Small Home Bar with Open Cabinets Ideas and Designs

Photo by Gieves Anderson
This is an example of a small contemporary single-wall breakfast bar in Nashville with open cabinets, grey cabinets, engineered stone countertops, grey splashback, dark hardwood flooring, grey worktops and metal splashback.

Cardiff by the Sea: Modern Zen

M. Swabb Interior Design

Steve Cachero
Design ideas for a small rustic single-wall home bar in San Diego with open cabinets, medium wood cabinets, wood worktops, grey splashback, metal splashback, slate flooring and brown worktops.

Open-plan Concept | Contemporary Living, Dining & Bathroom

Improva

This modern contemporary style dry bar area features Avant Stone Bianco Orobico - honed, benchtop and splash back with a sliding door to hide the bar when not in use.

Homefield Road

HUX London

Inspiration for a small contemporary single-wall wet bar in London with an integrated sink, open cabinets, stainless steel worktops and beige floors.

Upper East Side, NYC

The Rinfret Group

Small classic single-wall bar cart in New York with no sink, open cabinets, dark hardwood flooring and brown floors.

Bighorn Palm Desert luxury modern home wet bar

Whipple Russell Architects

Bighorn Palm Desert luxury modern home wet bar. Photo by William MacCollum.
Small modern single-wall wet bar in Los Angeles with a submerged sink, open cabinets and white worktops.

Outdoor Bar and Grill

DeGoey Designs

This is an example of a small contemporary breakfast bar in Other with open cabinets, light wood cabinets, concrete worktops, brick flooring, grey floors, grey worktops and a built-in sink.

Downtown San Diego High Rise, Single Unit, Complete Remodel

Peterson Remodeling, Inc.

Design By- Jules Wilson I.D. Photo Taken By- Brady Architectural Photography
This is an example of a small contemporary single-wall wet bar in San Diego with no sink, medium wood cabinets, mirror splashback and open cabinets.

Sandalus Back Splash

Aria Stone Gallery

Kitchen Source Designs. This is a Dry Wine bar that is accented in a Sandalus Quartzite
Photo of a small traditional single-wall wet bar in Dallas with no sink, open cabinets, quartz worktops, brown splashback, stone slab splashback and medium hardwood flooring.

San Mateo, full home remodel

JPM Construction

This is an example of a small midcentury home bar in San Francisco with no sink, open cabinets, white cabinets, wood worktops, medium hardwood flooring, brown floors, brown worktops and multi-coloured splashback.

Pearl District Wine Bar

Sommi Wine Cellars

Our latest custom wine room project is proof that you don’t need a country estate (or even a full-size room) to store your wine in style. Our clients in this small, but swanky condo in Portland’s Pearl District had just a tiny corner of space to work with. Tucked in between the fireplace and floor-to-ceiling terrace doors, we transformed this formerly awkward and unused storage space into a showstopper of a home wine and cocktail bar.

Westover Residence

Ed Hughey, Architect & Realtor

http://dennisburnettphotography.com
Inspiration for a small traditional home bar in Austin with open cabinets, marble worktops, white cabinets and mirror splashback.

Charred Pine Bar + 3 Bay Collector's Back Bar Shelving

Amuneal Manufacturing Corp.

Amuneal’s kitchens and bars bring unexpected materials and finishes to create truly special installations. This bar uses the old-world technique of hand-burning wood to create a dynamic finish that highlights the organic nature of the raw materials. The charred pine door and drawer faces are juxtaposed with crisp machined hardware and a hand-patinated watery brass top to create a look that feels both contemporary and timeless. Amuenal’s signature Contour Pulls span the full length of each door and drawer. The 3-Bay Collector’s Shelving Backbar unit in gunmetal and bronze is the perfect match to the humble complexity of this unit and featuring a Knife Edge lower shelf in Ebonized Oak and glass upper shelves.

Sunny in Sunnyside

Kate Bendewald Interior Design (KBID)

Photo of a small contemporary single-wall bar cart in Denver with open cabinets, dark hardwood flooring and brown floors.

Fort Greene Townhouse Kitchen

Maison Maya

Nick Glimenakis Photography
This is an example of a small classic home bar in New York with no sink, open cabinets and stainless steel worktops.

Copper Bar

River Woodcraft

Photo of a small urban u-shaped breakfast bar in Philadelphia with open cabinets, black cabinets, copper worktops, wood splashback, medium hardwood flooring and orange worktops.

