Home Bars

Home bars can be a home away from home for the blokes who feel a little henpecked. I know that opening statement sounds a tad sexist, but nevertheless it is the truth. A lot of guys have a garage or a tool shed that they use as their sanctuary, a place to just get away from everything and have some "me" time. Women need to the same thing, but they achieve it in different ways. For men, it is usually the shed or the football field. That said, some of us men are not all that interested in sports and wouldn't know the front end of a 4 stroke motor from the back end of wheelbarrow. For those of us that fit into that category there is only one place left that we can call our own - the home bar.

Home bars are traditionally found in the basement or a back room, but this isn't the only place where you can build a home bar. If you have a spare bedroom because a child has flown the coop, this could be the perfect place to modify into a home bar area. If you can have a whole room it is ideal, because you can fit other stuff in there as well (there will be some ideas on how you can fill up that space later on in this article). If you don;t have the luxury of a spare room, have a look at your garage. Most people have twin garages with their car in one side and a heap of junk in the other. If you got rid of all that junk (we've already determined that you're not a handyman) and sold it, you could use the money to start building a home bar in the very same spot!

Themes For Home Bars

Home bars can come in a lot of different varieties and themes. For example, if you love those old country and western movies, and can picture yourself swaggering into your home bar like John Wayne with your pistols hanging off your hip, then you could build your bar with a country and western feel. You could have lassos hanging on the walls and those swinging doors, you could even put a few fake bullet holes in the bar to complete the effect.

If you are more of a cocktail drinker and like a bit of the night life, you could turn your bar into a cocktail bar. Put up a disco ball and have some flashy neon lights, have some purple polka dot pillows on your bar stools and play some 70's disco on your sound system, and you're away. If you have the room you could throw a few beanbags around and a put a comfy lounge in the corner to give it that extra bit of pizazz.

Another theme you may like to use is the island getaway. I started by saying that the home bar is the perfect place for a man to get away from it all. Why not complete the fantasy and pretend that you are on a desert island and have found a little oasis in the middle of nowhere. Fake palm trees, some coconuts and Hawaiian music will make you feel like you have been shipwrecked like Gilligan, without all those annoying co stars to worry about. To finish this look off, using bamboo mats and serving your drinks with those little umbrellas will do the trick.

Accessories For Home Bars

Deciding on a theme for home bars is not the end of the work though. After you have your bar all set up, there are a lot of accessories that you are going to need to make it a fully functional home bar. Obviously, you are going to need bar stools. You don't want you imaginary customers standing up all night, do you? Make sure when you get your bar stools that you take the height of the bar into account. You are also going to need many little bits and pieces to make your home bar complete, such as....

• Corkscrews
• Different glasses (mugs, champagne flutes, wine glasses, shot glasses)
• Measuring equipment for cocktails
• Cocktail shakers
• Bottle coolers
• A champagne bucket
• Straws
• Cocktail umbrellas
• Bar mats
• Coasters
• Ash trays
• A wine rack
• Mirrors
• Neon Signs

You are also going to need a decent bar fridge to keep all your drinks nice and cool, and to store some ice so that it's on hand when needed. The area behind your bar should have plenty of cabinet space and shelving for storing glasses and bottles. You can also store your glasses by hanging them off the "ceiling" of your bar if your style of bar allows.

If you have the luxury of space in your home bar, then there are some larger items that you may consider getting to make yours the best of all the home bars in the neighbourhood. You could get a wall mounted television (just in case you change your mind about the whole football thing). A jukebox packed with music is a great idea for a home bar, and a real attention grabber when you have guests, as is a pinball machine and a darts board.

Once you have your home bar up and running, you can pour yourself a nice cold beer, sit back and let all your worries float away. Make sure you don't get lost in there though, there is a real world still waiting for you to come back on the other side of those swinging doors...