Midcentury Breakfast Bar Ideas and Designs

Mid-Century house remodel. Design by aToM. Construction and installation of mahogany structure and custom cabinetry by d KISER design.construct, inc. Photograph by Colin Conces Photography

Sennett Residence

Living Stone Design + Build

Mequon Mid Century Modern

JFK Design-Build, LLC

Midcentury Home Bar

Retro Lounge

Design by Numbers / Rebecca Zajac LLC

Rebecca Zajac

Nick Glimenakis

Sullivan Canyon Residence

Paul Davis Architects

This home bar was created as a plaster volume, helping define both the living room and billiards areas. The cool white of the exterior plaster finish gives way to warm, rich leather-tiled walls at the interior. Custom-fabricated brass-strip trim edges the leather, creating a strategic "reveal" between adjacent materials. In tribute to the house's "Western Ranch" heritage, desert mesquite wood was used in end-grain mode to create the curved countertop. A vintage print of young Barack Obama smoking something is prominently featured! Photo Credit: Undine Prohl

Modern Residence IV

User

Red Bud

Soledad Builders, LLC

By enclosing a portion of the covered porch we were able to grab space for a fully customized, indoor, outdoor home bar. Complete with a kegerator, custom steel shelves, smoked mirror & custom metal and glass garage door.

Houck

Houck Construction Inc.

Transitional Family Room and Bar

Fran Kerzner- DESIGN SYNTHESIS

The clients also wanted to be able to eat dinner in the room while watching TV but there was no room for a regular dining table so we designed a custom silver leaf bar table to sit behind the sectional with a custom 1 1/2" Thinkglass art glass top. We designed a new coffered ceiling with lighting in each bay. And built out the fireplace with dimensional tile to the ceiling. The color scheme was kept intentionally monochromatic to show off the different textures with the only color being touches of blue in the pillows and accessories to pick up the art glass.

Southampton Residence

fox-nahem associates

Moody Blues

Laure Nell Interiors

The homeowners of this 6,000-square-foot house in Delray Beach don’t have to go far for a night out on the town. We transformed two bedrooms with a connecting bathroom into an entertainment wing with a true speakeasy vibe, right down to the hidden bookcase door that makes its entrance from the main living room quasi invisible. A moody, deep navy wallpaper with copper accents envelops the walls and layers together with rich woods and dark hues from floor to ceiling. The new movie room features custom built-ins, a home bar, a billiards table and the owners’ collection of vinyl records punctuated with a piece of Beatles-themed art that we sourced as an homage to the owners’ love of iconic films and music. The custom built-in wine fridge in the adjacent wine room houses their 250-plus collection of unique bottles the owners bring back from their frequent travels around the world. We pulled the moody palette into other areas of the home that needed reimagining, including the double-height living room, where we clad the fireplace in black and white materials and specified Tom Dixon’s lustrous Melt pendants to cascade over the space. Photography by Venjhamin Reyes

Castlebay Home

Ellecor Design & Gifts by Haden Long

Hilltop Modern

Element Custom Builders

White Sails Mid-Century Modern

Patterson Custom Homes

Retro Lounge

Design by Numbers / Rebecca Zajac LLC

Rebecca Zajac

Midcentury Modern Masterpiece

Veranda Designer Homes

6000 Residence

Studio Build

Bob Greenspan

Midcentury Breakfast Bar 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 midcentury 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 retro home bar be?

The ideal style of your midcentury 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 retro 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 midcentury 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 midcentury 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 1950s style 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 – 1960s style ornaments, lamps, artwork, photos and travel mementos are great midcentury home bar ideas to get the conversation started.

Ireland

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