Pantries & Wine Bars

California Closets, Santa Barbara

Custom Pantry & Wine Storage with Colorful Etched Glass Accents
Small contemporary single-wall wet bar in Santa Barbara with open cabinets, grey cabinets, composite countertops and ceramic flooring.

San Marino Remodel

Jen Reagan Interior Design

Contemporary Cocktail Lounge
This is an example of a small contemporary breakfast bar in Sacramento with no sink, open cabinets, white cabinets, engineered stone countertops, white splashback, tonge and groove splashback, light hardwood flooring, beige floors and white worktops.

Pantries & Wine Bars

California Closets, Berkeley

Floor-to-Ceiling Wine Bar
Inspiration for a small modern single-wall wet bar in San Francisco with no sink, open cabinets, grey cabinets, laminate countertops, grey splashback and black floors.

Hampstead

FiSHER iD

custom high bar table and refridgerated wine cabinets in this poolside bar
Design ideas for a small contemporary single-wall home bar in London with no sink, black cabinets and open cabinets.

Small Home Bar with Open Cabinets Ideas and Designs

A home bar is one of the ultimate indulgences for a homeowner. By no means essential but all the more satisfying for that very reason. Whether your home bar ideas would be having the boys round to watch the big match in a pub-style atmosphere on a Saturday afternoon, ‘going uptown’ to sip an espresso martini in your home cocktail bar in the loft, or hoping to recreate the vibe of an intimate speakeasy in your basement, a style home bar is a treat that’s guaranteed to lift your spirits. A place where you are always guaranteed a seat.

How big should my home bar be?

The ideal style of your home bar will depend on your lifestyle and entertaining habits as well as the amount of available space. If big groups come round regularly then you should consider dedicating a part of your living room or basement to a larger seating area – complete with a bar table, bar stools and wet bar section – to keep everyone suitably comfortable and merry. If TV is essential, check if there is a wall nearby that’s a big enough to mount it on without restricting anyone’s view. A key feature of home bar ideas is the storage – gleaming wine racks and low-lit glass shelves. Make sure you can afford these little delights after you have built the basic structure. Alternatively, if space is limited, a freestanding home cocktail bar would give you somewhere to prepare cocktails that is out of the way – in the corner of your dining room or under the stairwell for instance. Also, mirrored surfaces can help to create the illusion of space. Sketch the layout of the room in which you would like to place the bar and think about where all those bottles, cans and snacks are going to go. Then speak to either a home bar specialist about your home bar ideas, or to a joiner about adapting a vintage bookcase or creating something bespoke.

What style of home bar should I choose?

Try to play off the interior decor of the surrounding area. A kitsch Manhattan-inspired home cocktail bar will look out of place in a country cottage, for example. Similarly, a long white walnut home bar would jar against a bright red contemporary kitchen. That said, contrast might be something that you accentuate, not least through the choice of flooring, which would help to make your home bar stand out. Collect home bar ideas in an Ideabook, settle upon a theme and then discuss the design with your home bar specialist or joiner. Lighting sets the mood in bars, particularly late at night, so pay special attention to placement, intensity and how you want your guests to feel. Dim underbar lighting creates a warm, intimate atmosphere, while spotlights brighten and energise.

Which home bar accessories and facilities should I include?

This really does depend on how far you are willing to go. A home bar can replicate almost everything you see in your local, from running water and refrigerated wine cabinets to draught beer pumps and bespoke lighting and a sound systems. Again, the most important thing is to work with what’s there – available space and home decor. Is that black lizard effect leather flooring really going to go? How about the turquoise splashback? Do those flowers look out of place or will they help to soften up what’s fast becoming a man cave? There are several ways to make a home bar more visually interesting without spending big on fixtures and fittings. Select furniture that’s comfortable but also sparks interest, such as salvaged chairs or a second-hand leather sofa. Add a touch of glitz and glamour through your choice of glassware, drinks trolley, ice bucket, shaker and spirit bottles if you want the home cocktail bar look. Then scatter a few curios around the bar – ornaments, lamps, artwork, photos and travel mementos are great home bar ideas to get the conversation started.

United Kingdom

Tailor my experience with cookies

Houzz uses cookies and similar technologies to personalise my experience, serve me relevant content, and improve Houzz products and services. By clicking ‘Accept’ I agree to this, as further described in the Houzz Cookie Policy. I can reject non-essential cookies by clicking ‘Manage Preferences’.