The Benefits of Home Bars

There is little doubt about it, in the long run, home bars cost a lot less than heading out to the local pubs every weekend.  Depending on the talents that you may or may not have, installing a home bar might be a reasonably priced way to increase the value of your home and maybe give your popularity a little boost as well.  No matter what type of set up you have in mind, there are home bar plans and pre-built home bars to fit most situations.  I've had no problem finding pre-built bars for sale.  I've shown a few popular ones later in this article and made comments about them.  What I did have a tough time finding was actual home bar plans that described how to BUILD your own bar at home.  Even Amazon came up short.  They did have one book that looked promising, and I was going to include it here, but it was out of stock and they didn't know if it would ever be published again.  What the heck???  Anyway, if you have been looking for do it yourself home bar plans, I was able to find a nice collection, and it is actually able to be downloaded for immediate access.  You can find some great plans for home bars (including Tiki bars) by following THIS LINK.  Drop me a line through the contact form if you have found any other favorite home bar plans and I'll include them here.

Home bars seemed to be all the rage when I was a little kid back in the 1970s.  Most of my parents' friends had bars in their homes and their group of friends would gather from time to time at each others' houses to hang out with each other.  Sometimes it would be for special occasions like New Year's Eve or a playoff football game, but other times they just hung out together.  The kids went off and did things to keep busy.  I remember learning to play bumper pool one time and going out in the yard at night to catch worms on another occasion.  I guess we did what we had to to pass the time.

I never minded going on those visits because I really liked actually looking at the bars.  I know that sounds kind of strange, but my Dad did carpentry work on the side and he actually built many of the custom home bars in their friends' homes.  It was pretty cool.

If you are able to build things on your own, you can save a lot of money, but modern home bars are not all that expensive when you consider how much other home improvements can cost.  Honestly, I was shocked at how little pre-built bars actually cost when I checked out the prices.

Before you build a bar, compare your costs to what a pre-built bar would cost. This Cherry Finish Bar Unit w/Wine Rack is available on Amazon. Click the image above to learn more.

Discount home bars are actually available for under $200 and I know that is a lot less than my Dad spent even back in the 70's for just the materials he used for building a really nice bar on his own.  Now, if you are looking to build a deluxe type bar rather than a simple home mini bar, your costs will obviously be higher.  The cheap home bars that come pre-assembled are basically rather short and straight, as opposed to L shaped corner bars that can actually be the centerpiece of a game room.  You can add all kinds of accessories like running water or set ups that allow you to keep refrigerated kegs of beer available.  You can also go all out and pick out a particular theme that you would like to build around.  If you have a favorite sport, your decorating might be based on that.  If you like neon lights to give the feel of a "real" bar, you can get those too.  Be warned, those home bar accessories are where you might end up dropping the bulk of your money.  Even bar stools can be pretty expensive.

Shown here are three popular pre-built bars that are currently for sale on Amazon.  I chose these three to show off mostly because I liked the way the look!  I really wasn't sure what to expect when I started checking out pre-built bars online.  To be honest, the idea of shipping costs sort of put me off until I realized that many of the units sold online offered free shipping as part of the purchase price.  There are a TON of popular pre-built bars for sale, but you'll have to check each one individually to see what kind of breaks they offer on shipping.  The prices are definitely comparable (or better) than any of the units I found for sale at retail outlets near my house.  The selection is also much better online.  You can find a nice selection of pre-built bars by clicking HERE.

 Pre-built Home Bars for Sale

Coaster Home Bar Unit, Black with Chrome Accents

City Chic Bar Cabinet - Espresso

Sixteenth-Century Italian Replica Globe Bar

If you would like to save some money, I would highly recommend checking out your local classified ads or sites like eBay and Amazon when it comes time to buy home bar accessories.  Just signs and lights for decorating your bar can be very expensive.  Shopping around a bit has its advantages.

There are some very cool things that can add an unbelievable amount of atmosphere to home bars.  Personally, I think if you have the room, you should have a pool table.  I really like playing pool with friends and this is another addition that you can usually pick up pretty cheap if you shop around. If you are willing to go with a second hand pool table, you can really save a ton. New pool tables can be fairly expensive.  With that said, I do have to say that I found some pool tables on Amazon that were priced lower than some of the tables sold locally. So if you are thinking of adding a pool table to the mix, it is worth looking online. Most of the ones on Amazon included free shipping.

For sports fans, you might want to consider installing a mounted television and/or sound system for when big games are going to be on.  Obviously the cost here depends entirely on what type of system you choose to enhance your set up.  Finally, having a dart board mounted in your game room is the perfect compliment to your bar if you are going to be entertaining friends.  The electronic dartboards that keep score for you usually come with plastic tipped darts that are designed not to damage things when they hit something other than the board.  A bonus is that they are usually really inexpensive.

This is just a small list of ideas.  Certainly home bars can be pretty much anything you want them to be.  They can be very simple or if you have enough money to spend, they can become very extravagant.  I wish I had photos of the one my Dad actually built.  It was an L shaped bar that had a sink built in to the lower level.  That level was also lit (by a very cool red light that matched the overhead lighting he installed).  The base had sliding doors that hid a ton of storage space.  I would imagine having that custom bar built now might carry a hefty price tag.  Like I said though, he was able to do the actual building himself.

If you are able to do the grunt work, you might want to just look around for some home bar plans to guide you.  You will certainly save a lot of money on labor.  If you just want to pay the money and get your bar, you should probably consider looking for home bar sets that come complete.  You may have to pay a bit for the convenience, but you will be able to get started entertaining right away.  Even for the higher priced home bars, the entertainment value is great if you like to hang out with friends.  If you are a regular visitor of "real" bars, your savings from not going to them could probably go a long way toward getting your own home bar up and running.  That would probably work as a good justification too if you have a partner who is on the fence about getting a home bar!

