Home Renovation Makes Way for Wet Bars
With hard economic times it seems people are entertaining more and more at home instead of heading out for the evening. A great place to gather around, or to give your family and friends incentive to stop on by can be a home bar. The basement beer bars of yesteryear are long gone, and those with wine collections, cocktail connoisseurs, scotch drinkers, or just average homeowners are discovering the utility of a home wet bar. These sleek and highly visible home additions are a popular choice in home renovations in dining rooms, in home theaters, on patios, and in kitchens. Imagine being able to store glassware, accoutrements, beer, wine liquor, bar snacks, corkscrews, cocktail shakers and more all in one convenient location. Kind of wants you want to stay in tonight, doesn’t it?
The first major factor to consider is whether the bar should be a wet bar or a dry bar. For those already renovating it’s easy to run a waterline right to the bar. For those looking to quickly add a bar it may be more of a challenge, but is always doable. Some of the benefits of running a waterline to the bar include having the ability to wash, rinse, and always have clean glassware right at the bar, also to more efficiently create your most famous cocktails. For those who want to go big, inquire about installing a bar gun with soft drinks and mixers at the touch of a button. A dry bar can be just as inviting, and can still include a refrigerator for storing bottled beers, wine coolers, and soft drinks. For bars that are already close to the kitchen sink, there’s not much difference if the bar is wet or dry. For utilizing refrigeration, wiring will be important as well. A new circuit may need to be added to support the bar’s needs, and electrical outlets will be necessary to use drink-blending appliances like a blender.
Once it has been decided if electricity and or a waterline will be required, you can start thinking about where your new bar will go. Some limitations may be access to an electrical or water line. If these factors are no object, then go nuts! Some people may elect to but a bar by the pool, on the roof, or even in the bedroom. Now it’s time to think about whether yours will be an island-style bar, a long bar, and whether it will have seating. If a bar is going to have seating, it should be well-located so nobody gets too trapped either behind or in front of the bar. A bar made for sitting, drinking and eating, will also need a countertop. If the bar is in the kitchen it will required a countertop matching or complementing that of the rest of the room. A bar in another part of the house can have a range of finishes from marble or granite to wood. Whatever countertop you decide, make sure that it is durable and scratch resistant to protect it from your happy, and potentially tipsy guests!
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