a bar counter, and bottles and accessories are placed on shelves inside.
What determines the design of the minibar
Regardless of whether you will equip the bar in the apartment with your own hands or prefer to purchase a finished model, the following parameters should be considered:
- Capacity. A standard minibar holds up to thirty liters of alcohol. This is enough for ordinary home use. Serious collectors will need more roomy models that are more expensive and take up more space.
- The number of branches. It depends on whether you are going to store different types of alcohol separately, as well as the need for a variety of tools and devices.
- The temperature inside the bar. A typical set of alcoholic beverages is stored under standard average temperature conditions. If the collection includes drinks that require special storage conditions, then the minibar should be equipped with compartments with different temperatures.
When buying or creating a minibar, it is important to consider how many bottles will be stored in it. Only a full bar looks good.
Benefits of a Home Minibar
Why is it worth choosing a mini-bar? Because it has a number of undeniable advantages.
- The compact size allows you to place it even in a small apartment.
- The device of such a bar will cost much cheaper.
- If alcohol is stored in the bar, extra space for other necessary items is freed up in kitchen cabinets and in the living room.
- The minibar, if necessary, is easy to move.
- The presence of special shelves with devices for storing bottles gives a guarantee that they will not fall or break.
- A minibar decorates the interior and allows you to rationally use the useful area of the apartment.
The presence of a bar in the apartment indicates the good taste of the owners, emphasizes their status.
Where to place the bar?
The place where the minibar will be placed depends on where the hosts are usually used to hosting guests.
If you place a bar in an apartment in the kitchen, then it is most appropriate to design it in the form of a cabinet that matches in appearance with the design of the kitchen set. This will allow him to fit well into the interior. You can also make the design of the bar more eye-catching, the main thing is that it does not stand out from the general style of the room.
Very often parties and friendly gatherings take place in the living room, so the presence of a minibar there is more than appropriate. You can select a separate corner or a niche in the wall for its arrangement, or you can simply integrate it into the headset without violating the overall style.
Quite often, a bar is installed in the office. In this case, its most common design is in the form of a safe.
A very interesting idea is to equip a bar in an apartment on a balcony or loggia. Even within a small balcony space, you can create a very cozy corner by installing a rack or shelf for glasses and bottles, a compact folding tabletop and folding or bar stools. The views from the balcony will serve as a good surroundings for a pleasant pastime.
Mobile minibar
This is the best option for small rooms with a deficit of free space in them. There are many options for arranging such a bar.
A bar in the form of a small cabinet with a folding external wall can be easily moved to any room, while the folding wall can serve as a bar counter.
A very popular option for a mobile minibar are numerous modifications of the table on wheels.
Its advantage is the ability to move it around the house. The multi-tiered design allows you to transport and store on it bottles of alcohol, utensils and appliances. There are a lot of design options for such a bar. Such a globe-shaped mini-bar looks especially elegant.
A mini-bar made by one’s own hands looks especially original.
Ideas for a self-styled minibar
It is quite easy for people with an extraordinary creative mindset to equip an original mini-bar at home, which will have a unique and memorable design. For this purpose, you can use:
- antique cabinet, sideboard or chest of drawers;
- glass cabinet for medicines (looks good in an apartment decorated in a modern style);
- an old suitcase or chest;
- barrel, inside which you can install shelves, and on top - a countertop.
- old fridge;
- Piano
- canister.
This is not a complete list of items that can become the basis for the creative imagination of a home master.
Necessary fixtures
In addition to a variety of alcoholic beverages, bar must have special facilities for making cocktails.
- Shaker - a container in which the ingredients for a cocktail are poured and mixed. Its design can be classic, consisting of three parts that can be separated, and Boston - in the form of two glasses stacked on top of each other.
- Jigger - two measuring cups welded together.
- A glass for mixing ingredients of the same density.
- Steiner is a special strainer through which a cocktail is filtered to remove pieces of berries or ice from it.
- Madler - pestle for grinding berries.
- Bar spoon with a long handle.
- Corkscrew.
It is also desirable to have a blender with a juicer function for making fresh juices.
The minibar does not require a large number of glasses for drinks. It is enough to have glasses for whiskey and strong cocktails, tall glasses for tropical cocktails, glasses for pure strong drinks and wine glasses.
Well, the selection of drinks in the home bar entirely depends on the tastes and preferences of the owners.