Once you have your home bar up and running, you will need to stock it with something to drink. The video below gives some tips on how to stock a home bar. Of course, this too can get as expensive as you are willing to let it get. If you stay very basic, you can get by with some basic staples that are used to mix up the most common drinks. If you are into creating fancy drinks, your supplies will cost more. The initial cost of stocking your bar could set you back a bit, but unless you have some very thirsty friends, maintaining your stock shouldn't be all that expensive.  In fact, if your friends are willing to contribute a bit, home bars could end up being a real bargain for those folks willing to put one in their home.

I know that you are probably a busy person, and I don't like to waste time. If you want to see what I think is one of the best bar fridges available today, Click Here Now and see what you think.

If you are considering installing a home bar, a primary amenity to consider is a quality bar fridge. While a wet bar, or a bar with running water, is nice, a bar fridge is virtually a necessity for a well-outfitted home bar, and it involves not nearly as much accommodation, or in most cases, expense.

Bar fridges can be known by other names, probably most commonly dorm fridges. In the context of home use, these are typically of a basic size of about 120 liters in volume. These units stand about three feet high by two feet square, although there may be some slight variations among the products of different manufacturers.

If you are looking for specific, recommended models, a good place to start is with units that have received multiple excellent reviews.  The mini-fridge shown at the left is just that.  This is the Sunpentown Double Door refrigerator.  It received four and a half out of a possible five stars on Amazon for its great blend of looks, performance and capacity.  This is large enough to be more than just a drink refrigerator if you need it to be.  With a capacity of 3 and 1/5 cubic feet, it is much roomier than smaller dorm fridge units.  The double door design also allows the freezer section to act like a freezer.  Personally, when I've had single door units that featured a freezer, they always seemed to be covered in ice.  I didn't enjoy the defrosting process, so that definitely stands out in my mind.  Anyway, if you are looking for a good fridge to check out, this is it.

Another option for those who don't expect to have any great need for refrigeration at their home bar, or for whom space is a major concern is the mini-bar fridge. These typically have a volume of less than half a standard bar fridge and are proportionally smaller.

The Danby Beverage Center boasts a convenient glass door. It looks great and lets you see how your supplies are holding up. Click the image above for details and customer reviews.

If you intend to do serious entertaining and require a lot of refrigerator space, you can use multiple bar fridges or consider going to a commercial refrigeration unit. These can be found in a great range of sizes and styles and can be quite expensive. However, such are beyond the scope of this article other than to mention that they exist. If you are looking for theses larger refrigeration units, you might want to check out back bar fridges

For serious football fans, there is something very special to consider. I didn't even realize that these existed until I came across them by accident, but you have got to check out the NFL refrigerators. These are a bit pricier than other standard fridges, but they will look great if you are the one who hosts football related gatherings. They are available featuring a variety of teams and would make an outstanding present for someone who seems to have everything!

An important consideration in choosing your bar fridge is to make up your mind how you intend to use it. Will you be stashing a couple of six packs and a couple of bottles of mixers? Do you intend to use it for wine, whether for its short or long term storage? Are you going to rely on the fridge to keep up with the demand for ice throughout the term of your entertaining? All of these matters and more need to be thought out in advance.

A bar fridge doesn't have a lot of capacity, so you'll be limited in what you can store there and have available for the party (the exception is the back bar fridges mentioned above). They don't really deal well with two liter bottles, although they can take several. A good idea would be to actually go out and look at some sample bar fridges and imagine that you are entertaining with the one you're looking at.

This EdgeStar fridge freezer should be on your short list of quality refrigerators. Click on the image above for more details and to read reviews.

If you're expecting to have your bar fridge keep up with the demand for ice during your party you are likely to be disappointed. While there are variations in freezer space, no bar fridge is really intended to serve as an ice machine.

Some makers produce bar freezers that are typically about two-thirds the capacity of a bar fridge. While even these can hardly be expected to crank out fresh ice at a rate to match consumption, at least they can keep significant supplies of ice on hand, and they can be used for storing particular frozen items that you'd like to have near at hand as you entertain.

For people who expect to serve chilled wine at their functions or who would like to keep a supply of chilled wine ready for use, there are available specialty wine fridges. These tend to be rather more complex than a standard bar fridge. They can have separate temperature zones for different kinds of wines. They can have racks intended to keep the bottles at the desired angle. Sophisticated wine buffs also consider the humidity at which their bottles are stored to be important, so dedicated wine fridges can also have humidity controls. Of course, all this sophistication comes at a price, and you should expect a wine fridge to cost significantly more.

No discussion of bar fridges would be complete without some mention of keg fridges. These units are dedicated to the storage and temperature maintenance of beer in keg, or metal barrels. These feature beer dispensing hardware to allow for beer to be served via a tap without having to open the unit. Again, these units tend to be rather pricey due to the additional hardware they incorporate.

If you are considering adding a bar fridge to your entertainment location, give some thought to its placement. Beyond the obvious need for an electrical supply, its best to allow for some air circulation around the back of the unit to permit efficient operation. Also, if you have the option, consider mounting your bar fridge where it will be at about chest level. Many people fail to take account of the fact that these units are short, and accessing items from them, especially from at or near the bottom, can demand a lot of bending, stooping and reaching.

Take some time and plan ahead for your bar fridge and it will be a great convenience and add a lot to your entertaining.

Just for Fun!

Here is an interesting idea. How about a refrigerator that brings your drinks to you? I came across this video of a robotic refrigerator and thought I'd share. Maybe we should watch for it going on sale some time in the future!