Raising the Bar This Season

A home bar is one of the most personal spaces we make, and one of the most varied. Some are built for a quiet glass at the end of a long day. Others are designed for a full house and a playlist that has been weeks in the making. Size, finish and where it sits in the house all depends on who you are, the space you have and how you like to spend an evening. There’s no right answer, which is half of the fun, yet also the reason so many people are unsure where to start.

Space First, Style Second

Our designers look at the architecture before anyone reaches for a sample. A bar has to earn its place in a room, and in our experience, the house usually has firm opinions about where that place should be.

The kitchen is an obvious candidate, and an island with a row of stools already does much of the work. But a bar is just as happy in a living room, a hallway or a reading room as it is in an entertaining room of its own.

Upstairs can be fun too! We’ve made small drinks cabinets with integrated refrigeration for dressing rooms, so a glass of something can keep you company while you decide what to wear before a night out.

Some of the most satisfying bars we make use space that other furniture would ignore. A disused alcove or a wall niche can be built into, so that the bar becomes a part of the existing architecture rather than something added on. In an open-plan room, a bar can act as a divider, marking where the kitchen stops and the sitting room starts without anyone having to build a wall. Where the ceiling allows, you can use every inch of it. Shelving that runs to the top, reached by a library ladder, does wonders for the bottles kept out of reach.

Making an Entrance (or not): Retractable Doors

A bar can either announce itself loudly the moment you enter a room or keep quiet until discovered.

Neither makes for a better space. However, there is a practical case for discretion.

Retractable doors allow a bar to disappear at the moments when it would prefer to hide. Taking a video call at the kitchen table on a Monday morning: an impressive run of spirits behind you doesn’t quite say quarterly review! Likewise, a children’s birthday party is another. And a teenager’s party is, frankly, the strongest argument of all for keeping the stash well away from those beady eyes!

With the doors closed, the room remains peaceful. Open them on a Friday evening and the weekend has officially begun.

The Question over the Drinks Trolley

The cocktail trolley is enjoying something of a revival. With more than a nod to the glamour of the best members’ clubs and hotel bars, there’s plenty to like about a bar on wheels.

We are happy to design one, but our honest view is that a bar is at its best when it stays put. A built-in bar gives you proper storage, a sense of permanence and a destination of its own within the home. Even when space is tight, there’s usually a way, whether that means tucking it into an unused recess or pinching a corner in the kitchen.

The Freestanding Bar

For those not quite ready to commit to a fitted bar, there’s a middle ground. A freestanding bar has all the presence of a fitted one, made with the same care and is just as capable of hosting an evening, but isn’t tied to the walls around it. If a move is on the horizon, there’s no need to wait for the new house before enjoying a bar. When the time comes, it can just leave with you.

Stock What You Love

One piece of advice we find ourselves giving time and time again, is to design the bar around what you actually drink. If wine isn’t really your thing, there’s no point building racks for it. Instead, use the space wisely, giving a larger home to spirits, soft drinks, snacks or glassware. Taps and refrigeration can be either integrated or left to the kitchen if you would rather keep it simple.

The best bars rarely hold drinks alone. For the keen golfer, that might look like a bar running alongside the simulator. For a music lover, it might be a bar in tune with their record player, with specialist integrated storage to honour a collection. Whatever the passion, the bar has be ability to turn any room into a space where unwinding becomes second nature.

Materials & Memories

When it comes to materials, there’s no wrong choice. A walnut classic is every bit as valid as a statement in backlit onyx. Glass shelving can help to keep things light. Mirrored backing is a clever trick in a smaller space, adding depth and catching the light from every bottle, so that the bar looks larger than it really is. You might match the kitchen, or contrast it on purpose, layer several materials, or keep to one. The choices are all yours, and our designers will guide you through every stage of the design, ensuring that endless choice doesn’t feel overwhelming.

Style in Tune with the Property

In a country farmhouse, the bar can take its cue from the landscape outside, with timber, stone and leather that tie in nicely with the boots by the back door.

Pretty in Pink

In Chislehurst, a basement beneath a home gym and spa is home to a bar intended for evenings. At its centre is backlit onyx with a soft blush glow, framed by bevelled antique mirrors and set into stained walnut. Sub-Zero refrigeration, an ice maker and Quooker tap are all disguised within the design and opposite sits a wine room in the same wood. Upstairs is calm. Downstairs awaits an occasion. It’s a space designed for the whole family to come together.

The bars that people remember tend to carry something personal. A favourite London landmark is a lovely starting point: perhaps the brass of a grand hotel bar, or the tiles of a theatre foyer visited every December for the Pantomime. Borrowing from a few of those details is a way of bringing fond family memories home.

Then, there’s the question of where everyone sits. Stools at an island suit those who like to perch and chat. Sofas suit those who intend to stay.

Be Bold

A bar exists for entertaining, so it can carry a little more courage than the rest of the house. Colour is the quickest way to make your mark. A deep green, an oxblood red or a glossy lacquered blue might feel like too much in a study, but in a space designed for celebrating, you can be brave.

Turning the Lights Down

Lighting changes the mood of a bar more than almost anything else. Low LEDs within the strips beneath the shelves, soft downlights picking out the detail of the grain and dimmers to set the tone. The same bar can work for a mid-morning coffee, a quiet evening in and, later, something a good deal livelier.

Last Orders

Wherever you place a home bar, whichever materials you select, and however loudly it speaks to you, the only rule to follow is that a bar should suit the way you live and entertain.

For the record, our own is staying behind closed doors for a few more weeks until our team Christmas festivities!

Every Chamber Furniture project begins with a conversation.

If you are considering a bespoke project that seamlessly unites craftsmanship, heritage, and your unique vision, get in touch. Our team would be delighted to discuss how we can bring your ideas to life with precision and artistry.