Hot Basement Bar Ideas for 2012
When you consider a renovation to your home this year, think about the hot basement bar ideas that you can incorporate into what is too often unused space. The basement provides a great place for a work area or a family room, but this space also works well as a place to show off to clients. The three biggest requirements for a hot basement bar are to have a wet bar set-up, tables, and enough storage for your beer or wine collections. If you put work into each of those areas, you will have a basement bar that your friends won’t be able to resist visiting.
Why a Wet Bar is Necessary
A wet bar simply means you have a sink and plumbing available. A dry bar, on the other hand, has only a the actual bar and some storage space behind it. When you have a dry bar, you can serve drinks or store alcohol and glasses behind the bar, but you will need to schlep dirty glasses back up the stairs. Instead invest in plumbing in your basement to make the addition of a sink simple. Once you have a sink, you will be able to wash glasses, pour out ice, and generally clean up without carrying lots of items up and down the stairs. Your bar can be a self-contained unit when you have a sink.
How to Use Tables in a Basement Bar
While you don’t want everyone just sitting around, you do want somewhere for your friends. A 4-top table will work in most situations. For wine drinkers, the table provides the perfect spot to open and sample top-quality bottles of wine, and for beer drinkers, the table is a good spot to have a quick poker game or relax while watching the game. Your basement bar isn’t a commercial establishment, however. Unless you have an unusually large basement area, you should stick to the equivalent of two 4-tops and a couch or recliner as the maximum seating in your bar area.
Storage for Your Drinks
The basement is the perfect place for a do-it-yourself wine cellar because the basement already is cool and slightly damp, regardless of the type of foundation you have. For smaller wine collections, you can purchase a wine cellar cabinet and simply install it in your basement. Larger collections will require you to put in shelving and glass doors, but doing so in the basement can be part of the overall design of finishing your basement. Beer drinkers can put in large coolers for the variety of beer that they keep on hand. Coolers with glass doors are best as they will allow you to view the selection without opening the cabinet, but a small refrigerator will work, too.
The key to creating a hot basement bar is in making sure that the bar fits your lifestyle and your drinking personality. Some people will want to add in fancy barstools while others will snatch up neon beer signs for their décor. Either basement bar can be trendy, but you need the one that best fits you.
