In an age of domestic entertainment, home bars provide a focal point for parties. They combine seating with a place to serve alcoholic refreshments and hors d'oeuvres with fashionable visual flair. Many people are installing home bars as an alternative to kitchen breakfast bars, formal dining rooms, or even built-in buffets to influence how their guests interact. Home bars vary from a simple rolling cart that holds a few cocktail glasses and an ice bucket to a sophisticated corner bar with wine refrigerator and keg tap.

Home bars can be installed in many locations of your house; they can be included in a converted basement recreational room, to an outdoor covered patio, to a front parlor. The most basic home bar is just a counter on which you can mix a few drinks during a party. But the most complicated construction can ensure you can serve any drink: a blended margarita, vodka martini, Merlot, or an on-tap beer. This means having easy access to water, ice, glasses, stirrers, alcohol, beverages, etc., in a designer setting that invites comfortable entertaining.

Many appliances and accessories can be incorporated into home bars with appropriate plumbing and wiring. Overhead, one can hang racks for champagne flutes, wine goblets, highballs, beer steins, martini glasses, or water tumblers. Drawers can stow swizzle sticks, utensils, cocktail napkins, bottle openers and pocket guides to mixing exotic drinks. A counter might hold a blender, icemaker, shakers, a small sink, or a tap connected to a hidden miniature keg. The cabinets conceal larger appliances, like a refrigerator and dishwasher or a wine rack and cooler. Rear shelving shows off rows of basic alcohol like gin and whiskey, liqueurs like creme de menthe, and bottles of grenadine, lime extract, and other mixers.

Designers have achieved many styles for home bars to harmonize with the rest of your home. An interior decor of American Colonial, Hollywood glamour, or Swedish organic minimalism can be achieved by using a variety of innovative materials. The countertop could be a burnished slab of marble, slats of antique cherry wood, or a sheet of stainless steel. This sets off other elements like solid cabinets of inlaid wood, mirrored panels etched with romantic flourishes, or antique brass hardware. Even when not in use, home bars add to your interior design. They will encourage countless festive get-togethers among your grateful friends.