How to Create the Perfect Home Bar

In keeping with the entertainment theme of Tuesday’s post on how to create the perfect holiday charcuterie, today I’m shining the spotlight on the home bar.  The home bar is a fundamental addition to the home of anyone who entertains on a regular basis and becomes particularly useful during the holiday season when friends and family are coming and going.  Having some basic liquor and mixers in your arsenal can turn a dull, low key gathering into a positively cheery evening and can go a long way towards easing holiday tension between family members…not that any of us are familiar with that!

Creating a home bar is a bit of an art form and can take time and patience when you have budgetary constraints.  I know from personal experience how paralyzing it can be to find yourself standing in a store with your limited college/post-college budget staring at walls of alcohol, mixers, pretty glasses, and accessories.  Fifteen of your closest friends are coming over in three hours and you just want to make everyone happy with your fully stocked and gorgeous bar!  I’ve been there.  While you likely can’t buy up the entire store and quite clone one of the beautiful bars shown here, you certainly can take inspiration from them and over time create a home bar of your own that is equally as Pinterest-worthy.

To guide you on your journey to the perfect bar, I have compiled a list of suggested components. Whether you are just starting out creating your first bar or you want to organize and pretty up your existing set up, these basics will give you direction so you can hopefully avoid those flustered last minute store runs.

Your basic in home bar includes:

• The bar itself – Having a designated area in your home where you keep your alcohol and bar tools is the first step in creating the perfect home bar.  Whether it be a cabinet top, a corner of a kitchen counter, an area on a bookshelf, or a bar cart, carve out some space when you start creating the bar of your dreams.
• Alcohol – Vodka, whiskey and gin are the building blocks of the home bar.  Tequila, rum (light and dark), bourbon, and vermouth can be added to your selection if your budget permits.  It is always convenient to have a few bottles of wine (red and white) along with champagne stored away for a rainy day…or for holiday gatherings!  Keep some beer tucked in the back of your fridge for the inevitable friend who would prefer it to liquor or wine.
• Mixers – If you know you’re going to have company, stock up on one or two types of juice (cranberry and orange are the basic options), some tonic water and soda.
• Garnishments – Keep lemons and limes handy.  Not only are they common additions to cocktails, they can also be used as decoration when placed in a pretty bowl.  When you are ready to expand your offerings bitters, syrups, maraschino cherries, salt, and herbs can take your bar to the next level.
• Tools – Do yourself a favor and invest in a set of cocktail tools that comes with the basics – a martini shaker, a corkscrew bottle opener, a jiggler, a muddler, and a strainer.  Something simple and inexpensive like this or this will work just fine if now isn’t the right time for you to splurge on a fancy one.  Be sure to also have some sort of ice bucket on hand along with ice tongs if you so desire.
• Glassware – Always have tumblers and stemware on hand.  Feel free to mix and match shapes and colors for a fun, unique look.  Additional types of glasses like champagne flutes and martini glasses can be nice to use on the rare occasion, but I have found that they ultimately end up taking up unnecessary storage space and collecting dust.
• Optional – A tray to organize your bottles on can come in handy and help keep your bar area neat and tidy.  I am currently on the hunt for a tray myself!

Now that we have gone over bar basics, let’s discuss how to store your liquor to ensure it has a long life. Always keep bottles in a cool place away from direct sunlight and don’t be afraid to get creative with storage options!  You don’t have to keep your whiskey and tequila in the generic bottles they came in, just look below at how pouring your liquor into beautiful glass bottles can dress a bar up!

Now that you have your bar basics you can focus on what I think is the most fun part…embellishing and decorating.  Start by taking a look around your home before going out and purchasing any decorative elements.  Do you have a spare mirror hanging around?  Hang it or lean it against the wall behind your bar as seen in the above image.  Not only will the mirror reflect light making your space feel bigger, it will also appear that you have more in your bar than you do.  An unused piece of art can also pretty up and unify your bar space.  Just look at how the abstract print below brings together the natural element of the marble lamp base with the black accents of the Owls Brew bottle and candle.  A sparse home bar suddenly looks incredibly luxe.

Another great way to dress up your bar and tie together mismatched elements is to select a signature color and carry it throughout your design.  The below bar perfectly exemplifies this with the way the color yellow is used.  Reds, greens and metallics can be used in a similar manner during the holiday season.  One sprig of holly placed in a little glass can tie together green and red detailing on your bottles and give your bar top a dose of holiday cheer.  To really get in the spirit,  line your bar in twinkle lights, add in a tiny Christmas tree or blanket your surface in fluffy, fake snow.  The possibilities are endless.

One final word of advice – in the past I have toiled away prettying up our bar area, preparing signature drinks and spending time making each guest’s drink personally only to realize that everyone would have been perfectly happy playing their own bartender and using basic mixers. Pour yourself a drink, let your guests loose on the bar and enjoy yourself!  Cheers!

Feature image via Apartment 34