Goodbye drinks trolley and hello basement bar.
A stylish home bar is at the top of our domestic wish list, surpassing both pantries and laundry rooms.
Because what could be more fun – and impressive – than entertaining friends in your own actual home bar?
We’re not talking bar carts or wine cellars either, we mean full-blown, unapologetically decadent rooms dedicated to mixing cocktails and unwinding.
These clever homes have transformed dead spaces – an unused wall, that barely-used study or a dull basement – to stylish entertaining spaces packed with wow-factor.
Accessorise with stylish bar stools and a cool neon light sign and it’ll soon become everyone’s favourite room in the house.
Explore more modern dining room ideas
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Drinks Table
This sitting room has a the perfect table for offering guests a glass of wine, aperitif or cocktail.
Get the look: The Paris Review is by Alex Katz. Find prints at theparisreview.org. The acrylic and mirror wine bar is a vintage piece. For similar, try Carew Jones.
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Real Deal
This home bar is the real deal; open shelving with bottles on display, a bar island with bar stools, and even it's own name, named after the home owner's two favourite things.
Get the look: Get the look: The bespoke bar, created by Made by Jason & Co, includes a brass bar top from The Copper And Zinc Bar Company.
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Glam Factor
This gleaming and glamorous étagère takes pride of place in an open-plan living room.
Get the look: The Seventies brass étagère was imported from Holland and the Fifties German side chairs were reupholstered, all via The Mint List Interior Design.
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Pop Art
With vintage Fifties furniture, one wall clad in a knockout, limited-edition Roy Lichtenstein print, and a bar made out of marble and burr walnut, this space feels cool and glamorous. The bar was made from an old marble fireplace that was found at a salvage yard. It’s been converted into this bar, which includes a built-in glass chiller, ice maker and dishwasher.
Get the look: The original fireplace was sourced from The Architectural Forum. The bespoke cocktail bar and cabinetry were made by Robert Timmons Furniture. The vintage armchair and cocktail table are from Ed Butcher. The print is of Roy Lichtenstein’s Blue Floor.
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Secret Snug
Off a living room, this snug was the perfect place to create a chic bar. The previous owner had used it as a stereo room, filled with his CD collection. Now it’s equipped with everything you could ever need for aperitifs and nightcaps.
Get the look: The walls are in polished plaster.
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Basement Bar
This basement bar is perfect for entertaining.
Get the look: Bar, Wood’n Design.
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That Seventies Show
The bar has purposefully been given an almost tongue-in-cheek 1970s look. Gold-flecked cork wallpaper on the walls and ceiling, mirror-backed bar units and shelves filled with vintage 1970s glasses inscribed with the owner’s initials (found by chance on eBay) helped to create a small space with a big personality.
Get the look: The bar units were custom-made. The brass cabinets and screen dividers are bespoke. This is a Nero Marquina marble floor. The Japanese Cork wallpaper is by Phillip Jeffries.
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Alcove
An alcove in a former kitchen was transformed into this wine corner, where all the wine glasses and wine bottles are kept at close hand for dinner parties.
Get the look: The custom-made cabinet with zinc top and crackle-glazed finish is by Ian Harper – concealed behind the doors are dishwashers for the glasses. The vintage sideboard was inherited.
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Wine Room
This small timber wine room is a a room within a room, providing plenty of space for a collection of vintage cigar boxes. The whole concept behind the wine room is that it’s a big cigar box, with many little cigar boxes inside, some of which are 300 to 400 years old.
Get the look: This leather armchair is from Restoration Hardware. The antique chaise longue is from the Napoléon III period. The Persian rug is vintage and was dyed grey. The walls are made from oiled American walnut. The steel door was powder-coated in Black.
